Posted on 03/23/2007 3:31:08 PM PDT by leadpenny
WASHINGTON - Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan are under U.S. investigation, and their entire unit has been ordered to leave the country, officials said Friday.
Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, ordered the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan and initiated an investigation into the March 4 incident, said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, spokesman at Kearney's command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.
It is highly unusual for any combat unit, either special operations or conventional, to have its mission cut short.
A spokesman for the Marine unit, Maj. Cliff Gilmore, said it is in the process of leaving Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details on the timing and new location, citing a need for security.
In the March 4 incident in Nangahar province, an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from gunmen. As many as 10 Afghans were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made an escape. Injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.
U.S. military officials said militant gunmen shot at Marines and may have caused some of the civilian casualties.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the incident, which was one among several involving U.S. forces in which civilians were killed and injured.
Leto, the spokesman at Special Operations Command Central headquarters, said the Marines, after being ambushed, responded in a way that created "perceptions (that) have really damaged the relationship between the local population and this unit."
Therefore, he said, "the general felt it was best to move them out of that area."
Gilmore said the Marine company would complete its overseas deployment with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is the larger unit it sailed with from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in January, but it will no longer operate in Afghanistan.
Of the four Marine Special Operations Command companies that have been established since the command was created in February 2006, the one ordered out of Afghanistan was the first to deploy abroad, Gilmore said. By September 2008 there are to be nine companies operating as part of two special operations battalions, he said.
For years the Marines resisted creating special operations units, arguing that would run counter to their philosophy of viewing all Marines as elite fighters and not singling out elements as special. But former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pressed them to establish a separate command — the Marine Special Operations Command — to train and equip forces for the multi-service Special Operations Command.
There are about 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly conventional combat forces and support units.
Another political cruxification coming.
I know, CM.
It just seems relentless....and no one takes the time to celebrate the victories either.
I don't mean on FR...I know I can count on threads about the good things that our troops are doing HERE.
Unfortunately...no where else.
After the vote today....I consider those that voted for the supplemental in the House...enemies of the country.
I really would like more information about why THIS particular story happened. I can't fathom a whole unit ordered out of a country..
You and I are thinking the same my friend.
I sure don't see anything the Marines did wrong in those circumstances..
I guess some folks don't realize what happens when a bunch
of MARINES/GI's shoot at something/somebody...
FYI both my guys in the 10th.Mt. got extended 4 months.
Iraq and Afghanistan.Middle of August instead of April.Both.
LOL,,,Then it gets dark..."Eye Of The Tiger"...;0)
Exactly, and in my mind, it's part of the problem. It's business as usual. Going to war should mean the country is going to war, not just those who volunteer to go to war.
I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to a draft but, symbolically, even if it wasn't needed at the time, draft authority given to the administration right after 9-11 would have been a powerful message. Of course by now it no doubt would have been used.
Instead, what did we get? We got a Department of Homeland Security which is nothing but bigger government. I believe the same act that created DHS also created at least one more four star command - Northern Command. Later we got DNI which has also grown the National Security bureaucracy. At the end of WWII there weren't enough War Department agencies to fill the newly finished Pentagon. There were fewer generals and admirals at the height of WWII than there are now.
Growing the economy is something that takes care of itself in time of war. At any rate, fighting the war should be the only priority until the war is won.
In the March 4 incident in Nangahar province, an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from gunmen. As many as 10 Afghans were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made an escape. Injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.
It doesn't appear to have anything to do with them being effective. This is a large Haditha style scandal in the making. The Army general may be trying to do these guys a favor by pulling them out of the spotlight, perhaps as part of a deal with the locals. They may not have done anything wrong, per se, or they may have overreacted, but tribal leaders may have been bought off to ensure that no bad press came out of it. Part of that deal may have been an agreement that this unit is to be expelled from the country. That would explain the involvement of Karzai.
It's also entirely possible that the general simply feels that the unit is a pack of cowboys, and they aren't going to play nice and adopt kinder-gentler Army doctrine over more aggressive Marine tactics. That's unlikely, though, since it would be an issue between the commanders. Officers can make each other "come to Jesus". It would be rare and unusual if they thought the whole unit wasn't going to obey the Army's stricter interpretation of the ROE, even after being ordered.
So, I'm leaning towards some kind of behind-the-scenes deal to keep this event quiet.
"Exactly, and in my mind, it's part of the problem. It's business as usual. Going to war should mean the country is going to war, not just those who volunteer to go to war."
The economy would have collapsed at that point. We have a long slog ahead and we must be able to pay whatever amount Victory demands. There are valid reasons why we did not.
"I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to a draft but, symbolically, even if it wasn't needed at the time, draft authority given to the administration right after 9-11 would have been a powerful message. Of course by now it no doubt would have been used."
Again, when we can't field a proper Military then implement it. It is still on the books awaiting activation.
"Instead, what did we get? We got a Department of Homeland Security which is nothing but bigger government. I believe the same act that created DHS also created at least one more four star command - Northern Command. Later we got DNI which has also grown the National Security bureaucracy. At the end of WWII there weren't enough War Department agencies to fill the newly finished Pentagon. There were fewer generals and admirals at the height of WWII than there are now."
All of the above are true... but we have not had another attack since 9/11 and THAT actually does say something big.
"Growing the economy is something that takes care of itself in time of war."
Not like the one we fight today. 9/11 was about destroying our economy... almost worked.
"At any rate, fighting the war should be the only priority until the war is won."
Amen brother! Amen!!!
LLS
Too bad Kearney wasn't there so he could have gotten his @ss shot off. then again if he had been there he probably would have called in an airstrike to wipe them all out and then it would have been OK.
... but we have not had another attack since 9/11 and THAT actually does say something big.
Our enemies are insane, but they're not crazy. I believe they know that if they pull off a big one now, they risk losing every major city in the islamic world. . . in short order. It may happen someday, but right now they don't want to wake the sleeping giant.
I'm sure that this is the case. While I don't think that this is a *cover up*, per se, it appears that the responsible parties are trying to handle the issue directly, rather than let it descend into a media circus.
Regardless of whether or not the Marines overreacted or are somehow at fault, the political situation is tense for Karzai and Bush. The fact that there was a suicide bombing will be totally overlooked, and the CSI wannabes at the networks will convict these guys for ratings. Pulling the unit out is a symbolic gesture, rather than simply relieving the local commander, which would be more functional. Given that fact, it would appear that, actual wrongdoing or not, some kind of deal was cut to remove the *guilty* party, in order to resolve political concerns.
I agree. Not a cover up. They are just trying to keep it from getting out of control. I hope they've taken the Marine Special Ops unit and quietly put them on another mission somewhere else in the world right away. Not that they are criminals but it would be something like the "Dirty Dozen," only in this case it would be the "Dirty 10 Dozen."
Otherwise, that's too many war fighters sitting in limbo.
I shouldn't have posted this thread?
I agree and think that it will take that attack to wake up some of the traitors in this country (dims and leftists).
LLS
My son is in that unit, and when the March 4th incident occurred, he called, and told us that whatever we were hearing on the news, to disregard it, that they were lying. He didn't make reference to what incident he was talking about, because he can't talk about it, but we figured it out since that was the only thing on the news that day involving the Marines. He called us on Friday, and not knowing that the news media was reporting this new situation, had told us that he had moved somewhere else. He didn't say where or why, but now I know. I just hope that any reporting on their whereabouts is deliberate misinformation to the media, because if we are reading this, so is the enemy.
It is nice to know that AP filed a complaint against our Military for illegally deleting pictures which I am sure is against the Military Honor Code, etc. etc.
But tell me leadpenny, why doesn't the AP file a complaint against the Taliban? Against the Terrorists for murdering innocent women and children day in day out in Afghanistan, Iraq and Thailand?
Very well said....
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