Sanchez on Iraq errors: Don't blame me, I was just a general

[babylonsister]

Sanchez on Iraq errors: Don't blame me, I was just a general
By Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — To hear retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez explain it, the mistakes of the Iraq war that happened while he was in command there weren't his fault. Not Abu Ghraib, not the birth of the insurgency, not the decision to let rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr survive.

Sanchez was a soldier, and according to him, a general's job is to give advice. What the civilian leaders decide after that is out of a general's hands.

"It's our responsibility to provide the best judgment we can," Sanchez said in an interview with McClatchy. "But when those decisions are made, if they are not illegal or immoral, civilian control of the military dictates that we comply."

His explanation is part of an ongoing debate within the military, triggered by the Iraq quagmire: What is the role of a soldier?

Sanchez argues that crafting a strategy wasn't his responsibility, even as the top commander in Iraq. That fell to the civilian leaders, such as the secretary of defense and the president.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/37416.html

[JuniperLea]

1. Riiiiight...

He and Bush... pointing fingers.

Bush: I listen to the generals on the ground in Iraq. They tell me what they need and I do my best to get it for them.

General Sanchez: The Devils made me do it.

[angstlessk]

2. and the civilians in control blame the generals..in bingo I think it called a round robin???

like two criminals both blaming each other for the murder it produces a 'shadow of a doubt'..we need to get them ALL UNDER OATH!!! :grr:..DID IF FORGET TO :grr:?

[peacebird]

3. cowardly quisling.... If a General feels strongly about direction and DOES NOT RESIGN then he

obviously places his own position above the safety of the troops under his command.

:grr:

on edit - obviously the civilian commander hold the trump card, but their power would be decimated if the career commanders stood down and spoke out.

[Solly Mack]

4. snicker

[MikeNearMcChord]

5. Hey Sanchez, you are not an E-3, you are a THREE STAR GENERAL

You ought to be lucky you can leave with your stars and not reduced in rank!
Ah Fugg-it Lt. General Sanchez I dedicate this song to you as well Gov. Huckabee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8zn63ADiIE

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. For those FAMILIAR with how the US Military works

and has worked for the last 200+ years, he has a point

Not that this is an excuse or anything.

But he does have a point

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Agreed.

His job is to serve the President. He was reporting to a sociopath.

However, he should have resigned if he thought the President's orders to be insane.

[Disturbed]

8. "if they are not illegal or immoral,

civilian control of the military dictates that we comply."

If orders are Illegal it is the duty of a soldier not to comply.

This General is a sniveling coward.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. again a fine point...

and it is the duty of any officer to call their superiors on the crap and resign in protest

Trust me.. I know of what I speak here

[Fuzz]

9. He was kinda just grabbed and shoved to the top position

to either be the fall guy, or perhaps they thought he was someone they could easily manipulate.

Either way, it's still no excuse.