Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story [Hardcover]

Ricardo S. Sanchez (Author), Donald T. Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 6, 2008

Amid all of the criticisms of America's war in Iraq, one essential voice has remained silent - until now. In his groundbreaking new memoir, "Wiser in Battle", Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq, reports back from the front lines of the global war on terror to provide a comprehensive and chilling exploration of America's historic military and foreign policy blunder. With unflinching candor, Sanchez describes the chaos on the Iraqi battlefield caused by the Bush administration's misguided command of the military, as well as his own struggle to set the coalition on the path toward victory. Sanchez illuminates the fallout of the communication breakdown between the leadership on the front and the politicians in Washington, revealing fractious discussions he had with, among others, Ambassador Paul Bremer and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.Drawing on his tenure on the ground, Sanchez shows how minor insurgent attacks grew into synchronized operations that finally ignited into a major insurgency and all-out civil war. He provides an insider's account of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, explaining the circumstances that led to the abuses, who perpetrated them, and what the formal investigations revealed - all the while reflecting on America's objectionable use of torture and the grave need for the country's leadership to pursue an ethical course of action in the war on terror. Sanchez also details the cynical use of the Iraq War for political gain in Washington and shows how the pressure of an around-the-clock news cycle drove and distorted critical battle decisions, such as troop drawdowns, the fight for Fallujah, and the transfer of sovereignty.In addition, Sanchez shares the story of his career. He tells of the journey from his poverty-stricken youth on the Texas banks of the Rio Grande to joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at sixteen and later serving in Kosovo, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and, ultimately, Iraq. At the time of his retirement, Sanchez was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the U.S. Army. The first book written by a former on-site commander in Iraq, "Wiser in Battle" is essential reading for all who wish to understand the current war and the American military's role in the new century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ricardo S. Sanchez is a former United States Army lieutenant general who served as commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. He was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the Army when he retired on November 1, 2006, culminating thirty-three years of Army service. Sanchez now lives in his home state of Texas.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061562424
• ISBN-13: 978-0061562426
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.6 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Fine Leader! May 7, 2008

By Loyd E. Eskildson HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

"Wiser in Battle" begins with the story of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez's early life, including what motivated him to join the Army. He then goes on to provide the inside story of events in Iraq after "Mission Accomplished," when he took over military command, up to summarily being scapegoated and relieved over Abu Ghraib, followed by retirement.

Throughout "Wiser in Battle" Sanchez makes clear that Rumsfeld's micromanagement created confusion and frustration due to constant changes. Further, Sanchez believes Bush's declaring the Geneva Conventions inapplicable opened the door for gross negligence via subsequent failure to publish new standards, and ignoring the lessons of prisoner abuses at Bagram in Afghanistan. (Sanchez also declared the Geneva Conventions in force almost immediately after taking over in Iraq; unfortunately, his command did not extend to the CIA and special operations people involved there.)

Directly after taking over in Baghdad, Sanchez addressed the looting and fires, with his leaders identifying 350-500 sites to protect. Securing the innumerable ammunition dumps, as staffed, was estimated as requiring 3-5 years, so Pentagon leaders outsourced the job. Bremer arrived just in time to reverse plans to use Iraqi Army and some of its leaders in managing Iraq. Sanchez also highlights the confusion caused by landing in the midst of orders to send Gen. Franks' troops home, as well as suddenly releasing Sanchez's men who had been "stop-lossed." Sanchez pulls no punches - clearly stating that the resulting problems cost billions as well as many American soldiers lives.

LG Wallace's sudden reassignment for an off-hand comment about not planning to fight a potential insurgency (actually we had no plans at all) didn't help any-one's confidence in taking charge either. (Sanchez also references Gen. Shinseki's being slapped down for his honest response to a Congressional question.) Bremer also took over police training that Army personnel were beginning the job; ultimately the job was given to Bernie Kerik who accomplished little other than endanger U.S. troops by his failure to coordinate with them.

Additional problems included lack of effective police, sporadic fuel and electricity, banks not being open, a non-existent judicial system, the Army's refusal to send lawyers to help with interrogation issues, severe restrictions on the use of foreign troops and the U.S. failure to provide promised trucks etc., unnecessarily stirring up Shiites by closing Sadr's newspaper and capturing one of his deputies, and unclarity of the relationship between Bremer and Sanchez. The latter became especially clear when Bremer ordered Sanchez to withdraw the Marines from Fallujah due to concern about affecting Bush's 2004 re-election - Sanchez refused, then settled for a unilateral cease-fire; later the battle was refought at a much higher cost.

The final pages were very eye-opening. Sanchez was visiting a new school named for him and caught sight of a childhood friend. The friend had left school to pursue migrant field work while Sanchez pursued JROTC. The friend was now the new school janitor, and Sanchez a three-star general! I'm left wondering how many others' lives have derailed?

Bottom Line: Investigations into Abu Ghraib found fault with Sanchez' leadership. Further, Sanchez admits very little fault throughout the book. On the other hand, he was burdened at Abu Ghraib by poor underlying prison leadership and an incredibly fractured line of authority over the prison. My opinion is that we would all be better off with Sanchez, and others like him, still in the military.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars commander's nightmare May 11, 2008

By Charles A. Krohn

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was serving in the Green Zone during some of the period described in this book, and still recall the unimaginable confusion Sanchez writes about. When CENTCOM and the Army component commander, LTG McKeirnan, withdrew leaving the V Corps Commander in charge of all military operations, the circuit overload peaked beyond comprehension. To learn near the end of the book that Sec Def Rumsfeld claimed he never knew about Sanchez having to manage the war on the ground with only a skeleton staff makes one's gorge rise. My analysis: too many elites each running his own stovepipe, leaving Sanchez to make the best of it. Worst of all, the soldiers and marines were jerked around needlessly with predicable consequences. Sanchez makes a lot of wanting to retire with 3-stars. This may seem a little selfish, but who can fault him for keeping his pride intact?

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why things are a mess in Iraq. May 30, 2008

By Mountain Mike

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm neither a veteran nor a political partisan. I don't have an axe to grind. I personally have no more use for the so-called Republicans than I do the Democrats. This is an excellent book and you should read it.

General Sanchez provides many details regarding how what we now recognize as the terrible mess in Iraq got started. The original question--should we have gone in there in the first place?--is one thing, but equally important is how did it get so screwed up once "Mission Accomplished" was declared? The General offers good insight into this.

What is so ironic is that General Sanchez had received specialized training and experience which uniquely qualified him for the position into which he was placed upon the withdrawal of General Franks. In utilizing that knowledge and expertise to point out to his Army and political superiors what was lacking in our "Phase IV" effort, he was simply applying what our Army had spent so much effort in teaching him. They chose to ignore him and then ultimately make him the scapegoat for what happened.

Whether reading The Histories by Herodotus, History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucycides, or The Gallic War and the Civil War by Julius Caesar, or any account in the interim 2,000 years, one must always consider, ultimately, whether the author is being factual, truthful, open-handed or whether his own "axe to grind" overwhelms everything else. You must ask this of Sanchez' book as well. For many reasons, I concluded that Sanchez is most likely truthful and accurate in his facts and his conclusion.

Much of the man himself and his character and integrity I believe comes through with this account. "Always tell the truth." Yes, many of us growing up here, just regular folks like myself, have been taught this and try to live by it. Probably, most people in most places in the world have been taught this. I'm not sure about America's Elite, however; though I already am pretty sure how to answer this regarding America's political Elite. By the way, don't fool yourself into thinking it makes much difference, one political party or the other. There is enormous and ample blame for them both on this and many other issues.

Read Sanchez' book. It will make you sad. So many dedicated service men and women, at all ranks and levels, trying so hard, trying to live the "service" taught them from an early age. Contrast that with the highest leaders who seem to not "...have the sense to pour pee out of a boot..." as it has been observed elsewhere in history.

It will be interesting to see what other retired generals say about this.