Posted on 10/12/2007 5:17:14 PM PDT by tobyhill
Retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez says there has been a "crisis of leadership" in the administration and the congress that has led to unnecessary deaths, and that the problem has not been solved by the new strategy President Bush announced in January.
"After more than four years of fighting, America continues its desperate struggle in Iraq without any concerted effort to devise a strategy that will achieve victory in that war torn country, or in the greater conflict against extremism. From a catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan to the administration's latest surge strategy, this administration has failed to employ and synchronize its political, economic and military power. The latest revised strategy is a desperate attempt by the administration that has not accepted the political and economic realities of this war, and they have definitely not been able to communicate effectively that reality to the American people," he said.
Asked to say what strategy he would recommend, General Sanchez enumerated many of the points of the president's approach - train the Iraqi military, promote political reconciliation, build national institutions and work with Iraq's neighbors to get their support. But he said the administration has not synchronized the efforts of all U.S. government agencies or provided enough resources to pursue the strategy. And he says military commanders should have been given more authority to work on traditionally civilian issues, particularly early in the conflict.
(Excerpt) Read more at voanews.com ...
Thank God he retired. Now perhaps he could just shut up.
Five will get you ten that he’s just a disgruntled democrat.
Lucy, I’m home!
His solutions for success is exactly what President Bush has ordered done but disapproves of it only because President Bush ordered it?
I think it worth noting that the Commander isn’t advocating giving up.
This guy sounds like a fool considering the incredible progress that has been made recently.
Yeah, war is all hell. We knew that.
“I think it worth noting that the Commander isn’t advocating giving up.”
It was a very vicious attack. He went on to say that if the civilian leadership in Washington were in the military, they all would have been removed for derelection of duty.
That’s harsh.
Oh, my word. And to think that I prayed for him every day he was in Iraq.
Just this morning I was thinking that we hadn’t heard anything from him since he left Iraq. Maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself.
Always easier to snipe from the sidelines than to commit yourself to any REAL action.
Disgruntled? Likely. However, we have another military officer promoted beyond his capability. Obviously, what is lacking is the sense of propriety that one expects from military leaders. Sanchez is obviously as big a fool as Wesley Clark, and I blame it on West Point, the Pentagon, the Presidents, and, expecially, PC.
I'll bet Clinton, PC and affirmative action may have had something to do with it.
Well, I'll be damned if he wasn't part of the problem!
I wonder if he was a staff member for Weasel Clark.
It’s note worthy but he offers no solutions other than to repeat what is being done as a solution.
The Surge has Worked and Sanchez is in the Trap
Pray for W and Our Troops
When retired Commanders comment, they are speaking about what they have dealt with when they were in charge, the good and the bad, IMO he has some good points to raise, but those points also are “yesterday’s news”.
The war plan may have been too optimistic, but that was 4 years ago, there may not have been enough assets deployed in 2005 post Golden Dome bombing, that was early 2005.
What I am concerned about is not recriminations, but today’s effort, that is the only thing that can help in the long run.
Seems like the MSM have extrapolated his statement and taken things out of context to make him seem like he is against the process he was sworn in to lead. I want to know more...Otherwise he is just one more lightweight idiot like Clark.
Soros?
He appears to have been more of a problem than I originally suspected. Time for him to just go away.
"Old soldiers don't retire, they just fade away."
I am convinced that the best service a retired general can perform is to turn in his tongue along with his suit and to mothball his opinions—Omar N. Bradley
I’m guessing Sanchez understands that when the history of this struggle is written, it is not going to be kind to him.
The opinion of a guy who hasn't been in Iraq for 3 years really isn't relevant.
I think the bigger point is that the left will try and distort these words to say another military leader calls for and end to the war. I don't get that at all from the article. While he points out mistakes have been made he does not advocate he supports leaving Iraq. I think it's important to emphasize that.
Other than that i'd say it's rather typical for a subordinate to criticize his/her leadership. There is no such thing as 100% consensus. Even when you think you've got one, someone is probably secretly maneuvering/plotting to usurp your "brilliant" idea.
That is propaganda. Wonder who which Hillary front group he is working for now.
It's sour grapes. Payback for being pushed out of the Military.
He needs to say the things that will sell him the book. He was / is a “face of Abu Ghraib”, that does not sell books or gets you “in” in Washington, DC.
http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49460
“Sanchez, former U.S. commander in Iraq, calls war ‘a nightmare with no end in sight’”
And “progressives” need someone for their own affirmation after all the lumps and beatings on Iraq they were taking recently... They are trying to counter Petraeus with somebody, and Sanchez just might revive “Betrayus lied” mantra to get Democrats in Congress back “on track”...
The reporter here should be commended for actually asking what he thinks the solution is which repeats what is being done.
I believe the MSM just love to take statements out of context for their own purposes. You’re right about Bush. The dismal seven years of hearing him and his lightweight use of the language has for sure made us all look like idiots.
Its Nu Cle er, Not Nu cu ler
Problem is he has been a good leader. Too bad he didn’t listen to his language coaches.
General RICARDO SANCHEZ should look in the mirror, after all he was a commander over there. He probably didn’t voluntarily retire. Now he comes out of the woodwork looking for a job with the RATS.
He did get a fourth star out of this, but was not given another command. With wars and opportunities for advancement few and far between,these days, most generals would be happy with the development, but it would not give one a book advance or invitations to creme de la creme parties in DC.
And moveon.org needs a counter after a disastrous “Betrayus” campaign, so he’ll do, if he wants it. He can even play it both ways, it’s the thing to do, Michael Scheuer (of CIA bin Ladin desk and “Imperial Hubris” fame) does it rather well, but transparently, depending on which network and by which host he is interviewed.
I believe you are right.
I agree with the first part, not the second. Things have turned around since the White House got out of the way and (finally) let the military take over.
Your BDS is show. The WH has never been in the way on Iraq. The problem has always been we have too many hide bound dinosaurs, like Gen Sanchez here, who were running the show. The White House got lucky that the military finally promoted Petraus, a guy who knew how to win
Well, all of our military are not quality people. John Murha was military. Weasley Clark was military. I guess I tend to go with the guys who say America is good, we will win.
Well, all of our military are not quality people. John Murha was military. Weasley Clark was military. I guess I tend to go with the guys who say America is good, we will win.
It’s not BDS, but rather BF... “big time.”
It may be Pres Bush is deliberately talking like that to seem more folksy. He’s an Eastern aristocrat who attended a prep school, Yale and Harvard. Maybe he’s been doing it so long now he can’t help it.
If he wants to know why we are in trouble, he should look in the mirror. I’ve argued for years that one of GWB’s biggest failures was his failure to fire a bunch of generals. This oaf fits the bill.
It is impossible to synchronize much of anything with the existing rogues gallery of liars, saboteurs and traitors currently infesting the MSM, the Congress, the State Department and the CIA.
Sanchez' command = FAILURE
Petraeus' command = SUCCESS
'nuff said.
“Maybe he’s been doing it so long now he can’t help it.”
You mean he can’t “hep” it?
So where is Condi Rice pushing the diplomatic side of this? And if the administration had communicated effectively, would there be so much opposition to the war at this point, and would the President's approval ratings be so low?
But he said the administration has not synchronized the efforts of all U.S. government agencies or provided enough resources to pursue the strategy. And he says military commanders should have been given more authority to work on traditionally civilian issues, particularly early in the conflict.
Other military leaders, including Petreus, have said the same thing in slightly different words..."Mistakes were made", the ultimate solution will be political, not military, etc.
So what is so wrong about what Sanchez has said?
This general was there for only one year. ‘Nuff said. He was relieved and now he’s bitter.
General Sanchez did make a lot of good points in his speech..before judging him harshly, bear in mind that he was a 3 star Lt.General and he was in charge of V Corps when it captured Sadam Hussein and killed Hussein’s 2 sons. He was the first Commanding General to take command in Iraq after the fall of Hussein. He was removed because of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. That is where the civilians in Wash DC and their PC cohorts were wrong-instead of backing him they pulled the rug out from under him, just as the MSM demanded. Yes he is bitter, can you blame him ?..
He was also shortchanged by that idiot Rumsfeld who said if 250,000 men are needed in Iraq, we can do it with 125,000..Interesting, by comparison it would take nearly 500,000 people or more to seal the borders of the US but only 125,000 troops to seal the borders in Iraq, continue mop up operations in Iraq, find Sadam, seal the borders on all sides in Iraq to keep out the insurgents. and carry on civil medical and humanitarian missions to the country..and yes, to get the country’s economy running again and get their infrastructuire repaired and running again...That’s a big enough job for 1 million men and women yet General Sanchez was given only a small portion of what he needs..
The civilians in Washington who are micro-managing this war should be thrown out on their duffs..They say they leave decision making to the commanders in Iraq..Yeah-you want to buy a bridge in Brooklyn? Now they let the commanders have more leeway after burning through a few good men..And the Democrats in Congress are also to blame because they would have made a MSM circus out of any Senate confirmation hearings or authorization hearings- as they have done..in that sense this is Vietnam all over again..Hard work by the troops, and the outcome hinging on political decisions by idiots in Washington..
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