Army General Retires, Blames Abu Ghraib

[DoYouEverWonder]

November 2, 2006

McALLEN, Texas -- Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who served a tumultuous year as commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq, retired from the Army on Wednesday, calling his career a casualty of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

"That's the key reason, the sole reason, that I was forced to retire," Sanchez said for a story in Thursday's editions of The (McAllen) Monitor. "I was essentially not offered another position in either a three-star or four-star command."

Sanchez had been a candidate to become the next commander of U.S. Southern Command but was passed over after the prisoner abuse scandal exploded into an international controversy. He was criticized by some for not doing more to avoid mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

An Army spokeswoman declined comment early Thursday.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-army-commander-retires,0,7092162.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[EFerrari]

1. This man should kiss the ground because he's not in jail.

Or, not yet anyway.

[Katzenjammer]

11. Exactly. Not in jail, and not demoted like that woman MP general

He should have been court-martialed.

[saigon68]

18. SANCHEZ IS A THUG AND A WAR CRIMINAL

Good riddance to the ass clown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Sanchez

THE LITTLE ASS HOLE ALWAYS WORE A PISTOL

To impress the girls

[gratuitous]

20. Oh boo hoo, Mr. Sanchez

How about the poor devils tortured to death under your command? They're not "retiring" on a fat taxpayer-subsidized pension. They don't have defense industry prospects for multi-million dollar "consulting" jobs that consist of schmoozing up your old colleagues and getting them to buy useless and unworkable weapons systems.

Just a damn shame that whole "chain of command" thing, isn't it?

[coalition_unwilling]

29. Sanchez is a war criminal who should have faced an

international war crimes tribunal.

[saigon68]

32. maybe some day

I'd like to see the frog march

[goforit]

17. Yes, following your Commander n Chief is like jumping off a bridge.....

with cement boots.

Bush/Cheney/Rummy doesn't even blink an eye.

[ECH1969]

2. General: Abu Ghraib scandal forced me into retirement

Former Iraq commander Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez said today he had been forced to retire from the US Army over the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.

Sanchez, who served in Iraq as 5th Corps commander from 2003-4, told Texas newspaper The (McAllen) Monitor: “That’s the key reason, the sole reason, that I was forced to retire. I was essentially not offered another position in either a three-star or four-star command.”

Sanchez, who has served in the military for 33 years, had been a candidate to become the next commander of US Southern Command but was passed over after the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal exploded into an international controversy.

Sanchez has not been accused of any misconduct but has been criticised by some for not doing more to avoid mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l55183

[Nolo_Contendre]

3. A stellar career of mass murder ruined by a few pictures of hooded torture victims

Tsk tsk

[saigon68]

26. Yes too bad old Rick Sanchez can't meet Chuck Graner

[xchrom]

4. not feelin the love, eh lt. general sanchez?

i wonder why?

[EFerrari]

5. Rumsfeld said it very well.

"Digital cameras."

[xchrom]

8. yeah -- too bad about those pesky cameras, eh?

[wholetruth00]

7. Republicans never are responsible for anything. It's always something else

or some else to blame.

[unhappycamper]

6. Gee wizz Rick,

guess you shouldn't have listened to Jeff Miller. . .

[NOLADEM]

9. Dirty Sanchez should be dropped into general population at Angola

He is a war criminal, a murderer and unfit to wear the uniform.

[tanyev]

10. Yeah, that's why you shouldn't let things like that happen, Sir.

[Thor_MN]

12. General says "WTF? Consequences? No one told me there were consequences"

[saigon68]

31. He's as dumb as a head of cabbage

[leesa]

13. Well, you can redeem yourself by confessing your crimes.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. For BushCo

loyalty is a one way street.

Sanchez thought if he did everything Rummie & Cheney wanted, that he would be rewarded. He still doesn't seem to get it.

[w4rma]

15. Very good. (nt)

[Solly Mack]

16. You piece of shit. You got to retire when you should have been tried.

US general linked to Abu Ghraib abuse

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1222348,00.html

"Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, head of coalition forces in Iraq, issued an order last October giving military intelligence control over almost every aspect of prison conditions at Abu Ghraib with the explicit aim of manipulating the detainees' "emotions and weaknesses", it was reported yesterday. It represents hard evidence that the maltreatment was not simply the fault of rogue military police guards.

The October memorandum also calls into question General Sanchez's sworn testimony to the US Senate. At a hearing this week of the Senate armed services committee, he was questioned about an order he had given in November placing Abu Ghraib prison under the command of a military intelligence brigade. He insisted the order referred only to the defence of the jail.


He specifically rejected the findings of the official report into the Abu Ghraib abuse by Major General Antonio Taguba, who concluded that military intelligence officers had told the guards "to set the conditions" for interrogations.

However, according to the leaked memorandum, General Sanchez had explicitly given military intelligence interrogators control over the "lighting, heating ... food, clothing and shelter" of the detainees being questioned."


Retirement isn't justice. Never will be.

[saigon68]

19. Please don't insult SHIT

Sanchez is a bucket of Diarrhea

[Solly Mack]

23. True - at least shit can be useful

[catmandu57]

21. Excuse me while I dry my eyes

NOT, his day is coming.

[Jack Rabbit]

22. General Sanchez, report

The Palace of Peace
The Hague
Home of the International Criminal Court

Photo from the Dossier Nederland (The Netherlands)

[saigon68]

28. I'D love to see the little Fucker Frog marched into that place

His pistol is as big as he is

And the little Fucker always wore it, every where in the Green Zone.

Like Osama himself would have jumped out of an oil barrel ---Like a "Jack in the Box", and shot ole Rick

[BigDDem]

24. Don't think of it as being forced to retire..

think of it as a "fraternity prank."
There, feel better?

[Supersedeas]

25. Sanchez gets the Katherine Harris treatment--how long before a tell-all book??

[saigon68]

30. It won't be long He's too controversial and embarrassing to be hustling for Northrup, Boeing etc

His baggage includes shit like this




Not the kind of Photo which would appear on protesters signs outside his selling venue

Or announcing his presence at a campaign rally

[redqueen]

27. K&R

:kick: