Gates Said to Oppose Shift of Marines to Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Gates' Visit To Iraq Marred As 4 Car Bombs Kill At Least 23

By THOM SHANKER
Published: December 6, 2007
BAGHDAD, Dec. 5 — Senior Pentagon and military officials said today that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has decided against a proposal for shifting Marine Corps forces from Iraq to take the lead in American operations in Afghanistan.

Mr. Gates told top Marine Corps officials and his senior aides that the situation in western Iraq, where the marines now operate in Anbar Province, remains too volatile to contemplate such a significant change in how the ground combat mission here is shared by the Army and Marine Corps.