What a headline!

Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq

When I saw it at Drudge it peaked my interest immediately. I found it incomprehensible that the Marine Corp would press to leave Iraq without completing their mission.

Okay, the first paragraph supplies a bit of an explanation:

The Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead to Afghanistan, to take over the leading role in combat there, according to senior military and Pentagon officials.

Contingency plans and shifting of personnel take place constantly in the US military. Relocating troops is a bit different than leaving the impression in a headline that the Marine Corp wants to bail out of Iraq.

Reading further, I discovered the Corp has yet to even put a solid plan on the table:

Mr. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have not spoken publicly about the Marine concept, and aides to both officials said no formal proposal had been presented by the Marines.[Emphasis added] But the idea has been the focus of intense discussions between senior Marine Corps officers and other officials within the Defense Department.

There are many what-ifs in this article. Frankly, I believe our enemies in Afghanistan would love to know if the Marines are headed their way. They might just want to find even deeper caves to hide in. But until the time when the SecDef or Admiral Mullen make a shift public, it is best kept amongst those who know what is best for the US military, war strategy and our safety and security.