The Deciders Have Decided, Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez (US Army, Ret) About to Become Darling of the Left

General Sanchez covered a lot of ground in his recent talk to military affairs reporters, from media-military relations, the political climate in the US and what that means to the fight in Iraq and what the US has to do moving forward. But it’s clear the MSM have decided to emphasize only one aspect of the General’s speech…his harsh critique of the Administration’s planning and execution of the war in Iraq. I know, it’s shocking that that’s what they have chosen to emphasize.

Here are some other bits that might have been selected as the big take away but you know, they didn’t fit the narrative (sorry about the caps, but that’s the way the transcript is formatted):

AMERICA HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS IN IRAQ. A PRECIPITOUS WITHDRAWAL WILL UNQUESTIONABLY LEAD TO CHAOS THAT WOULD ENDANGER THE STABILITY OF THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST. IF THIS OCCURS IT WOULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.

Or maybe this:

SINCE 2003, THE POLITICS OF WAR HAVE BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY PARTISANSHIP AS THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC PARTIES STRUGGLED FOR POWER IN WASHINGTON. NATIONAL EFFORTS TO DATE HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED BY PARTISAN POLITICS THAT HAVE PREVENTED US FROM DEVISING EFFECTIVE, EXECUTABLE, SUPPORTABLE SOLUTIONS. AT TIMES, THESE PARTISAN STRUGGLES HAVE LED TO POLITICAL DECISIONS THAT ENDANGERED THE LIVES OF OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS ON THE BATTLEFIELD. THE UNMISTAKABLE MESSAGE WAS THAT POLITICAL POWER HAD GREATER PRIORITY THAN OUR NATIONAL SECURITY OBJECTIVES. OVERCOMING THIS STRATEGIC FAILURE IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD ACHIEVING VICTORY IN IRAQ - WITHOUT BIPARTISAN COOPERATION WE ARE DOOMED TO FAIL. THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON TODAY IN WASHINGTON THAT WOULD GIVE US HOPE.

Or check out Powerline’s favorite angle…Sanchez’s dissection of the media and its coverage of the war to date.

But the Deciders have gone heavy on the Bush bashing angle (and let’s be honest, is anyone actually defending this administration’s handling of the war?) and the left will embrace their new hero. Of course, the MSM will ignore the fact that it was the anti-war left that was leading the charge for Gen. Sanchez’s firing since he was in command during the Abu Gahrib ‘scandal’. I am sure the KosKidz and others of that ilk will let bygones be bygones now.

Below the fold is a great example of the play this story is getting.

Check out this story from the AP:

Ex-general: Iraq a 'nightmare' for US

It's 544 words long and here's the last paragraph:

"The American military finds itself in an intractable situation ... America has no choice but to continue our efforts in Iraq," said Sanchez, who works as a consultant training U.S. generals.

So they finally get to the part where he says we have to stay (and who is reading that far down anyway?) but they team it up with the 'intractable situation' line. And I do mean team them up. If you look at the transcript those two sentences are two paragraphs apart but the AP cuts and pastes and makes up a new one out of whole cloth.

Deciders!

posted by DrewM. at 01:49 AM

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