Books for Prep | |
 - Interesting personal memoir.All memoirs tend to be self serving and this one fits the usual template. General Sanchez seems never to have made a mistake in his career or his life. And the bureaucratic details with their endless abbreviations and acronyms are sometimes confusing. There are minor spelling mistakes but that's the copy editor's responsibility. All that aside, this is a pretty believable story about an Hispanic guy who came out of the wilderness and rose to command an army in Iraq. The good general doesn't clobber any of his army comrades, although he insinuates, and saves his carefully expressed displeasure for the civilian leadership. Not so much Bush, who comes off as usually sincere, sometimes loony, but for Rumsfeld and the Democrats in Congress, both of whom come out looking like either lying morons (Rumsfeld) or angry but uninformed (Congressional committees). One can question some of his claims but his description of the Marine's abortive battle for Falujah is supported by a recent documentary being shown on the Military Channel. Sanchez was forced to retire and was deprived of a star for political reasons, mostly having to do with Abu Ghraib. He claims to have done the best possible job at the prison and elsewhere in Iraq, given that he was usually 60% under strength. I believed him, but you can judge for yourself. Rating: - A Soldier's Conundrum"Wiser in Battle" made for interesting reading, but it also pointed up the soldier's dilema when faced with the conflicting objectives of politicians and the military. Throughout the book, General Sanchez had nothing but positive things to say about results achieved under his command, but at a certain point, when it was abundantly clear that things had gone badly wrong, he finally laid the blame where it should have been in the first place: The President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State, as well as Condi Rice. For those interested in studying this phenomonem, it's worth reading. It is a pity, however, that honorable officers are put in the position he was, where he had a choice of speaking out or resigning. If all the retired generals who are now criticizing the war had resigned en masse, perhaps we wouldn't be looking for a 100-year occupation, as the good Senator McCain suggests. Rating:  - Sour GrapesLTG Sanchez probably has a legitimate complaint as to how his retirement was handled.....but this book is a poor way to express it. He has taken great liberties with the facts and his view is not necessarily the correct one. He has written a puff piece about this poor Hispanic Texan who rose to three stars in the Army. As a minimum, he should have gotten people's names correct; among others it is "Rick" (not Ric) Brown, the CG at Ft Knox, who gave him considerable responsibility early in his career. Overall, a disappointing book. I blame the editors for allowing it to be published without some fact checking. Might have been a better book with just a little more work! Rating: - How things went wrongBeing a retired soldier myself I can now understand how things went so wrong in Iraq. LT GEN Sanchez has identified the poor planning of our national leadership and their lack of understanding in military matters. The military is not a business and can not be ran like one. Our old Texas A&I student has served his nation well. CSM, USA Retire William R. Notz Rating: - Government Leader's "Dumber in Battle"A scary and soobering look at the described reality of the Iraq war and our government through Lt. Gen. Regardo Sanchez's eyes. In association with Amazon.com | |