Posted on 12/27/2003 10:50:42 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
RIO GRANDE CITY — Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez is really missing his mom’s tamales. While his mother is sitting down today with his brothers and sisters for Christmas dinner, the top U.S. commander in Iraq is battling insurgents in a country brutalized for decades by Saddam Hussein.
However, the general, who was born and raised in Rio Grande City, on Tuesday evening said there is still room for celebration. “We have a whole bunch of entertainers that are visiting us,” Sanchez said from Iraq during a telephone interview with The Monitor. “David Letterman and a bunch of others across the whole country are performing for soldiers, airmen, Marines,” he said. “And of course we have the normal Christmas concert, and the religious aspects with the chaplains.”
But Sanchez’s wife and four children cannot be there with him this Christmas, so it’s just not the same, he said. He especially misses the Christmas traditions his family has established over the years. “Last night I was talking to my wife and she said, ‘It’s not Christmas because Dad is not home cooking,’” he said with a laugh. “I make pan de polvo. My mother-in-law taught me how to bake it.” The general’s wife and their two sons live in Germany, and his two daughters live in other parts of Texas.
His mother, Maria Elena Sanchez, still lives in Rio Grande City, and many of his brothers and sisters are scattered throughout the Rio Grande Valley. His brother has tasted the general’s pan de polvo. “He likes to do that,” said Robert Sanchez. “And he does it very good.” Robert Sanchez said his family usually picks out a day to meet with his mother to make tamales. This year, however, they haven’t had a chance to do so because of so many changing circumstances. “She’s going to do it this weekend or the next weekend,” he said. The family will work hard to maintain their morale this holiday season while the general is far away.
Lt. Gen. Sanchez said morale for American and coalition forces in Iraq has jumped since the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deposed despot who eluded U.S. troops for most of the year, and Sanchez was in the room while the former Iraqi ruler was being examined and processed. “It was a sobering experience to be in the presence of a man who was so evil, and yet see him as a prisoner,” Sanchez said. “I think he understands there’s very little hope that he will ever come (back) to power, now that he’s in custody of the Americans.”
In spite of Saddam’s capture, the military mission in that country is far from over. “We are still conducting the same kinds of offensive operations,” he said. “There are still elements of terrorism and foreign terrorists. We are still getting about 15 attacks daily, but there are some indications that possibly we may see a downturn.” Sanchez said insurgents attacking gasoline storage tanks, assassinating Iraqi government officials and setting off car bombs directed toward Iraqi structures may turn the locals against any remnants of Saddam’s former government. “That has been the effect over the last few months,” he said. “Some people have come off from being neutral to helping us.”
Sanchez said he expects to be in Iraq at least until the summer, but coalition forces may remain there for a couple more years, possibly longer.
“The opportunity is there for us to make a difference,” he said. ———
Travis M. Whitehead covers Starr County, law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4452.
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