30 May 2003
Marines Adapt from Combat to Humanitarian Role in Iraq
(Commander says future force structure is being examined) (910) By Jacquelyn S. Porth Washington File Security Affairs Writer Washington -- The commander of the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq says his forces are focused on the mission of creating "a safe and secure environment" in that country before turning it back to the Iraqis. Marine Lieutenant General James Conway, commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, says it is still uncertain when the Marines will go home, but they want to be sure that they are not leaving behind a void, since some Iraqis have already told them they are afraid they may lose their new-found freedoms when the Americans depart. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via video teleconference from Baghdad May 30, Conway said military leaders at the U.S. Central Command in Qatar are examining what kind of force structure will be needed in Iraq in the coming weeks. He also indicated that the United States may look to coalition forces to fill in behind after the Marines depart. Now that the war "is essentially over," Conway said his Marines have been innovative in adapting to non-combat assignments that have included airlifting Iraqi children injured in car accidents to medical treatment, clearing dangerous unexploded ordnance, providing security for key parts of Iraq's infrastructure, and rebuilding damaged bridges. Together with representatives from the non-governmental affairs community and elements of Army civil affairs teams, the Marines are working to recreate a good quality of life in Iraq, he said, noting that there are around 41,000 Marines spread through southern Iraq and Kuwait. Conway said the Marines have found southern Iraq to be "fairly quiet" and characterized their experience there as "overwhelmingly positive." Asked why the Marines were encountering a different experience from Army forces in the north, the commander attributed the difference to a much larger Shi'a population in the south. The Army has met more violence in the north, he said, because much of the Sunni population has remained more loyal to the former regime and there are more Ba'ath loyalists there, too. He also said the Marines have a reputation that precedes them. The Iraqis already know, he suggested, that if they stay out of the Marines' way all will be well, but if they try to interfere or pose a threat "there will be consequences." Conway said he recently met with a group of Shi'a religious leaders and he said they expressed delight regarding the progress the Marines have been making to create stability in southern Iraq. He predicted that a day would come when those leaders will be happy to see the Marines depart, but that day has not yet arrived. In the north of the country, Conway said, there have been a limited number of attacks against Army forces, but he suggested that they have been mischaracterized. "I don't think there is anarchy," he said. An individual Iraqi may launch a small-scale attack, for example, but it may create what he described as "large-scale news." Asked about the extent of Iranian influence in Iraq, Conway said there are clearly Iraqis returning home after having spent considerable time in neighboring Iran, including those who represent the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. "We will watch them with great interest in the days and weeks to come," he added, but for now "they are playing by all the rules." Conway also said the Badr Corps -- an Iranian-sponsored force numbering around 1,000 men -- is providing security. The Marines do not necessarily view the Badr Corps as a negative influence, he said, but indicated that the U.S. forces would respond if the Badr Corps took any adverse action. Conway was questioned about the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD). There were times during the war, he said, that he and his men slept with their gas masks ever ready because they expected an imminent chemical weapons attack. They believed, he said, that chemical weapons had been distributed to some Iraqi units -- perhaps to certain Republican Guard Divisions. The commander said he was surprised that such an attack did not materialize as his forces moved north across the Euphrates River and other strategic points and faced off against Republican Guard units. A number of sensitive sites are being explored in southern Iraq, according to Conway, and they may yield WMD or residual material. Teams have been put on all the potential sites that have been identified by coalition intelligence or pointed out by Iraqis, he said. He expressed surprise that some chemical weapons have not yet been uncovered at "some of the forward (ammunition) dispersal sites." "We join in the search to try to ferret it out," the officer said of the hunt for WMD. "I don't think we've given up on the search yet." As part of ongoing interrogations, he suggested that the day might come "when we ask the right question of the right person and we open a panacea of weapons storage." "Seven weeks is probably not enough time to look at a country the size of California and come to the conclusion that they (WMD) simply do not exist here," Conway said, "especially when you consider that the regime had ample experience attempting to hide those things as much as they were visited by the (U.N. weapons) inspectors." (The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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