ricardo sanchez

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 November 1 2006. At the time of his retirement, Lieutenant General Sanchez called his career a casualty of the Abu Ghraib scandal.[1]

Contents
1 Early life and education
2 Army career
3 Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq
3.1 June 2003 to June 2004
3.2 Disunity in leadership
3.3 Abu Ghraib
4 War Crimes Prosecution
5 Career after Iraq
6 Quotes
7 References
8 External links



[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

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sánchez at a press conference in Baghdad, 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] 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]


[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 organizations 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. [4][5]


[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 W. 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]
Ricardo Sanchez, accomplished singer, songwriter, and musician, recently released his single "I Lift Up My Hands" (New Season, Israel Houghton, Integrity Music) in America and abroad. Influenced by a definite mix of contemporary gospel, the Latino culture, rock, and R&B, his music swirls together these key attitudes and lands solidly into the genre of worship --the kind that's uplifting, fast, bright-eyed, and true.

Worshippers from North Korea to the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, on TBN and all across the United States, invited Ricardo into their churches, conferences, ministries and hearts. They found Ricardo's humor, passion, and gifted music inspiring.

Born and raised in a cross-cultural environment in Scottsdale, Ariz, Ricardo began singing professionally before he started kindergarten, both in English and in Spanish. "I'll never forget it. I was 5 years old and they paid me $20 to sing a song on Mother's Day, Si tengo a mi Madre," he said. At the age of 5 Ricardo had already recorded his first record on SOLO Music, and by the age of 13 Ricardo and his brother and sister traveled the country, performing and watching a hit single top the charts at No. 3 on local Hispanic radio, KPHX Phoenix (recorded on Vas Records).

During Ricardo's senior summer of high school, he heard the salvation message of Jesus, forever changing how he viewed music and his abilities as a musician. Since then, in full-time Christian service as a musician and pastor for more than 15 years, Ricardo is influencing a generation, indifferent to their ethnicity or socioeconomic background, with the Word of God.

Ricardo has ministered with and before men of God such as musician and pastor Danny Chamber, Integrity Music, recording artist Israel Houghton, Dr. David Younggi Cho at Yoido Full Gospel Church, and Pope John Paul II in St. Louis, Miss., during his 1998 visit.

Ricardo is the Associate Pastor and Music Director of the Scottsdale First Assembly, Dream Center, located in Scottsdale, Ariz. Founded in June of 1999 by Pastor Tommy Barnett, the Dream Center is one of the fastest growing churches in the Scottsdale area. Ricardo also founded and directs the Dream School of the Arts, an educational institution teaching art, music, vocational skills, foreign language, and karate to the Scottsdale community.

The music of Ricardo will truly stir your soul, but wait until you hear his heart.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asking him to open a perjury investigation of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former US Military commander in Iraq.
According to an official memo dated September 14, 2003, and signed by Gen. Sanchez, he personally authorized the use of coercive interrogation techniques outlawed by the Geneva Conventions. In sworn testimony before the Senate Armed Services committee, he denied ever approving such techniques in Iraq.

The ACLU obtained a physical copy of the memo by suing the Defense Department under the Freedom of Information Act. Below, you will find a copy from the ACLU along with a typed transcript prepared by t r u t h o u t. - sw
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) A former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq says he realized the mission was severely handicapped the day he took charge. Retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez says the current strategies in Iraq are a "desperate attempt" to fix prior mistakes. And he says there's "no end in sight."


TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's supreme leader wants Muslim countries to boycott a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (hah-meh-neh-EE') says the international meeting would only hurt Palestinians. The Palestinian Hamas faction has also called for a boycott.

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) President Bush is pushing Congress on free trade agreements with Latin America and South Korea, saying such deals would create new jobs for Americans. Bush addresses the issue today in his weekly radio broadcast.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) Federal officials are now looking into the case of a Florida teenager who died after a struggle with guards at a juvenile boot camp. A jury yesterday acquitted the guards and a nurse of manslaughter. Protesters, lawmakers and civil rights leaders are denouncing the verdict.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) At least 10 people are injured and one is missing after a 15-truck pileup on the Golden State Freeway in northern Los Angeles County. The accident left five big rigs in flames inside a trucks-only tunnel. The whole freeway has been closed in both directions.