It must be nice to retire and finally be free to speak your mind. Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the man who led American ground forces in Iraq from 2003-2004, has released a new book– titled Wiser in Battle: A Soldier’s Story – that takes aim at the Bush administration with some of the strongest criticism to date from a former Iraq commander.
An excerpt from NPR:
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I watched helplessly as the Bush administration led America into a strategic blunder of historic proportions. It became painfully obvious that the executive branch of our government did not trust its military. It relied instead on a neoconservative ideology developed by men and women with little, if any, military experience. Some senior military leaders did not challenge civilian decision makers at the appropriate times, and the courageous few who did take a stand were subsequently forced out of the service.
It’s gonna be hard to accuse General Sanchez of hating the troops.
Hopefully the media will give this book the attention it deserves, even in the wake of the bombshell McClellan book.
No Trackbacks To “Gen. Ricardo Sanchez: Bush Guilty of “Gross Incompetence and Dereliction of Duty”“
Just another disgruntled former employee.
“He did not work for us, he had no effect on policy, he was terrible at his job which of course none of us can remember, he was out of the loop, we’re not sure he even exists, and if he does, if he disagreed with the policies why didn’t he complain or quit? Also, we have a tape of his preacher saying crazy things.”
- Entire Right Wing
Let’s just wait and see how the right is going to eat him alive.
“This is not the Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez we knew.”
Too bad he did not voice this opinion when it counted, when he was still in the military.
“It’s gonna be hard to accuse General Sanchez of hating the troops.”
Oh ye of little faith. Watch and Wait. Live and Learn.
So…is impeachment still off the table?
Combat dodging chickenhawks Rush Limpnuts, Bill’O, Rove, Bush and Cheney, and other assorted draft dodging conservative cowards and their propaganda outlets on cable news, FOX, talk radio and ABC are going to swiftboat the General just wait.
attack the messenger but not the message
yeah I get it!
same old same old.
I think Obama strongest suit is to keep emphasizing unity of the party instead of this divider we have now. And even then Bush divide the 30% from the rest of the Americans.
This emphasis on loyalty as so far into the branches of govt from the military and the intelligence agency and the supreme court. I wonder is there any dept left untouch with this loyalty clause of the Bush administration?
I guess he can kiss off that career as a defense industry lobbyist.
Gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.
Lets add that to the list of impeachable offences…
and tell Pelosi Conyers and Reid about it. and wait…and wait…and wait.
At what point will one of these spineless turds step up WHEN IT ACTUALLY MATTERS???
All of this worthless Monday morning quarterbacking is unreal. Where we all these people when the wheels of war were just starting to spin??? I’ll tell you….they were all blindly backing Chimpy. Tearing apart anyone who dared to question the reasons for this costly screw up.
Now that the US is five years into a trillion dollar invasion, they want to step up and play the hero. Sorry, that ship has sailed.
As far General Sanchez, he’s just another steaming pile of sh*t.
Too little, too late. Donate the money “earn” on this book to a DAV.org.
redsaunas @ 7:
Pelosi misunderstood. She thought Americans were demanding peaches on the table and she put a nice bowl full right in the center. Someone needs to give her a clue that’s not what we had in mind.
Hopefully the media will give this book the attention it deserves, even in the wake of the bombshell McClellan book.
This book came out before McClellan’s and this is the first time I have discussion about it.
Ruthless People @ 14:
She is just protecting her AT&T stock. Impeachment means investigation into illegal wire taps.
Wait til Bob Dole gets hold of him!
Ruthless People @ 14:
Hey c’mon, she’s putting Chimpy in his place by rubber stamping every one of his Iraq budget requests. Yeah, that’ll show him!
The problem with expecting the Sanchez’s and McClellan’s of this world to spill the beans while the beans are hot is that both the typical career military man and the typical conservative are instinctively deferential to authority. Like robots, their prime directive is to serve the master and his superior vision unquestioningly.
It’s only in hindsight, once they are removed from the black hole of power, that folks like this will ever blow whistles.
Come on, nothing about Bush’s deranged pep talk that’s detailed in the book? With such great lines as “Kick ass!”, “If somebody tries to stop the march to democracy, we will seek them out and kill them! We must be tougher than hell! This Vietnam stuff, this is not even close. It is a mind-set. We can’t send that message. It’s an excuse to prepare us for withdrawal.” and “There is a series of moments and this is one of them. Our will is being tested, but we are resolute. We have a better way. Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out! We are not blinking!”
rooth hussein @ 17:
He is composing a stern email now.
i am glad to see more and more speak out
against the worst f#cking bastard for president
we have ever had.
it’s time to send bush and cheney to nuremberg for trial.
a little too late. Should have done it when in a position of power.
harley @ 16:
This may or may not be the reason but it’s something. Perhaps a challenge from Cindy Sheehan or someone else for her seat will light a fire under her.
The right, aided by the media, will deftly attack Sanchez as a disgruntled former employee, while simultaneously using Sanchez’ book to make the case that McCain must be elected because of his military experience and expertise on Iraq. All the while ignoring that McCain proposes to continue the same flawed strategies.
Wait a minute! Wasn’t “Dirty” Sanchez neck deep in the Abu Gharib (sic) disaster? Didn’t he throw the woman colonel under the bus to protect himself? Fuck him, another prick getting a case of a conscience AFTER securing his own future and covering his ass.
Re: General Sanchez-we are …puzzled.
Nonetheless he too shares some of the blame for the clusterfuck. The cold war era mindset STILL dominates in the US military, with officers in charge of the big ticket weapon systems - armor, naval, air force - still calling the shots (hi Adm. Mullins). These GE and Lockheed Martin products, from aircraft carriers to apache helos to bradelys and abrams were made to defeat a soviet tank horde that disappeared over a decade ago.
The problem with commanders like Sanchez and Casey is that they have the tank commander mindset - always have some kind of barrier between you and the rest of the world, be it inches of plate or a huge super base complete with bremer walls. It doesnt exactly promote the hearts and minds strategy.
Sanchez can try to wipe his hands of Abu Ghraib, but what I remember the most from serving under his command was this disastrous strategy to consolidate the US forces inside these huge super bases which we would then go out into the surrounding iraqi communities and do these “round ups” which meant flex cuffing and hauling back to base any suspects. It was really fricking stupid.
During the civil war, Governors so much believed in the war of agaisnt the Souths freedom were willing to borrow money agaisnt thier own capitol to pay for soldiers and arms. They might have been fighting in a round about way to free the slaves, but they didn’t want the south to be able to live outside of mainstream coruption and devil worshiping.
[Deleted. Off topic-Sitemonitor]
Gee, I thought that the military swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States against all enemies both foreign AND DOMESTIC.
Which means, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, that when Bush’s neocon drums of war started beating it should have been the job of the top military to make sure that the “Shock and Awe” campaign would not be in direct contradiction to any treaties the United States may have been a signatory of…(since the Constitution clearly says that all signed treaties are the “supreme law of the land”). You know, those pesky Nuremberg treaties, the Geneva Conventions, various U.N. treaties etc., etc.
Well, gee whiz. The top military should have stood down on all illegal orders for what they blatantly were…UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
But, woah is me. They did not. Now, here we are.
I’d love to interview Gen. Sanchez. Key questions? In your opinion, according to the U.S. Constitution and the UCMJ, have war crimes been committed in regard to military actions the U.S. has taken since Bush took office? And if the answer is, “yes”, then in your opinion, who should be indicted?
The Truth Hurts @ 1:
He was in over his head and he was incompetent from the beginning as well.
This guy is a classic soldier.
He obeys his orders as a soldier. Then he criticizes those who gave him orders,
Have no use for Sanchez or other officers like him.
He is a classic army officer. He obeys orders unquestionably while in uniform.
Afterwards, he speaks out.
Screw Sanchez and all officers like him. Worthless.
Captain Bitter Elitist Husein Kangaroo @ 31:
Military version of Alberto Gonzalez. Got to have a Hispanic in positions of power. U.S. was having huge short falls in Hispanic recruiting - boom - Sanchez leapfrogs 5 Generals with more experience and U.S has a recruiting pitch. “You can be lead our operations in Iraq”. You think I am joking around. I notice there are ex military posting here - they can tell ya.
Erroll @ 5:
Do you know how he would had been attacked by O’Reilly and the like, if had opposed the war: He would had been accused of treason, and of being coward, and of hating the troops, and of being a terrorist sympathizer, etc., etc., etc. Jon Stewart said something similar to what you just said, and it was the only time that I disagreed with him…for the above mentioned reasons.
Sanchez is tied to Abu Graib don’t tie yourself to him in any way shape or form.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_S._Sanchez
Sanchez is tied to what happend at Abu Graib.
Don’t tie yourself to him.
Sounds like *somebody* is a little pissed that he didn’t get one of those Presidential Medal of Freedom awards that Bush was giving out like Pez candies to all the various people who cluster-f#@ked the country.
But no, the right wing noise machine can’t swiftboat Sanchez. Instead, they’ll have to hit him with the standard attack of:
1-Whatever a weasel says doesn’t count.
2-If Sanchez really thought things were that bad, he should have said so.
3-People who don’t say what they think are weasels.
4-Sanchez is a weasel, therefore anything he says doesn’t count.
and
5-Our fearless leader knew he was a weasel all along. That’s why he didn’t promote him to a full general, and that’s why he didn’t get a Presidential Medal of Freedom award.
this way to your swiftboat general…
This sounds like too little too late. Where was General Sanchez in 2004? How many thousands of lives could have been saved had he spoken the truth then? Sorry, I’m not cheering.
Pericles @ 36:
Iraq is so “important” the war on terror, Bush nominates one of the greenest 3 stars we had at the time.
Got to love that.
Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.
I’m puzzled - he was one of us.
General Sanchez you so crazy!
VietVet8666 @ 32:
I disagree. Do you know how many officers they had to FIRE or BULLY before they found one who’d do whatever they asked? Sanchez was the most junior Lt. General in the army. To me that’s a good sign that at least none of the more senior guys would sign up for it.
I thought Hillary was quick to dismiss McClellan’s allegations, saying that we should focus on what the future president. That’s because she, along with McCain has an “enemy recognition” problem. Our fight was with the people who attacked us on 911, not with those who didn’t. To my chagrin, Obama’s speech was much more discerning of the issues than my own analysis. I merely saw that Iraq and Iran had fought a war in the 1980s, were enemys, and tended to cancel themselves out. I may be slow, but it would seem to me now that the neocons knew that, and intended to attack Iran all along, since 2003. Hence any talks are appeasement. Of course, they did expect to have the ground troops available for Iran after the 6 month cakewalk war. Abu Ghraib was their reaction when the 6 month cakewalk fantasy evaporated.
It’s one thing to get us into war due to ideological fantasies, but it’s quite another to engage in lies to accomplish that purpose. I have to say, that I don’t see the appropriate indignation over this - a strategy that let Bin Laden off the hook, spent $500B, cost 4000 troops, 10s of thousands of Iraq lives, and enhanced Iran’s position in the Middle East. This lying created a treasonable like result. Meanwhile, the Republicans spent over a year on the lying of a marriage infidelity with Clinton? There is something severely wrong with our government.
Is this just another crazy person that puzzles this administration?
When I was a kid I was had issues in school and I used to come home and say that I was doing poorly because the teacher hated me…no matter what class I was in what teacher I had that was my excuse. Finally my folks said to me “All your teachers can’t hate you…it must be something your doing” - now doesn’t this same logic seem to apply to this criminal bunch?
You know, the door of delusional military strategies does swing both ways. Just wait til Baghdad Bob’s book comes out. Here’s an excerpt from:
“Who’da Thunk It? Inside The Saddam Experience”
“For weeks, I defended the Hussein administration in front of the world press. Even as tanks rolled into Baghdad behind me, I was assured by Saddam and his closest advisers that the coalition forces would never breach the mighty walls of God’s city. I admit it, I ate the falafel. Looking back on it now, though my words were sincere, it’s clear that our defenses were perhaps not as solid as the administration led me to believe. I want to make clear that I still like and admire Saddam, a leader of true bloodthirsty vision who was badly misled by his close advisers.”
Reaction to the book has been swift.
“This is not the Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf we know,” said We are puzzled,” said Ba’ath party spokesman Abd al-Salam. “If Mohammed had these doubts, why didn’t he just surrender to the imperialist aggressors when they entered the city? Because they never DID enter the city! We have them on the run!”
This is the start of being “the first/early” to reveal the true sins of the worst administration in the history of the Republic. Expect more. Colin Powell where are you?— your lifetime’s achievements and honor are at stake! Others? There are books to be sold if you’re early!
Get the lifetime achievements of the Bush Administration on record for all time. People will read and study this for the next 100 years, and the troops will be coming home then too.
lj @ 45:
Top of my list: Pat Tillman fragging.
“It relied instead on a neoconservative ideology developed by men and women with little, if any, military experience”: Sanchez.
Now who would They be?