Gates Had Reservations of Marine Fight in RC SW

According to his book "Duty" former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had doubts about the deployment of Marines to Helmand province - an area of Afghanistan with a sparse population. A lot of fighting power was positioned there at great expense - over 20,000 Marines plus a number of other allies (British, Danish, etc.). The Marines were part of the 30,000 troop surge provided by Obama to help in the population-centric counterinsurgency fight. Gates wondered if the deployment of the Marines had more to do with getting the Marines into the fight in Afghanistan (after its withdrawal from western Iraq) but with its own autonomous area without coming under the command of Army generals. Could be something to that! See "Gates on Afghan surge, Marines", U-T San Diego, January 13, 2014.