Marines Chief Backs More Troops In Iraq

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Forum Spin Doctor
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
December 17, 2006
By Joel Currier, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. — The new commandant of the Marine Corps said Saturday that he supported sending more Marines to Iraq to help stabilize the country's struggling government.
Gen. James Conway, a St. Louis native and Roosevelt High School graduate, was in Cape Girardeau on Saturday to deliver the commencement speech at Southeast Missouri State University, from which he graduated in 1969.
"The role of any government is to protect your people, and (Iraq is) simply not doing that," Conway said Saturday morning.
Conway, 58, was sworn in last month as the 34th Marine Corps commandant. He has served more than 35 years in the Marines as an infantry officer, battalion commander and commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force through two tours to Iraq. He now represents the Marines on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As President George W. Bush prepares to announce his "new way forward" for Iraq, Conway said the Marine Corps' focus next year would be on supporting troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by giving them more time at home — at least 14 months — between deployments. He said the current pace of military rotations — seven months in Iraq and seven to nine months at home — had strained the Marine Corps by limiting Marines' training and time with their families.
Conway said he was confident that the White House would authorize the Marine Corps to expand next year to 185,000 active-duty Marines from about 180,000. There are about 23,000 Marines serving in Iraq.
The president is considering a major surge in troop strength as part of the administration's strategy review in Iraq. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called last week for the deployment of 15,000 to 30,000 more troops.
 
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