Marines want troop shift to Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps is proposing a complete withdrawal of its troops from Iraq this year, officials said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that the military plans to shift 20,000 Marines to Afghanistan.

On Friday, Marine Gen. James Conway said the combat portion of the Iraq war is effectively over.

"The time is right for Marines in general terms to leave Iraq," Conway told reporters. "A building fight taking place in another locale -- that's really where Marines need to be."

The comments came the same day the United States fired missiles, killing 18 people, on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border.

Pentagon officials said President Barack Obama is likely to approve their request to shift troops to Afghanistan in the coming months.

"The president has been quite clear that the mission is to responsibly draw down and end our active combat role (in Iraq)," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. "He wants to put more emphasis on Afghanistan and deal with the problems ... and the challenges that we face in Afghanistan."