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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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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