White House Doesn't Return Sanchez's Fire
The White House seems to roll with a punch from former U.S. commander in Iraq.
Oct. 13, 2007 — -- Faced with sharp criticism from a former U.S. commander in Iraq, the White House has chosen not to return fire.
Responding to accusations from retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, Kate Starr, spokeswoman for the National Security Council said, "We appreciate his service to the country."
Speaking Friday to the Military Reporters and Editors' Conference just a few miles from the Pentagon, Sanchez, who commanded American forces in Iraq for a year after the March 2003 invasion, lashed out at the administration's strategy and competence. He called the Bush plan for war "catastrophically flawed."
"There has been a glaring, unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders," Sanchez said.
The White House chose to answer Sanchez through the NSC spokeswoman, perhaps appropriate because some of Sanchez's harshest criticism was aimed at NSC officials, whom he called incompetent and negligent.
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said on Saturday, "Gen. Sanchez is telling [the American people] what they already know and what the Bush administration and George Bush refuse to recognize."
Some analysts have been critical of Sanchez's leadership skills. He was the ranking U.S. officer in Iraq when the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison occurred.
On Friday, Sanchez complained that the news media unfairly accused him of being a liar and a torturer. His assessment of the news media was no higher than his regard for the Bush administration. He said some in the press corps have, without ever having met him, accused him of being "inexperienced" and, "dictatorial and somewhat dense."
Sanchez offered no solution to the problem of Iraq besides saying more skill and resources are needed.
"The president's recent statement to America that he will listen to military commanders is a matter of political expediency," he said.
The White House seemed to have that criticism in mind in its short statement from the NSC spokeswoman, who referred to the present U.S. commander in Iraq: "As Gen. [David] Petraeus and Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker have said, there's more work to be done."
