Sanchez speaks out about Iraq and Bush's "lust for power"

General Richard Sanchez, who's own career was besmirched by his association with the earliest days of incompetence and with Abu Ghraib, is the latest to "speak out."  His statements confirm what we all knew then and know even better now:  the invasion was arrogant, ill-conceived, and inexcusably badly managed.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, who retired in 2006 after being replaced in Iraq after the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, blamed the Bush administration for a “catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan” and denounced the current addition of American forces as a “desperate” move that would not achieve long-term stability.

“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,” General Sanchez said at a gathering of military reporters and editors in Arlington, Va.

He is the most senior war commander of a string of retired officers who have harshly criticized the administration’s conduct of the war.

Sanchez has finally been cleared of wrongdoing, and he's the first, apparently, to attach the right label to the driving force behind the administration's Iraq invasion:  "lust for power.”

Time to forget about "Saddam Hussein," "freedom and democracy," and all those excuses.  Just call the Iraq debacle what it is.  Lust for power.

Comments

[Ron G]

"... he's the first, apparently, to attach the right label to the driving force behind the administration's Iraq invasion ..."

I don't see anything in the Times article that implies Sanchez is criticizing the decision to invade. He's talking only about the conduct of the war.

[Rob]

blamed the Bush administration for a “catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan”

You were supporter I suppose???? I think it's reality check time...

[Neo]

I think many folks were spun by misreports of the General's comments.

General Sanchez's nightmare isn't about the conduct of the war, per se, but rather about the nightmare of incompetent strategic leadership that includes Capitol Hill.

There has been a glaring, unfortunate, display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders. As a Japanese proverb says, “action without vision is a nightmare” there is no question that America is living A nightmare with no end in sight.

Since 2003, the politics of war have been characterized by partisanship as the republican and democratic parties struggled for power in washington. National efforts to date have been corrupted by partisan politics that have prevented us from devising effective, executable, supportable solutions. At times, these partisan struggles have led to political decisions that endangered the lives of our sons and daughters on the battlefield. The unmistakable message was that political power had greater priority than our national security objectives. Overcoming this strategic failure is the first step toward achieving victory in Iraq - without bipartisan cooperation we are doomed to fail. There is nothing going on today in Washington that would give us hope.
...
Too often our politicians have chose loyalty to their political party above loyalty to the Constitution because of their lust for power. Our politicians must remember their oath of office and recommit themselves to serving our nation and not their own self-interests or political party. The security of America is at stake and we can accept nothing less. Anything short of this is unquestionably dereliction of duty.

- General Sanchez

Funny how the actual text makes it sound different.