Are We Still Listening To Our Generals?

General Ricardo Sanchez was on the ground in Iraq until 2006, but that doesn't mean that the Bush Administration paid much attention to him. He criticized the war effort in every aspect, saying that by being there we are only "staving off defeat." His other quotes weren't any more encouraging then that. Besides being another ex-military official to condemn the President and his war, Sanchez is certainly the highest ranking military man to come out from his silence.

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12— 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.

Not only did he condemn Bush, he faulted himself and the military for the constant string of failures in Iraq. Sanchez was the top guy during the Abu Ghraib mess and that will certainly haunt him for some time to come.

He didn't offer much in the way of solutions, other than mimic the President when it comes to reconciliation (which will not happen) and training Iraqis to provide their own security. Of course, Sanchez is a General, not a politician or diplomat. His training is for military solutions, whether they can fail or succeed in the first place. What needs to happen is a political solution, and that is something that Bush does not want to take place.....or he would have brought our troops home already.