Former Top General in Iraq Faults White House (Sanchez)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Times

In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top American commander called the Bush administration’s handling of the war incompetent and warned that the United States was “living a nightmare with no end in sight.”

In one of his first major public speeches since leaving the Army in late 2006, retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez blamed the administration for a “catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan” and denounced the current “surge” strategy as a “desperate” move that will not achieve long-term stability.

“After more than fours 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,” Mr. Sanchez said, at a gathering here of military reporters and editors.

General Sanchez is the most senior in a string of retired generals to harshly criticize the administration’s conduct of the war. Asked following his remarks why he waited nearly a year after his retirement to outline his views, he responded that that it was not the place of active duty officers to challenge lawful orders from civilian authorities. General Sanchez, who is said to be considering a book, promised further public statements criticizing officials by name.

“There was been a glaring and unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders,” he said, adding later in his remarks that civilian officials have been “derelict in their duties” and guilty of a “lust for power.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/washington/12cnd-general.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[SKKY]

1. It would be nice if these guys wouldn't wait until they're retired to say this stuff...

...but I know they're bound by the limitation of the UCMJ- still, it would be nice for someone to stick their neck out when it might really matter and not seem like Monday morning quarterbacking.

[olddad56]

11. Yeah, it would be nice if someone stuck their neck out.

Ever been in the military during a war. This former general is sticking his neck way out right now. Ask yourself if you had been in his situation, would have stuck your neck out knowing it would be chopped off? Would you be willing to risk being locke dup the rst of your life, of murdered?

[SKKY]

18. Uh yea, I AM in the military during a war.

There is no way in hell he would get locked up for the rest of his life for speaking out like this. Remember Janice Karpinski? She was running Abu Ghraib? After all that, the only worst that happened was a demotion. That's a pretty far cry from "...being locke dup the rst of your life, of murdered?"

[calimary]

54. This is certainly a fine point I do not understand, myself. I've never been

in the military, so I don't know the protocols. They don't dare speak out while they're still in, correct? But at sanchez's level, couldn't he have resigned early? I mean, a general has reached the level of a nice pension as is, hasn't he/she? Was he locked in until now? Couldn't he have resigned in protest? Couldn't he have exercised his conscience a little? It might have made at least a little difference.

Again, I don't know how this works, having never been in the armed forces. But it just seems to me like sometimes principle should trump "president." Especially if you have the blood of almost four thousand American troops on your conscience (which, in my opinion, applies to EVERYONE AND ANYONE who has not tried to stop this abomination, who has not tried to speak out and tell the truth). All that time, month after month, he sat there in the press briefings mouthing the words and carrying the water and looking as though it was not bothering his conscience one tiny bit. I don't know - maybe I'm wrong about this, but I do know how it struck this particular civilian.

I posted elsewhere and I feel it still - I just don't know how I feel about this guy - whether to derive any gratification from this or not.

[Kaleko]

12. Liberals should WELCOME everyone who turns against the Beast.

We need to create an atmosphere that rewards whistleblowers, especially military folks. Not ridicule them for being too late. Give them a new base and help them find comfort in our grassroots community.

[rodeodance]

26. i do----but he also wants to secure Victory in Iraq

[KAZ]

14. That was brought up during the Q&A, and properly swatted

down by Sanchez. Loosely quoting "Do you want your active military openly defying the civilian leadership during a time of war? As a Democracy, I think not.".

[rodeodance]

27. umm.. as a democracy I think yes. They have a duty to say when things are going wrong

--DURING the war!

[douglas9]

22. Just Another Lifer.....

Just another fucking lifer bellyaching since he didn't get his fourth star.....

[The Wizard]

33. Sanchez' sentiments

concur with General Zinni who already had a fourth star. General Batiste gave up a third star because he felt he could better serve the troops by giving up his military career at great personal expense so as to have the ability to speak publicly against the Administration's prosecution of the Iraq occupation strategy.

[wake.up.america]

41. Sanchez plays it safe. No 4 stars, so I bitch.

[tabasco]

44. Riiiight. Because everything is swell in Iraq, huh?.

Sanchez is telling the truth.

Why do you have such disrespect for career soldiers?

There are LOTS of Army generals who agree with Sanchez. Are they bellyaching too?

Get back to Fox News for your fairy tales.

[douglas9]

47. Let Me Ask?

Do you think General Sanchez would have given that speech had he received his 4th star? Me thinks not...Most lifers are only interested in their next promotion....irregardless the price somebody else might pay for their ambition. General Betrayus comes to mind. Once the promotions stop some like Abu Sanchez suddenly have an ephiphany.....They all saw what happened General Shinseki.....and General Tacuba....you tell the truth you pay the price....

[NYC]

58. What happened to Taguba?

I didn't hear anything. Thanks in advance.

[douglas9]

59. "The General's Report" by Seymour Hersh

..........

In January of 2006, Taguba received a telephone call from General Richard Cody, the Army’s Vice-Chief of Staff. “This is your Vice,” he told Taguba. “I need you to retire by January of 2007.” No pleasantries were exchanged, although the two generals had known each other for years, and, Taguba said, “He offered no reason.” (A spokesperson for Cody said, “Conversations regarding general officer management are considered private personnel discussions. General Cody has great respect for Major General Taguba as an officer, leader, and American patriot.”)

“They always shoot the messenger,” Taguba told me. “To be accused of being overzealous and disloyal—that cuts deep into me. I was being ostracized for doing what I was asked to do.”


http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/06/25/070625fa_fact_hersh?printable=true

Your Welcome.

[NYC]

61. That's terrible.

I don't know how I missed that. Thanks for the information and the link.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[democrank]

2. I`m SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO shocked!

A "glaring and unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership." But...but....I thought we were winning!

[cal04]

3. Ex-General: Iraq `nightmare' for US

The U.S. mission in Iraq is a ``nightmare with no end in sight'' because of political misjudgments after the fall of Saddam Hussein and that continue today, a former chief of U.S.-led forces said Friday.

Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded coalition troops for a year beginning June 2003, cast a wide net of blame for both political and military shortcomings in Iraq that helped open the way for the insurgency - such as disbanding the Saddam-era military and failing to cement ties with tribal leaders and quickly establish civilian government after Saddam was toppled.

He called current strategies - including the deployment of 30,000 additional forces earlier this year - a ``desperate attempt'' to make up for years of misguided policies in Iraq.

``There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight,'' Sanchez told a group of journalists covering military affairs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6992742,00.html

[Amonester]

45. When one has a nightmare with no end in sight, the solution is ...

... to wake the f**k up and address the source of the nightmare, in this case, hand the war criminals who lied to start a war of aggression and looted the Treasury to no end to the the proper court of justice.

Gotta start somewhere...


Edit: wrong tag.

[BearSquirrel2]

4. I feel a smear coming on ...

I think a smear of General Sanchez is coming. Sure conservative they'll realize the hypocrisy of it in light of their recent attacks on moveon.org for merely suggesting that Patreaus may not be serving the best interest of our nation. However, the Republicans literally having nothing left. I don't think they have any other move as this is WAY to incendiary. It is a ratification of everything the left has been saying and a flat out repudiation of Bush's claim that he "listens to his generals".

Bush listens to his Generals the way Giuliani listened to his security advisors regarding the location of the New York emergency command center. They carefully staged question after question limiting all other options but the pre-determined strategy. Then they said that's what the general told them to do.

[deutsey]

28. Just another phony soldier

:evilfrown:

[Supersedeas]

60. the right wing Media machine will be in full force this week

[sufrommich]

29. It seems to be starting here with post #22.

[The Blue Flower]

5. "The American people should hold them accountable."

But accountability's off the table, General.

[robinlynne]

6. but I hear those oil trucks are running smoothly now.

[GliderGuider]

7. Humpf.

"it was not the place of active duty officers to challenge lawful orders"

Lawful orders, eh?
FOAD

[Chemical Bill]

24. Yeah, how about illegal wars? n/t

[PinkyisBlue]

42. It appears that the US military is still under the false assumption that we must abide by our laws.

The Bush administration is above the law and can lie, cheat and steal with impunity. However, our soldiers still believe they must follow the law.

[eringer]

8. Welcome General to the ranks of the Rush's "Phony Soldiers"

The way this general is talking sounds like he spent a lot a time on the e-ring and OJCS trying unsuccessfully to make his point. It must have been terribly frustrating for him.:grouphug:

[TacticalPeek]

9. More cowbell.

:kick:

[Scooter24]

10. Hmm...

Nothing to see here people...just another in a string of retired Generals speaking out against the war.

[KAZ]

13. Just got done watching the Q&A. Chilling.

This man is on the edge, as I'm sure many in our military are, past and present. I'm beginning to understand the "military is breaking" phrase. Shrub better load up on the Blackwater folks, as he, and his ilk, may have no other way of getting out of this alive.

One of the scariest things I've seen.

[cliss]

15. General Sanchez should keep his big mouth shut.

This is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Ever wonder who was the architect of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal? With those horrible photos of the dogs terrorizing the prisoner? One General Sanchez. I think he was also involved in the Gitmo abuse. Notice? How quickly that guy was "retired" after that story broke.

He's just trying to keep his ass out of prison when this is all over.

[cstanleytech]

16. Why should he not exercise his first amendment rights exactly?

True, he like many in Washington should have spoken out sooner but atleast he unlike so many republicans in elected office had the excuse that he was serving at that time and thus it would probably have been extremely difficult for him to do so.
Course I admit he also could just be saying it now to try and save his butt if he runs for any public office but I sure as heck would not vote for him.

[SKKY]

19. Um, actually that would be Janis Karpinski, not Sanchez....

[lligrd]

52. Nope, Karpinski Was A Scapegoat

and not in the loop.

[saigon68]

20. Yes trying to keep his ass out an orange prison jumpsuit

Remember this is the guy who used to show up at the press conference with a "HUGE PISTOL" worn over his chest

[The Wizard]

35. The architect to which you refer

was Donald Rumsfeld.

[pinkpops]

37. like a Whore who says "I got screwed"

[calimary]

56. Good one!

That's about the size of it, at least imho.

[anitar1]

17. sanchez will be on a no fly list now. n/t

[bos1]

21. I can hear the LGFers, Dittoheads and Freepers now.

"Another ex-General, what does he know? Oh, he was the top commander in Baghdad? Umm.... Librals! That's not what Rush said!"

[anniebelle]

23. I smell a book tour.

Watching Sanchez on C-Span again this a.m. I hope all these people come out with their memoirs, we might finally get a sense of what has been going on for the last 4 years in Iraq. My grandson is in Iraq as we speak and he doesn't have any glowing comments about ANYTHING going on over there, but he's only been there for 9 months.

[calimary]

55. They ARE going to be writing tell-alls, and mea-culpas, and all kinds of

"they MADE ME do it!" books. Those will be on the shelves next to the "I was just following orders" books, one shelf up from all the "tsk-tsk" books about how the media sold out. That weasel howard kurtz has one out NOW, talking about how in collusion the "big three" network newscasts were every night about the war - how NONE of them tried to get to the truth, NONE asked any questions or tried to cut through the bullshit and present and give equal time to the opposing side. Well, he's a fine one to point the finger, since he practically read verbatim off the daily talking points every time he was on. BASTARD.

Bank on it: most if not all of the "usual suspects" will write their miserable little books about how awful it was and how they were such victims and how their arms were twisted and they were bullied and intimidated and just WANTED SO BADLY to speak out but didn't dare, and couldn't do anything to stop it. FUCK THAT. They DIDN'T WANT to do anything to stop it. They were ALL IN. With bells on. They. Were. LOVING. It. LOVING IT!!! Every last one of them. And they were either denouncing those of us who WERE protesting and trying desperately to stop it, or ignoring us altogether and giving the run-up to the war and all the war-pushers ALL the coverage. They didn't just fail to report on any other side. With these schmucks there simply was no other side. They were all out there front-row-center, with bullhorns and flags and pom-poms and little bitty skirts, rah-rah'ing the entire mess - FROM THE START. For example, the same chris matthews who's all aflame now about how bad the war is going and what a clusterfuck it is couldn't gush enough about captain codpiece prancing around on the aircraft carrier - "we're ALL neoCONS now!" he loudly declared. He was practically jerking off for months. Fucker should have worn a bib. And every time he fumes with indignation on the air about what a mistake this whole sordid episode is, the next segment will find him practically fellating rudy giuliani or some other republi-CON "tough guy" du jour who's campaigning to keep us in Iraq and Iran FOREVER.

Bastards ALL. An ABSOLUTE, MONUMENTAL DISGRACE. All that blood is on THEIR hands, too.

[ldf]

57. what cali said!

:thumbsup:

[rodeodance]

25. They just showed his speech on cspan.

[Gin]

30. He was asked to name the ones he thinks are responsible for this

fiasco....and all he could say was..."coming soon"....or something like that..indicating he plans to name names at a later date...could that be a clue he is writing a book?

[Oilwellian]

32. I found his speech stunning

In particular, he raked the press over the coals for their lack of real coverage of this war. I couldn't believe there wasn't a flaming thread on DU. If you haven't seen it, make it a point to do so. He definitely joins the ranks of the other 6 generals who have come out with scathing remarks against Bushco.

[lovuian]

38. I'm proud of him for speaking out He sees Bush is destroying

the US armed forces
Demoralizing them and weakening them

meanwhile Blackwater gets carte blanche

[Amonester]

46. and a lot of millions that belong to future generations ...

if any.

[Jacobin]

31. Nice condemnation of himself

Does he not realize, that when he looks in a mirror, he's seeing himself?

/psychotic disconnect

[maxkeiser]

34. turning the tables on the Bush admin.

don't let these losers in Washington get you down.. profit from it; check out the new site i crated; from the creators of KarmaBanque comes... GulagWealthFund.com

[Donkeykick]

36. K&R

Just another dissatisfied customer, from the Bush Administration, telling it like it is. :toast:

[jordi_fanclub]

39. All aboard?!...

Ooops... not yet!
It's only one more customer; the 5th in the 2nd row...

[Broadslidin]

40. True, all Empires Murder and Pillage, Tis simply the 'God Given' genetic nature of our specie.

Let the Blood Soaked 21st Century Oil Wars Begin.... :nuke:

[Turbineguy]

43. Poor Chimpy

Here he is, the greatest military mind since Adolf Hitler and all these people do is blame him for this mess.

[kineneb]

48. enlightenment comes slowly to some

but at least he now understands how screwed up everything to do with Iraq truly is...

I give him credit for coming around to the truth, if somewhat slowly. Old habits die hard, especially in the military.

He finally had his "Duh!" moment: lust for power.

[RamboLiberal]

49. Some more from E&P and Army Times from the general

The Army Times article included this colorful passage: "Jaws dropped as Sanchez glared out at the room, and then eyes rolled as he spent an hour blaming everyone but himself. Most of what he said about the military has been said before: There’s no grand strategy, the Iraqi Army should not have been disbanded, there was no planning for stabilization or recovery past the initial invasion and, 'the administration has failed.'

"He said deployment cycles aren’t working with current troop levels, that it will take decades to fix the 'military’s full-spectrum readiness,' and that if the U.S. were to withdraw from Iraq, it would lead to 'chaos that would lead to instability in the Middle East.' And, he said the Powell Doctrine — which requires a clear exit strategy as part of a war plan — was violated.

"He said some poor strategic decisions in Iraq had become 'defeats because of the media,' and that some reporters feed from a 'pigs’ trough.'"

"The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas. What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our service members who are at war....

"For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconcieved notions, biases and agendas. It is astounding to me when I hear the vehement disagreement with the military's forays into information operations that seek to disseminate the truth and inform the Iraqi people in order to counter our enemy's blatant propaganda. As I assess various media entities, some are unquestionably engaged in political propaganda that is uncontrolled."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003658213

He said deployment cycles aren’t working with current troop levels, that it will take decades to fix the “military’s full-spectrum readiness,” and that if the U.S. were to withdraw from Iraq, it would lead to “chaos that would lead to instability in the Middle East.” And, he said the Powell Doctrine — which requires a clear exit strategy as part of a war plan — was violated.

He said he wasn’t involved in initial planning and that the mission did not change from liberation to occupation: The U.S. automatically became an occupying force when the Army “totally destroyed” Iraq.

“There was a significant disregard ... in addressing the follow-on phase of this war,” he said.

There was “no focus on resourcing during the entire first year,” and the coalition provisional authority was heavily understaffed.

“There was no focus in Washington,” he said. “There’s a lot of horror stories inside that statement.”

The Bush administration, he said, failed to plan economically and politically for Iraq, and has continued to fail in expressing its plans and strategies to the American people. The best the administration could hope for with the current approach is to “stave off defeat.”

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/army_sanchez_071012w/

Army Times link can be quirky so here's the home page. http://www.armytimes.com/

Sounds to me like he is also blaming the media for not reporting strictly what the military feeds the media. And it sounds like he has become unhinged. Still I hope he has the guts to continue speaking out and will do this in an interview - I'm thinking 60 Minutes.

[struggle4progress]

50. Former Top Military Official Sanchez Condemns U.S. Policy In Iraq

October 13, 2007 2:54 p.m. EST
Mayur Pahilajani - AHN News Writer

Arlington, VA (AHN) - ...

... According to the Houston Chronicle, Sanchez said, " have unquestionably been derelict in the performance of their duty. In my profession, these types of leaders would immediately be relieved or court-martialed." ...

According to the Telegraph, Sanchez criticized President Bush by saying, "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. National leadership continues to believe that victory can be achieved by military power alone." ...

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008817402

[struggle4progress]

51. 'No end in sight' in Iraq, retired general says

Ricardo Sanchez decries 'incompetent strategic leadership.'
From the Washington Post
October 13, 2007

... "The administration, Congress and the entire interagency, especially the State Department, must shoulder the responsibility for this catastrophic failure, and the American people must hold them accountable," Sanchez told military reporters and editors. "There has been a glaring unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders."

Sanchez lashed out specifically at the National Security Council, calling officials there negligent and incompetent, without offering details. He also blasted war policies over the last four years, which he said had stripped senior military officers of responsibility and thrust the armed services into an "intractable position" in Iraq.

"The best we can do with this flawed approach is stave off defeat," Sanchez said in a speech to the Military Reporters and Editors' annual conference in Arlington, Va. "Without bipartisan cooperation, we are destined to fail. There is nothing going on in Washington that would give us hope." ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sanchez13oct13,1,4624627.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[struggle4progress]

53. US general damns Iraq 'nightmare' (BBC)

... Retired Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez also labelled US political leaders as "incompetent" and "corrupted".

He said they would have faced courts martial for dereliction of duty had they been in the military ...

He blamed the US disbanding of the Iraqi military as well as the failure to set up civilian government quickly and cement ties with tribal leaders ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7042805.stm

[robertpaulsen]

62. He ain't the only General with some spicy recent comments on Iraq.

Abizaid: ‘We’ve Treated The Arab World As A Collection Of Big Gas Stations’

During a round table discussion on “the Fight for Oil, Water and a Healthy Planet” at Stanford University on Saturday, Gen. John Abizaid (Ret.), the former CENTCOM Commander, said that “of course” the Iraq war is “about oil“:

“Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that,” Abizaid said of the Iraq campaign early on in the talk.

“We’ve treated the Arab world as a collection of big gas stations,” the retired general said. “Our message to them is: Guys, keep your pumps open, prices low, be nice to the Israelis and you can do whatever you want out back. Osama and 9/11 is the distilled essence that represents everything going on out back.”

Abizaid has previously argued that the U.S. would need “to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq” in order to protect “the free flow of goods and resources” such as oil, but his Stanford comments go much further in pinning oil as a prime motivator for the war.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/15/abizaid-middle-east-gas-station/