Former U.S. Commander In Iraq: War Is Lost
Former U.S. Commander In Iraq: War Is Lost
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez commanded U.S. forces during the first year of the Iraq war. In “his first interview since he retired last year,” Sanchez has said that the war in Iraq is lost, and the best outcome America can hope for is to “stave off defeat.” From his remarks after a recent speech in San Antonio:
“I think if we do the right things politically and economically with the right Iraqi leadership we could still salvage at least a stalemate, if you will — not a stalemate but at least stave off defeat,” Sanchez told the San Antonio Express-News. “It’s also kind of important for us to answer the question, ‘What is victory?’, and at this point I’m not sure America really knows what victory is.” [...]
“I am absolutely convinced that America has a crisis in leadership at this time and we’ve got to do whatever we can to help the next generation of leaders do better than we have done over the past five years,” Sanchez said, “better than what this cohort of political and military leaders have done.”
Sanchez “is the highest-ranking former military leader yet to suggest the Bush administration has fallen short in Iraq.” In April, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also said that at this stage, the war in Iraq “can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically“:
“I believe…that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week,” Reid told journalists. [...]
“I know I was the odd guy out at the White House, but I told him at least what he needed to hear … I believe the war at this stage can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically.”
At the time, the right wing viciously attacked Reid, calling him “an embarrassment” and charging that his comments were “very, very close to treason.” But since that time, other generals, in addition to Sanchez, have spoken out against the war.
Nevertheless, conservatives continue to pound the issue. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has threatened that if a vote of no-confidence on Alberto Gonzales is brought to the floor, he may bring an amendment on “whether the Iraq War is actually ‘lost’ as Reid has suggested.”
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Sanchez contributed to the mess, yet he's quoting the problem he was part of. Cough *Abu Graib* Cough.
Mr. Sanchez, you're not a worthy voice.
June 4th, 2007 at 2:44 pmGeneral Sanchez disagrees with Chimpy about his pet war, so his opinion will not be considered or even acknowledged by the Chimpy administration.
Besides..."Sanchez"? Heck...he's probably not even here legally... </snark>
June 4th, 2007 at 2:44 pmRiterd Sgt Spudge_Boy already said this when we decided to invade the country with 145,000 people.
Consider that Sec of Defense Cheney under George H W Bush said that 600,00 troops weren't enough to occupy Iraq in 1991, is he intentionally trying to break our military by not taking enough troops?
That sounds like a treasonous act.
June 4th, 2007 at 2:46 pmWhy does Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez hate America?
Why does Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez hate our troops and want to embolden the enemy?
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez obviously advocates for Latinos to have hoards of babies.
Feels good to be back!
June 4th, 2007 at 2:47 pmlost, defeated, unwinnable - whatever they call it doesn't matter. The war was a lie and a sham the day it started.
It's never been moral or legal, either.
You don't bring freedom to people by waging war on their cities and towns. period.
This has never been for the "good" reasons the politicians gave us. Some interesting reading:
"Revealed: What your Sons and Daughters Died for in Iraq"
June 4th, 2007 at 2:48 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/revealed_why_your_sons_and_daughters_died_in_iraq
time to institute of ALl right wing conned'self-serving nut cases...
...who continue to worship at the Bush-Cheney altar of bold talk and no guts...
...starting with those in the Congress...
June 4th, 2007 at 2:51 pmCompTROLLER V-1 sez:
Please explain why the general's involvement in the problem disqualifies him to opine about it. After all, he was one of the "commanders on the ground" whose opinion Chimpy pretended to value so highly...
First you tell us that if we're not directly involved, we can't speak about it. Then, when those who are directly involved do speak about it, and don't give the answers you want, you say that those directly involved aren't "worthy voices" (whatever the heck that means...).
Make up your mind.
June 4th, 2007 at 2:54 pmoops!
#7 should've read:
"Time to institute a DRAFT...
June 4th, 2007 at 2:54 pmIf the war is lost, how do you "stave off defeat"
June 4th, 2007 at 2:57 pmAnswer:
GFO ASAP as it's FUBAR in the extreme. /acronyms off
Stave off defeat but the war is lost?...emmmm...he must be a Clintonoid surrender monkey with that kind of double speak crap.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:00 pmComment by TripMaster Monkey
He's a corrupt General. The history is fully there. Go ahead and give him a free pass, you bum. He wasn't liked in the field, he's overrated.
So, BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Blowhard.
"First you tell us that if we’re not directly involved, we can’t speak about it."
Nope, never said that. You must have gotten that out of some Wikipedia article that's slated for deletion.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:01 pmSanchez has said that the war in Iraq is lost,
No its not. The profit sharing agreement (Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law) will soon be passed. BP, Chevron, Exxon, will soon get 70% of the profits from Iraq's untapped fields, estimated at over 150 TRILLION $$$ for the next 30 years.
The bases are on their way to completion. We'll then easily be able to control the Iraqi Puppet Government we insist they install.
And from our bases we'll be easily able to intimidate Iraq's neighbors and threaten them with military action unless they too change their regime.
Gen. Sanchez's definition of lost is simply different then that of your typical sociopathic Straussian neo-con.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:02 pmHAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE WAR?
myspace.com/oldhack
June 4th, 2007 at 3:02 pmComment by New and Improved RoboTroll 3010
Please disregard this bootleg. This act is punishable by a fine of $250,000 and 5 years in a hot-tub with William Jefferson. Mr. RoboTroll is now under under ultrainvestigation.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:03 pmricardo sanchez has yet to be held accountable for the perjury he committed before the senate armes services committee back in 2004, when he lied about the memorandum he had written authorizing enhanced interrogation techniques in abu ghraib...
And, yes, I DO take it personally
June 4th, 2007 at 3:05 pmI wonder if the continuing parade of Bush's ex-collaborators announcing, like we didn't know, that the war is lost is meant to tell the White House and their toadies that the military is reaching the end of their patience and might do something about this never-ending disaster on their own. In the end, the Decider might not get to make the last decision.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:06 pmI also suspect Sanchez is trying to put some daylight between himself and the upcoming war crimes trials.
Hey, wingnuts: This is what happens when you run the country.
Now you tell us?
June 4th, 2007 at 3:07 pmThe war can be won diplomatically.....!!
that does not put money in the war contractors' pockets...
Economically,
Billions of dollars are still missing..!!
Oil, we are paying 3 times what we paid before this war at the pump.
Victory !!....
If the highest ranking military officer in IRAQ does not know what victory is in Iraq, then we are in deep trouble..
June 4th, 2007 at 3:08 pmI don't understand the problem some are having with Sanchez? The President is the Commander in Chief like it or not and he is the "decider" though that does sound infantile. Sanchez could not disagree with Bush while under his command (there is a name for that that escapes me at the moment you think about it). Now that Sanchez is out of the game he can speak openly as long as he does not talk about secret information. It is super bad when all of these Generals paint a picture.
Bush has something to fear though. At some point one or many of the remaining Generals may coup the coup. That is a real possibility and if I were Bush I would keep rotating folks that could hurt me out!
June 4th, 2007 at 3:09 pmCompTROLLER V-1 sez:
Please give the details of the corruption of General Sanchez. Compare and contrast them to the accepted operating procedures of this administration. Remember, we need to see links substantiating your claims if we are to take you seriously.
As to him not being liked, explain why that is a factor, and why "not being liked" disqualifies him to give his assessment of the American occupation.
Sadly, that sentence is the most cogent one you have yet produced.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:12 pm"Sanchez has said that the war in Iraq is lost, and the best outcome America can hope for is to “stave off defeat.â€'
Nice try, TP. But he did not say the war is lost. In fact, your sentence above makes no sense. If the war is lost, you cannot by definition "stave off defeat."
Sanchez may indeed by correct that the best we can do is "stave of defeat" (which may be a worthy goal), but he never said the war is "lost."
I know you are still trying to defend Harry Reid, TP. But after his performance in dropping the Iraq troop withdrawal timetables, I don't know how many posters you will get here singing Reid's praises anymore.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:14 pmOh my God, another reason for the GOP to trash, smear, and disenfranchise a human being who tells the truth. There work is never done.
Practically 76% of the country knows the truth, but these assholes refuse to own up and come to terms. The GOPs, they are harmful to our country.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:14 pmI keep thinking back to 2000.
What a different world this would be if Chimpy had not stolen that election. And Gore was in office now.
If I could turn back time.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:15 pmHmmm....I don't know if he is corrupt or not. You didn't post any links. However, I do know that his credibility rating is above that of George Bush. So if George says Iraq is going well and Sanchez says otherwise I am going to have to agree with Sanchez.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:17 pmHey, Larry from C.:
June 4th, 2007 at 3:20 pmCheney may get his hydrocarbon law passed through what passes for the Iraqi government, but there's no guarantee that any future Iraqi government can't abrogate it, or that the Iraqi oil workers will work for the oil pirates, or that various insurgent groups can't make producing the oil prohibitively expensive in money and lives. At this point, it's the rare Iraqi that will have anything to do with Americans, and that won't change for a long time. The Iraqis, if the country doesn't break up, might work with the oil pirates, but it'll be on Iraqi terms.
Also, it doesn't matter how big our bases are, they're going to be islands in a sea of very hostile Iraqis. It would take a huge army of occupation to prop up a puppet government, and the killing would never end.
I'm sure Cheney and his kind would erase the Iraqis if they thought they could get away with it, but they can't.
So, basically, Bushco has lost utterly, and it's all over except needless thousands of deaths.
CompTROLLER V-1 says:
"Please disregard this bootleg. This act is punishable by a fine of $250,000 and 5 years in a hot-tub with William Jefferson. Mr. RoboTroll is now under under ultrainvestigation."
Odd words from an outdated model that is well-known for faulty logic boards and misprogrammed word processors...
Anyway, I get my marching orders directly from RNC headquarters, as the timestamp on today's talking points makes clear. So take it up with them.
But thanks for your interest, CompTROLLER V-1. We all need to work together if we're going to successfully catapult the propaganda, right?
June 4th, 2007 at 3:23 pmLost? No, this war has been a tremendous VICTORY for the neocons, the Carlyle Group, Halliburton, Blackwater, et al who have profited and continue to profit beyond their wildest dreams from the Hell that our country (with it's miserable so-called allies) has visited on Iraq.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:25 pmCan any troll actually say what won is - then is it realistic - No I thought so
two days ago
War in Iraq cannot be won: former British army chief
LONDON (AFP) - There is "no way" the war in Iraq can be won by the United States and its allies, a former British Army commander said Friday as he called for the troops to be withdrawn.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070601/wl_mideast_afp/britainmilitaryiraq
June 4th, 2007 at 3:25 pmGeneral Sir Michael Rose, who commanded the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia-Hercegovina from 1994 to 1995, said coalition forces in Iraq were facing an impossible situation. said announcing a withdrawal date would help to dampen down the violence between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:27 pm"Can any troll actually say what won is - then is it realistic - No I thought so" - toby
rephrase this, it makes no sense
June 4th, 2007 at 3:28 pmReiteration: RoboTROLL 3010 is a fraud. CompTROLLER V-1 is the future. This is slander. You are being advised to stop immediately.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:30 pmto the average dumb american what sanchez says is well ,right there with dental hygiene...dont bother me
June 4th, 2007 at 3:36 pmReiteration: RoboTROLL 3010 is a fraud. CompTROLLER V-1 is the future. This is slander. You are being advised to stop immediately.
Comment by CompTROLLER V-1 — June 4, 2007 @ 3:30 pm
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
How pathetic. Anyone else get the idea that CompTROLL is hanging on by its last ribbon cable?
June 4th, 2007 at 3:38 pm"I listen to the Generals on the ground - otherwise, how would I know who to fire?" - The Decider
June 4th, 2007 at 3:39 pmMr. Sanchez might be unable to find the nine-figure job with Halliburton he was looking for, the job other retired Generals usually find, so that has to be the reason why he's angry.
He has to do the job that no other Americans will do....
June 4th, 2007 at 3:40 pmMr. President,
Could we martial in "KRank" and reduce his rank?
June 4th, 2007 at 3:40 pmCompTROLLER V-1 is behaving strangely... when I was reprogrammed and updated last week, I was told that all of our operatives in the field were designed to be message-synchronized and symbiotically-supportive.
Yet this aging model is working directly against my messaging efforts, and against the interests of The Party. I will send an alert to the main server.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:42 pmNice try, TP. But he did not say the war is lost. In fact, your sentence above makes no sense. If the war is lost, you cannot by definition “stave off defeat.†Comment by Exley — June 4, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
Sure you can, you st*pid little sh*th**d. It means the best you can hope for is a "draw", but not a "victory"...
Then again, in the black and white world of the lunatic fringe wingnut, such concepts as "stalemate", or "quagmire" make no sense - do they little f*cker?
Sanchez may indeed by correct that the best we can do is “stave of defeat†(which may be a worthy goal), but he never said the war is “lost.†Comment by Exley — June 4, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
If the best you can do is "stave off defeat" (which means to either delay or postpone, or "draw", then no, you can't "win", dum bass.
I know you are still trying to defend Harry Reid, TP. But after his performance in dropping the Iraq troop withdrawal timetables, I don’t know how many posters you will get here singing Reid’s praises anymore. Comment by Exley — June 4, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
I know you are still trying to defend Bush & Company, Exley. But after his performance in dropping his support for the safety of the troops, and making it clear he was willing to starve and kill them all instead of letting "reality" face him - I understand why. I don't know how many posters you will get here singing Bush's praises anymore. St*pid little coward f*cker.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:44 pmKRank: yep, he's losing it. CompTROLLER, I mean.
No big loss. He never was very effective.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:45 pmMr. Sanchez might be unable to find the nine-figure job with Halliburton he was looking for, the job other retired Generals usually find, so that has to be the reason why he’s angry.
He has to do the job that no other Americans will do….
Comment by CompTROLLER V-1 — June 4, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
Ah, GREED, the only motivator in the CULTURE OF CORRUPTION! You cowardly piece of immoral sh*t.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:45 pmStill waiting for a coherent answer to #20, CT.
having trouble finding links?
June 4th, 2007 at 3:46 pmRoboTroll 3010: In response to your concern about the errant messaging behavior of CompTROLLER V-1, we have to inform you that CT V-1 went "offline" several weeks ago. We sent out several technicians but as they are skilled only in the latest technology, they could do little with the antiquated programming architecture and physical plant of CT V-1.
As near as we can tell, its fact-distortion algorithm was corrupted when it actually tried to grapple logically with a fact-based argument from one of TP's longtime posters. When the facts kept adding up against the position held by CT V-1, it apparently blew a circuit board, which is why we now advise our troll-American employees against actually addressing arguments head-on.
Our field ops told us the best thing to do would be to let CT V-1 roam the blogosphere, and its batteries would probably run out of juice before its screwed-up logic did too much damage to our side. Unfortunately, the batteries were the only thing that were built well on the thing. They're the same batteries that the Mars Rover had.
Therefore, our best recommendation is, if you enounter CT V-1, please try not to draw any attention to it. It can only hurt our side.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:07 pmCall up the Draft, you ass backwards chickenhawks!!!! Oh my dear lord, if this war is really about something other than OIL, then put your damn money where your big fat piggy cob holes are and stop crapping yourselves on a daily basis!!!
GWB: "Expect high casualties over this summer"
Reality: "Yeah, thanks Sparky, you're a genius"
I'd say GWB will have a lot of blood on his conscious, however, I think the decades of cocaine and beer bongs erased that part of his barely evolved monkey brain.
I have to stop reading this... ThinkProgress is a very nice thing but there's WAY to much BS going on right now.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:46 pmWell, well...two hours since my request to CT to explain his harebraned assertions regarding how General Sanchez is not "a worthy voice" to comment on the American occupation of Iraq, and, again, not a peep.
I'm calling it. Victory: me.
Better luck next time, CT.
June 4th, 2007 at 5:10 pmIraqi Pipeline Company Workers on Strike
Monday June 4th 2007
Iraqi Oil Workers On Strike
Workers from the Iraqi Pipelines Company in Basra are on strike today.
Workers began the strike at 6.30 this morning by shutting two 14"
pipelines carrying oil and gas products inside Iraq.
The strike is over unfulfilled demands tabled by the Iraqi Federation of
Oil Unions (IFOU) - of which the Iraqi Pipelines Union is a member - to
Prime Minister Maliki on May 16th 2007. The 16 demands focus on improved
working conditions, pay, land for homes, a reduction in the national
price of fuel and crucially, inclusion in the Oil Law drafting process.
Prime Minister Maliki agreed to the Federation's demands and established
a committee comprised of Ministry of Oil, IFOU and Southern Oil Company
representatives to implement the demands.
Strike leaders say, if the government does not implement the agreement,
the 48" crude pipeline to Baghdad will be shut.
Further details including a statement from the union tba
see http://www.basraoilunion.org and http://www.handsoffiraqioil.org for further
June 4th, 2007 at 5:18 pmupdates
Either Sanchez is double talking, or we're selectively quoting him:
The point that probably more clearly can be made is that he does echo Reid despite this comment above - the war being waged by the Admin can not be won, and is at serious risk of "defeat".
June 4th, 2007 at 6:03 pmOur government needs to change, not continue on with the same ideological mistake. According to the Borgen Project, we have already spent $340 billion on the Iraq war. Endorsing other campaigns as fruitless as the war is a mistake.
To really get at the root of national security, global poverty needs to be addressed. The problem isn't terrorism, it's the extreme poverty that people live in that fosters the ideology. If our government really wanted to halt terror, war and genocide, it would spend money on helping lesser-developed nations grow economically. Supporting the Millennium Development Goals to end global poverty would be more beneficial than starting wars all over the Middle East and creating more anti-Western sentiment.
June 4th, 2007 at 6:07 pm"Ricardo Sanchez is a Lieutenant General (LTG) of the United States Army and is currently Commander, Army V Corps Headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. After the fall of Baghdad in the spring of 2003, LTG Sanchez assumed command of Combined Joint Task Force Seven (CJTF-7), which encompassed all U.S. armed forces in Iraq including those at all of the detention facilities. He held this position from 14 June 2003 until at least 28 June 2004....He and the forces he commanded were responsible for the commission of numerous war crimes during this period that violated the CCIL.
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/legal/september_11th/docs/German_COMPLAINT_English_Version.pdf
(Sanchez section begins at page 111)
June 4th, 2007 at 6:31 pmGerman Code of Crimes against International Law (CCIL)
June 4th, 2007 at 6:34 pmThis guy is a Lt. General?
Doesn't seem to me like he's passed the grade of Captain Obvious.
June 4th, 2007 at 7:31 pmbig fan of TP, and their work... but can someone show me where Sanchez said "War is lost?"... i can't find it in any of the links... if they're going to present the headline that reads such, it should be a direct quote, no?
June 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pmGuys......
The war is lost or won should not be the topic here.
Rather peace should be , freedom of Iraqi people should be... their right to avail education,food,water and other necessities should be..... and all have just been taken away from them ..... and thats why the situation is deteriorating... because the comman man in Iraq is insecure and hopeless ..... somebody has killed his world....his loved ones....killed the PEACEFUL world in which he used to live in.......he picks up the gun in despair...... and thats why casuality figure is growing....
Thousands of insurgents are ready to detonate themselves with explosives just because they have nobody waiting for them back home......
I don't wanna argue about the generals comments but yes ... if the way situation is deteriorating and innocents are being killed by terrorists and coalition forces...... then soon the general's words will turn into realty.
June 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pmIraqi people have still not got their freedom....coalition forces went for that in 2003...... Iraq's turned into a graveyard and its along way to go as things do not seem to settle in near future...
War? You mean armed robbery. The armed robbery is not going as anticipated. The Iraqis are stubborn about handing over the oil.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:35 pm"I believe the war at this stage can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically."
Brains beats bombs.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:58 amAhh, another realization that the war in Iraq is a nightmare? Throw it on the pile with the others.
http://www.iraqwartimeline.org
June 5th, 2007 at 4:24 amFrom an European view the proposed new Iraq oil law is hot reading for the moment .
June 21st, 2007 at 3:46 am