General: Abu Ghraib scandal forced me into retirement

Former Iraq commander Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez said today he had been forced to retire from the US Army over the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.

Sanchez, who served in Iraq as 5th Corps commander from 2003-4, told Texas newspaper The (McAllen) Monitor: “That’s the key reason, the sole reason, that I was forced to retire. I was essentially not offered another position in either a three-star or four-star command.”