View Full Version : US general damns Iraq 'nightmare'
Ret10Echo
10-15-2007, 07:20
Had not seen this, but I was unplugged this weekend.
US general damns Iraq 'nightmare'
A former US military chief in Iraq has condemned the current strategy in the conflict, which he warned was "a nightmare with no end in sight".
Retired Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez also labelled US political leaders as "incompetent" and "corrupted".
He said they would have faced courts martial for dereliction of duty had they been in the military.
The best the US could manage under the current approach in Iraq was to "stave off defeat", Gen Sanchez warned.
"There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight," he said, addressing journalists at Arlington, near Washington.
'Desperate'
A catalogue of political misjudgements had paved the way for the insurgency after the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, according to Gen Sanchez.
He blamed the US disbanding of the Iraqi military as well as the failure to set up civilian government quickly and cement ties with tribal leaders.
The White House this year injected an extra 30,000 US troops into Iraq in the hope of stemming sectarian violence and sowing some political stability.
But Gen Sanchez branded this so-called "surge" strategy a "desperate attempt" to make up for years of shortcomings.
"The best we can do with this flawed approach is stave off defeat," he warned.
The White House responded by pointing to the report by current commander Gen David Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who said the situation was difficult but marked by gradual improvements.
White House spokesman Trey Bohn said: "We appreciate his (Gen Sanchez's) service to the country... As General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have said, there is more work to be done, but progress is being made in Iraq."
Gen Sanchez was commander of coalition forces in Iraq for a year from mid-2003.
He retired last year in the aftermath of the scandal over detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. He was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7042805.stm
Published: 2007/10/13 03:33:07 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Michael Yon has the complete text of the speech on his site. LTG Sanchez's harshest words were reserved for the media, but they didn't report that...:rolleyes:
Ret10Echo
10-15-2007, 08:50
Michael Yon has the complete text of the speech on his site. LTG Sanchez's harshest words were reserved for the media, but they didn't report that...:rolleyes:
WOW...what a surprise
:eek:
WOW...what a surprise
:eek:
LOL, I know. But the day I stop doing this...:rolleyes:...you'll know I'm eatin' what they're servin'.
Ret10Echo
10-15-2007, 10:04
LOL, I know. But the day I stop doing this...:rolleyes:...you'll know I'm eatin' what they're servin'.
Stay away from the Kool-Aide
Michael Yon has the complete text of the speech on his site.
A QP told me about this man a while back, and I subscribe to his site. He is a bad-a**! Truly a great American!
LTG Sanchez's harshest words were reserved for the media, but they didn't report that...:rolleyes:
Since I am not/have never been in combat, I leave it up to those in the know to debate LTG Sanchez.
Holly
Jack Moroney (RIP)
10-15-2007, 14:18
Since I am not/have never been in combat, I leave it up to those in the know to debate LTG Sanchez.Holly
Well I have a problem with this individual. While he has a right to speak his piece as a civilian he had an opportunity to fall on his sword to do something about it when he was in uniform. Now the only thing he has accomplished is provide more fodder for the uninformed about how screwed up things are. He should know better, but then I guess a bruised ego and trying to paint his career in the light he would prefer it to be perceived is more important than the troops his job was, and as far as I am concerned still is as long as he is drawing retired pay, to ensure he did everything he could to enable them to succeed. Good job Sanchez:mad:
LongWire
10-15-2007, 15:04
Fox is reporting the hole in the story right now............
The only interaction I had with him was in early January in 2004 when he visited Al Asad. My platoon was conducting vehicle services and had our engines and transmissions on the ground next to our Bradley's. He asked me how many insurgents we killed. I mentioned the fact that it was tough to move our Bradley's without the engines inside of them. He then told me that the only way to win was to kill as many insurgents as possible. It was then and there I decided LTG Sanchez clearly didn't get it.
He then told me that the only way to win was to kill as many insurgents as possible.
Wow, weren't you overwhelmed by his insight? :rolleyes:
Karl.Masters
10-15-2007, 18:24
Michael Yon has the complete text of the speech on his site. LTG Sanchez's harshest words were reserved for the media, but they didn't report that...:rolleyes:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/listening-respectfully.htm
Checked it out and it's worth reading this part of LTG (R) Sanchez' comments on the media. Good on MY for getting it out there.
It's pretty obvious to me that LTG Sanchez "gets" the conduct of the media in this war:
"As I understand it, your measure of worth is how many front page stories you have written and unfortunately some of you will compromise your integrity and display questionable ethics as you seek to keep America informed.
This is much like the intelligence analysts whose effectiveness was measured by the number of intelligence reports he produced. For some, it seems that as long as you get a front page story there is little or no regard for the “collateral damage” you will cause.
Personal reputations have no value and you report with total impunity and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct. Given the near instantaneous ability to report actions on the ground, the responsibility to accurately and truthfully report takes on an unprecedented importance.
The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry.
An Arab proverb states - “four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity.” Once reported, your assessments become conventional wisdom and nearly impossible to change. Other major challenges are your willingness to be manipulated by “high level officials” who leak stories and by lawyers who use hyperbole to strengthen their arguments.
Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda driven biases contribute to this corrosive environment.
All of these challenges combined create a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to America.
Over the course of this war tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats for America because of the tremendous power and impact of the media and by extension you the journalist.
In many cases the media has unjustly destroyed the individual reputations and careers of those involved.
We realize that because of the near real time reporting environment that you face it is difficult to report accurately. In my business one of our fundamental truths is that “the first report is always wrong.” unfortunately, in your business “the first report” gives Americans who rely on the snippets of CNN, if you will, their “truths” and perspectives on an issue.
As a corollary to this deadline driven need to publish “initial impressions or observations” versus objective facts there is an additional challenge for us who are the subject of your reporting. When you assume that you are correct and on the moral high ground on a story because we have not responded to questions you provided is the ultimate arrogance and distortion of ethics.
One of your highly respected fellow journalists once told me that there are some amongst you who “feed from a pig’s trough.” If that is who I am dealing with then I will never respond, otherwise we will both get dirty and the pig will love it. This does not mean that your story is accurate. I do not believe that this is what our forefathers intended.
The code of ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists states:
“…public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.”
The basic ethics of a journalist calls for: 1. Seeking truth; 2. Providing fair and comprehensive account of events and issues; and 3. Thoroughness and honesty.
All are victims of the massive agenda driven competition for economic or political supremacy.
The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations that have chosen to align themselves with political agendas.
What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our service members who are at war.
My assessment is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these ethical standards and allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees on TV, what they read in our newspapers and what they see on the web. For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconceived notions, biases and agendas.
It is astounding to me when I hear the vehement disagreement with the military’s forays into information operations that seek to disseminate the truth and inform the Iraqi people in order to counter our enemy’s blatant propaganda. As I assess various media entities, some are unquestionably engaged in political propaganda that is uncontrolled.
There is no question in my mind that the strength of our democracy and our freedoms remain linked to your ability to exercise freedom of the press - I adamantly support this basic foundation of our democracy and completely supported the embedding of media into our formations up until my last day in uniform. The issue is one of maintaining professional ethics and standards from within your institution. Military leaders must accept that these injustices will happen and whether they like what you print or not they must deal with you and enable you, if you are an ethical journalist.
Finally, I will leave this subject with a question that we must ask ourselves–
who is responsible for maintaining the ethical standards of the profession in order to ensure that our democracy does not continue to be threatened by this dangerous shift away from your sacred duty of public enlightenment?"
x-factor
10-15-2007, 19:19
That very neatly sums up the problems and dangers, not just with war reporting, but with the entire journalism industry, irrespective of political slant. As someone who seriously considered a career in journalism (and rejected it, partially for the reasons he listed), I hope that piece sparks a debate in newsrooms and journalism departments around the country.
Jack Moroney (RIP)
10-15-2007, 19:40
That very neatly sums up the problems and dangers, not just with war reporting, but with the entire journalism industry, irrespective of political slant. As someone who seriously considered a career in journalism (and rejected it, partially for the reasons he listed), I hope that piece sparks a debate in newsrooms and journalism departments around the country.
You surely cannot be serious! What did he say that has not been said forever.
This will be seen as an attempt to attack the first amendment and the people's right to know. Unfortunately there is nothing in the first amendment or in journalism schools that have as one of their imperatives of the need for people to understand, to be educated, to be illuminated, to be given the truth as it exists and not as it is perceived by agenda driven myopic clowns withdrawn from reality or ethics.
x-factor
10-15-2007, 20:35
Its not that he said anything particularly new. Its the way he said it, the situation he said it in, and the way he couched it in the ideals of the journalism profession. Maybe I'm just being optimistic, but still, I thought it was a good effort to attack the problem in a productive, non-partisan way.
Well I have a problem with this individual. While he has a right to speak his piece as a civilian he had an opportunity to fall on his sword to do something about it when he was in uniform. Now the only thing he has accomplished is provide more fodder for the uninformed about how screwed up things are. He should know better, but then I guess a bruised ego and trying to paint his career in the light he would prefer it to be perceived is more important than the troops his job was, and as far as I am concerned still is as long as he is drawing retired pay, to ensure he did everything he could to enable them to succeed. Good job Sanchez:mad:
I support this analogy, why didn't he have the gonads to say something in uniform?? An old sarge told me one time "If you don't put your stripes (stars)on the line everyday for your men, then ya don't deserve to wear them"
Means alot to me anyway. Thumbs down for Sanchez from me anyway.
Well I have a problem with this individual. While he has a right to speak his piece as a civilian he had an opportunity to fall on his sword to do something about it when he was in uniform. Now the only thing he has accomplished is provide more fodder for the uninformed about how screwed up things are. He should know better, but then I guess a bruised ego and trying to paint his career in the light he would prefer it to be perceived is more important than the troops his job was, and as far as I am concerned still is as long as he is drawing retired pay, to ensure he did everything he could to enable them to succeed. Good job Sanchez:mad:
Sir,
As a little tiny civilian, I appreciate your insight, and judgement, as You are someone who would be in-the-know.
Thank You!
Holly
Wow, weren't you overwhelmed by his insight? :rolleyes:
I was blinded by the childlike simplicity. I should have told him to sit in the corner and color for five minutes.:D