WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The U.S. Marine commander on Wednesday warned of a `` growing '' insurgent threat in Afghanistan , but he said forces would have to be cut in Iraq to send more Marines to Afghanistan . Marines could be pulled from Iraq 's Anbar province , Gen. James Conway said Wednesday . `` To do more in Afghanistan , our Marines have got to see relief elsewhere , '' said Gen. James Conway in a briefing for Pentagon reporters . Conway said the Corps ' two regimental combat teams -- about 10,000 Marines -- in Iraq 's Anbar province could be removed as there are only two or three insurgent attacks a day in what was once the hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency . The U.S.-led coalition is scheduled to hand over security control in Anbar to Iraqi troops next week . Despite the progress , Conway said , he does n't expect any decisions on troop withdrawals until Gen. David Petraeus -- the head of the U.S. military in Iraq -- makes his recommendations on troop deployment in Iraq to President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates . There are more than 3,000 Marines in Afghanistan , and Conway said that the Marine Corps would be willing to help bolster the fight against the Taliban in that country . `` I think that a battalion of Marines in Afghanistan count for more than a battalion of Marines in Iraq , if you will , just in terms of the impact that they can have , '' he said .
Marines in Iraq 's once - volatile Kurdistan province could help , general says . Marine attacks down to a few a year , Gen. James Conway says . Marines could have greater effect in Afghanistan , Conway says .