Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story

by Ricardo S. Sanchez, Donald T. Phillips

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.

Genres: Military Fiction, Biography Memoir, Biography, Memoir

494 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

General Sanchez commanded 5th corps, ground forces in Iraq June 2003 to June 2004. Although very respectful of the president, Sanchez is highly critical of the administration's handling of the war. Too many decisions were governed by domestic political concerns, such as the immediate draw down of forces too quickly after the fall of Baghdad, despite recent lessons learned in the Balkans and Kosovo. Sanchez immediately requested additional forces as soon as he took command. These were slow in coming, however, in one example of how the Pentagon mismanaged resources.  Suspending the Fallujah offensive was another military decision directed from Washington for political considerations. The drive to transfer authority to an Iraqi government in summer 2004, before the election, was yet another politically motivated decision that the situation on the ground would not justify. Sanchez was enmeshed in the Abu Gharib  scandal and believes that he was scapegoated to protect the administration in an election year. According to his account, being the fall guy for Abu Garahib cost him promotion to full general (four stars) and an opportunity for a theater command. He depicts Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as dishonest and Ambassador Jerry Bremer as arrogant and clueless.

[Dev Gurupatham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

[Roberta Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ricardo Sanchez' soldier/commander's point of view is well expressed. His courage in describing his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan is to be commended. For me, Wiser in Battle culminates a fairly long list of readings I have done recently pertaining to war through the ages from a variety of points of views.

Wiser in Battle made clear Sanchez' point of view that the function of war is to clean out an enemy, re-establish the peace, support the rebuilding of the invaded country's government and infrastructure, depart gracefully, and leave behind a stable country. He also made clear his belief that a war is better fought by the men on the ground under the leadership of the military brass rather than the politicians.

After reading Wiser in Battle, it does seem to make sense that if a country is to make war then the military should do it while the politicians provide support for them to clean up and make whole again the invaded lands. But that would in an ideal world--if one can say the words war and ideal in the same sentence.

As it is, the USA must balance, for instance, the question of Iraq and Afghanistan against that of education and jobs. And for what it is worth, while the warrior may have been wiser in battle, regretfully the politicians like Rumsfield Washington may or may not have been wiser at home.

Regretfully Wiser in Battle needs a little time on the cutting table. If it were just a shorter read, it would be a better one as it is in some ways more philosophy than blood and action.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found the book very insightful and realistic to how the military is really run by civilians, and how micro-managing war from Washington only sets our troops up for disaster!! The book also reflects how our members of the military are escape goats for the blunders committed in Washington. I found through reading the book that Retired General Sanchez was a very interesting individual who had faced many diversities and challenges, but yet seem to be able to conquer them in order to reach his goals.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously feeling betrayed by a command structure that tried to make him a scapegoat for Abu Ghraib, this is Sanchez's defense and an expose of the broader picture. Sanchez feels the Abu Ghraib scandal was Karpinski's fault for letting soldiers run wild in revenge over a smuggled gun and occurred in an environment Sanchez already pointed out was broken and he was working to resolving. Sanchez this occurred outside structured interrogations. Sanchez also shares his thoughts on Al Sadr (he escaped military defeat for U.S. Policy), Falujah (not worth hurting Sunni relations) and more.

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

LTG (RET) Ricardo S. Sanchez was a great soldier and an extraordinary leader, who lead coalition forces in Iraq. When he retired on November 1, 2006, he was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the Army. The story of his rise from poverty to become an Army three-star general is truly inspiring. This is a true success story.

[Homer H Blass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insights in what went wrong in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and not kind to civil military relations in this period. Especially useful for Abu Graib abuses and Fullajah Marine offensive. Best quote of summer also. Retired Army General's comment on Sanchez's position with the civil administration after some of the bad publicity:"You are like a wounded zebra on the serangatti."

[Tony Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read although it did read quite frequently like a quick note on a situation in a conversational tone too much for my liking. His end conclusions also permeated the entire book in a manner I didn't particularly like. In the end it did provide thoughts from a very senior military leader who had the challenge of helping set the stage in Iraq.

[Mike Coon]

Definitely written from Lt Gen Sanchez's perspective but it helps explain much of what we who were serving in lower levels of CJTF-7 at that time observed and wondered about. A must read for anyone interested in key events in the Iraq war in the first year after the invasion.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the honesty of this first hand account. I don't usually read about the lives of soldiers and following the military lingo was tricky, but I thought it was very insightful.