Ricardo Sanchez
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Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sánchez (born 1953) was a United States Army general who served as the commander of coalition forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. He was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the United States Army when he retired on 1 November 2006. At the time of his retirement, Lieutenant General Sanchez called his career a casualty of the Abu Ghraib scandal.[1]
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[edit] Early life and education
Born into a poor family in Rio Grande City, Texas, Sanchez studied hard throughout school. He spent one year at the University of Texas at Austin on an ROTC scholarship, eventually transferring to Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) in Kingsville, Texas, where he graduated in 1973 with a double major in math and history. Sanchez was named a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG), meaning he was in the top 10% of all ROTC cadets in the nation. He was commissioned as an active duty Second Lieutenant.
[edit] Army career
Shortly after graduation, Sanchez was commissioned into the Army, becoming a paratrooper platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. By 1977, he was transferred to Armor. He received promotions swiftly and was stationed all over the United States, in Korea, Panama and Germany.
In 1991, then-Lieutenant Colonel Sanchez served as a battalion commander during Operation Desert Storm, successfully leading his battalion to Basra without losing any men. Shortly after the Gulf War, Sanchez was promoted to colonel and given command of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. Afterwards, he served on the staff of U.S. Southern Command, first as deputy chief of staff then as director of operations.
On July 10, 2001, General Sanchez became commanding general of V Corps' 1st Armored Division. He held that position for nearly two years before assuming command of the entire corps on June 14, 2003. On this date he also became commander of coalition ground forces in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
[edit] Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq
[edit] June 2003 to June 2004
Sanchez held the top military position in Iraq during what was arguably one of the most critical periods of the war--the year after the fall of the Hussein regime, and the time the insurgency took root and began its counterattack. Highlights during his tenure as commander in Iraq include the killing of Uday and Qusay Hussein, and the capture of Saddam Hussein.
He was in command when the abuse of prisoners occurred most notably at Abu Ghraib prison. Some have been highly critical of the U.S. military's failure to hold generals accountable, putting the blame for abuses at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers only on a few individuals of the lowest rank.
Sanchez was succeeded as commander of allied ground forces in Iraq by a four-star general: former Army Vice Chief of Staff George Casey.
[edit] The Westmoreland of Iraq
American Army Colonel (Retired) Andrew Bacevich sums up what many think of the general: "Historians will remember Sanchez as the William Westmoreland of the Iraq War--the general who misunderstood the conflict he faced and thereby played into the enemy's hands."[2]
[edit] Disunity in leadership
L. Paul Bremer was the leader of the Coaltion Provisional Authority in Iraq. There was almost a complete failure to communicate between Bremer the top civilian, and Sanchez the military leader. "It was very clear they hated each other. They lived in the same palace and didn't talk to each other." This disunity in leadership has been cited as one of the major failures of the first year of the Iraq War.[2]
[edit] Abu Ghraib
Sanchez was commander of coalition forces during the period when abuse of prisoners occurred at Abu Ghraib and at other locations. On May 5, 2006 Sanchez denied ever authorizing interrogators to "go to the outer limits". Sanchez said he had told interrogators: "...we should be conducting our interrogations to the limits of our authority." Sanchez called the ACLU: "...a bunch of sensationalist liars, I mean lawyers, that will distort any and all information that they get to draw attention to their positions." [3] after the ACLU uncovered a memo through the US FOIA, showing that he approved many techniques that a majority of Americans disagree with [4].
"Gen Sanchez authorised interrogation techniques that were in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and the army's own standards," ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh said in the union's statement.[5]
[edit] War Crimes Prosecution
On 14th November 2006 human rights advocate Wolfgang Kaleck brought charges at the German Federal Attorney General (Generalbundesanwalt) against Ricardo Sanchez and a number of other high officials for their involvement in human rights violations in Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. Kaleck acts as an advocate for more than 30 human rights organisations as well as 11 former prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. According to a spokesmen of the agency Federal Public Prosecutor Monika Harms will examine the statement of claim now. [6][7]
[edit] Career after Iraq
In June 2004, Lieutenant General Sanchez relinquished command of the Multi-National Force Iraq (MNF-I) to General George Casey, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. Sanchez returned to Germany where he continued as Commanding General, V Corps. He was briefly considered for promotion to four-star rank with assignment as Commander, Southern Command; nomination would have required Senate confirmation, which would have been contentious due to the Abu Ghraib scandal. He was not nominated; the position went to General Bantz Craddock.
Sanchez lead V Corps in Germany during 2004-2005 as it refit in anticipation of its second deployment as the command headquarters in Iraq. When V Corps returned to Iraq as headquarters element for the Multi-National Corps Iraq (MNC-I), Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli was named commander; the V Corps flag remained in Germany with Sanchez. The result was somewhat unusual; the V Corps headquarters was in Iraq under Chiarelli's command with the name MNC-I while Sanchez remained in Germany with the corps flag, but with replacement (V Corps-Rear) personnel.
On 6 September 2006, Sanchez relinquished command of V Corps in a ceremony at Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany. Sanchez had commanded the corps for more than 3 years; longer than any previous commander in the unit's history. In deference to Sanchez' longevity, he relinquished command to General David McKiernan, Commanding General, US Army Europe and Seventh Army, his higher commander, instead of to a successor.
Sanchez retired on 1 November 2006 culminating 33 years of Army service. Sanchez now lives in his home state of Texas.
[edit] Quotes
- "(The Abu Ghraib prison scandal is) 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." [1]
[edit] References
- ^ CBS-News
- ^ a b Quoted in Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, by Thomas E. Ricks, p. 392, New York: Penguin Press, 2006.
- ^ defends his adherence to Geneva Conventions in Iraq, Macon Telegraph, May 5, 2006
- ^ Locy, Toni. "Poll: Most object to extreme interrogation tactics", USA TODAY, USA TODAY, 2005-01-13. Retrieved on 2007-01-20. (in eng) “sizable majorities of Americans disagree with tactics”
- ^ "US memo shows Iraq jail methods", BBC NEWS AMERICAS, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2005-03-30. Retrieved on 2007-02-03. (in eng) “"The top US general in Iraq authorised interrogation techniques including the use of dogs, stress positions and disorientation, a memo has shown."”
- ^ Adam Zagorin: Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse. TIME, 10 November 2006
- ^ Sebastian Wessels: Keine Ruhe für Rumsfeld. jungeWelt, 15 November 2006 (German)
[edit] External links
- US commander 'allowed prison abuse' (Friday 27 August 2004, Aljazeera)
