Star power

What is going on with all these Bush administration loyalists? I know many of them are bailing because Bush's second term will be ending in 15 months, but what's with all the rhetoric. Of course, I'm talking specifically about retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, who today called the U.S. involvement in Iraq "a nightmare with no end in sight." According to the New York Times, Sanchez, who left the army in April 2006, said the Bush administration's handling of the war was “catastrophically flawed" and "unrealistically optimistic." But Sanchez, who had previously been a staunch supporter of the war, was in charge during the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal that tarnished the image of the United States worldwide. The three-star general resigned after being denied a fourth star, so some analysts say his comments could be seen as his way of seeking retribution for the lost promotion. We, of course, know that things don't actually work that way. It's far more likely that he kept his mouth shut about the war like a good soldier while he was driving it, even though he didn't like all of what was going on, and now is expressing his true feelings when he's out. Obviously, it would have been nice if he brought his concerns to the president while he was in charge of the troops, and maybe he did. After all, when all is said and done, what the president says goes.