'Military mentor' fired after 2007 speech

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A retired U.S. general who once led U.S. forces in Iraq was fired as a "military mentor" after criticizing war policy in 2007, USA Today reported Tuesday.

The newspaper, citing interviews with command officials and e-mails, said retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004, was dismissed as a paid "mentor" by the Pentagon's Joint Forces Command after blaming the Bush White House for what he called the "nightmare" then unfolding in Iraq in an Oct. 12, 2007, speech in Washington.

"There has been a glaring, unfortunate display of incompetence in strategic leadership among our national leaders," Sanchez said. "They have unquestionably been derelict in the performance of their duty. In my profession, these types of leaders would be immediately relieved or court-martialed."

Sanchez was the U.S. commander when the Abu Ghraib torture scandal erupted, effectively ending his career, but he later served as a "mentor," in which retired military are hired by defense contractors for as much as $1,600 per day, USA today reported.

It said the episode illustrates how military mentors are hired and fired outside of public scrutiny.