Having laid down a complaint that we can't win in Iraq if we don't fully mobilize for war, he has come out in favor of retreating from Iraq on a schedule despite our growing victory--all because that victory is being won without the full mobilization Sanchez insists we must have to win!
I earlier defended Sanchez over his remarks to the press. I stand by that defense because Sanchez was universally misinterpreted. Sanchez bitterly attacked our political class for failing to fully mobilize our entire society for the war we are in, as we did in World War II.
Jack Kelly reports on LTG Sanchez's recent effort:
In his weekly radio address, President Bush gave thanks for American servicemen "who risk their own lives to keep us safe."
Democrats chose retired Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez to deliver a rebuttal.
"I saw firsthand the consequences of the administration's failure to devise a strategy for victory in Iraq that employed, in a coordinated manner, the political, economic, diplomatic and military power of the United States. That failure continues today," he said.
LtGen. Sanchez endorsed the Democratic measure pending in Congress to condition continued funding for the war on a timetable for troop withdrawal.
"Although we cannot withdraw precipitously from Iraq, we must move rapidly to minimize our force presence," he said.
You can see that Sanchez starts from the earlier critique that I note above. He wants a coordinated full-court press in the war.
But bizarrely, Sanchez is wedded to that full-court press even though we are winning the terrorism and insurgency fights in Iraq without his solution of full mobilization, as in World War II. I think far less of Sanchez after this twisted display of logic.
Adding to the strangeness, Sanchez is siding with those who don't think we should win in Iraq at any level of effort let alone the full mobilization Sanchez wants. And he sides with those who believe the clearly wrong humiliation inflicted on prisoners at Abu Ghraib (under his watch) was the equivalent of a torture scandal and reflected the entire military effort, reaching up the chain of command all the way to the Secretary of Defense.
And it is even more bizarre that the opposition would choose to validate the comparison to World War II when our Left ridicules the very idea that we face any type of threat let alone one on the level of World War II.
So what is it? Are we facing a conflict like World War II that we refuse to mobilize for fully as Sanchez claims? Or are we in a conflict more like a law enforcement issue so mobilizing fully--or even just doing what we are doing now--is just fear-mongering?
Oh, I forgot. Damned if you do, damned if you're Bush.
