Editorial: Report from Gen. Sanchez

A month ago, supporters of President George W. Bush's policies were hiding behind the stars on Gen. David Petraeus' collar, lobbing accusations at anyone who dared question the facts and official optimism Petraeus was peddling. He's the commanding general in Iraq, they seemed to be saying, so he must be right.

The Senate even went so far as to approve a resolution condemning a newspaper ad that questioned the data in Petraeus' report. Petraeus' testimony, and the intimidation of Iraq war cheerleaders in politics and media, seems to have worked, at least with some of the more easily intimidated members of Congress. Democratic attempts to force Bush to come up with an exit strategy have fizzled, at least for now.

But the "trust-the-general" implications of that go-round deserve reconsideration. No general is infallible, and there are wide disagreements among senior officers about the conduct of the war in Iraq.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, for instance, who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, paints a far less optimistic picture than Petraeus. Speaking to a conference of military reporters last Friday, Sanchez, now retired, described the conflict as "a nightmare with no end in sight."

"After more than four 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," Sanchez said.

Sanchez blamed "neglect and incompetence at the National Security Council level" for creating "an intractable situation" in Iraq.

"From a catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan, to the administration's latest surge strategy, this administration has failed to employ and synchronize its political, economical and military power.

"Our National leadership ignored the lessons of World War Two as we entered into this war and to this day continue to believe that victory can be achieved through the application of military power alone," Sanchez said.

There's plenty of blame to spread around, Sanchez said, criticizing Congress for insufficient oversight and the Washington political culture for putting troops at risk for partisan gain.

"Too often, our politicians have been distracted and they have chosen loyalty to their political parties above loyalty to the Constitution because of their lust for power," he said.

"Overcoming this strategic failure is the first step toward achieving victory in Iraq," said Sanchez. "Without bipartisan cooperation, we are doomed to fail. There is nothing going on today in Washington that would give us hope."

Congress was right to hear out Gen. Petraeus, but it ought to listen to Gen. Sanchez as well.