Matt Sanchez - A Latino with a Different View of the Iraq War

Journalist and blogger Matt Sanchez wrote in to say that he offers a different perspective on the Iraq War than offered by Camilo Mejias (and, I guess, Omar Mora and his buddies).

Try a different Hispanic point of view here in Iraq. We wouldn't want to stereotype.

Fair enough.

With so many men and women serving honorably in the U.S. Military, including many Latinos on the front lines of the Iraq War, it's important for Americans (as well as the citizens of other nations) to see the war from different perspectives. Especially--as Mejias, Sanchez and Mora rightly insist--from the perspectives of those on the front lines. Amen!

With this objective in mind, please read Awakening' musters Iraqi courage against al-Qaida -- Sanchez' recently article published in WorldNetDaily.

Sanchez' writes about how change has started to root in Ramadi and Anbar when the courageous Sunni cleric, Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, sided with the U.S. in the battle against alQaeda. It was reported by General Patraeus, and others in recent weeks, that deaths were down and that the U.S. troop surge was working in part because of the alliance between the U.S. and Iraqis such as Sheik Sattar.

As evidence by his weblog postings, Sanchez was clearly impressed by the Sheik--even likening him to Abraham Lincoln:

Charismatic, determined and very ambitious we may see a lot more of Sheik Sattar in the near future, his role in the Awakening could make Ramadi the next Gettysburg.

However, making it clear that the success of the U.S. "Surge" rests on a very weak political foundation, Sheik Sattar was assassinated last week (9/13/07).

Not coincidently, September 13th was the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. It was the 3rd day of General Patraeus' report before the U.S. Senate on the success of the "Surge". It was 10 days after President Bush's visit with the Sheik in Iraq. And it was just seven days after President Bush boasted to Australia Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile that "We're kicking ass".

I'm not a U.S. Soldier serving in Iraq, embedded journalist, or Washington insider, but it seems to me, Sanchez' views not withstanding, that good people have been put in a bad place by the poor policies of weak leaders.

Am I wrong?