Brodner’s Person of the Day: Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez

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Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, who, when in Iraq, got his name muddied at Abu Ghraib. Now retired, he, as so many have done, remained silent for some customary period of time. Then, suddenly, as if an egg timer attached to his head has gone off, he burps out the truth. We have many courageous troops overseas. I would guess that General Sanchez would count as a “troop.” But I’m not seeing the courage. Here’s what he said anyway. Also catch the video the Times has up, as recommended by Elizabeth Traynor.

MSNBC:
“In one of his first major public speeches since leaving the Army in late 2006, retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez blamed the administration for a ‘catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan’ and denounced the current ‘surge’ strategy as a ‘desperate’ move that will not achieve long-term stability.

“‘After more than fours years of fighting, America continues its desperate struggle in Iraq without any concerted effort to devise a strategy that will achieve victory in that war-torn country or in the greater conflict against extremism,’ Mr. Sanchez said, at a gathering here of military reporters and editors.”

Watch the video.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

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