Kelly, in an interview, said his views were not prompted by the Marine Corps' desire to redeploy to Afghanistan.
"All my recommendations and decisions have nothing to do with Afghanistan," said Kelly, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). "I'm absolutely focused on Iraq. I work 20-hour days. I don't have time to read about Afghanistan."
Marine leaders say the fight in Afghanistan will be different from the conflict in Iraq, where the Marines teamed with Sunni tribal sheiks to crush the insurgency and bring a measure of stability to the province.
In his orders to Col. Duffy White, commander of an air-ground task force deployed recently to Afghanistan, Helland warned that Afghanistan would be different because of its terrain, politics and culture and the presence of the coalition formed by NATO, the Afghan army and the U.S.
Iraq veterans should not be allowed to rest on the laurels of their success in Anbar, wrote the blunt-spoken Midwesterner and combat veteran of Vietnam. "Once a mistake is made, the excuse 'This is how we did it in Iraq' will not suffice," Helland wrote.
Sending a large force into landlocked Afghanistan presents significant challenges for the Marine Corps, a sea service that operates best when it can be linked to a ship-based resupply system.
One plan being discussed by Marine brass would be to use Russian air cargo contractors flying aged aircraft. The U.S. already uses such contractors to bring mine-resistant armored vehicles into Iraq and Afghanistan.
If upper officers are keen on going to Afghanistan, so are many of the young Marines in Iraq. As Helland met with corporals and sergeants there, several offered to reenlist if they could be assured of going to Afghanistan, where they face a much higher probability of engaging in combat.
For the Marines, there is a sense of unfinished business in Afghanistan. In early December 2001, soon after the Taliban government was routed, Marines were part of a plan to attack the mountains of the Tora Bora region where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was believed to be.
But even as Marines waited at Kandahar airport to board helicopters, U.S. officials called off the attack, preferring that Afghan forces finish the task of capturing or killing Bin Laden and his top lieutenants. Instead, Bin Laden and many of the others escaped and are still at large.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, meeting with Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment, last week at the austere Forward Operating Base Delaram in Afghanistan, characterized the Marines as "starting over" in that country.
Waldhauser, commander of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division, praised the Two-Seven, which has begun returning home, for its success in mentoring Afghan police, killing Taliban fighters and making contacts with tribal leaders.
"You guys have lived the dream," he said.
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tony.perry@latimes.com
