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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Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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