Gen. Clark Weighs Presidential Bid; Accuses Bush of inaction before 9/11

AP ^ | September 13, 2003 | nwrep

[nwrep]

The Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Sept. 13 —

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, sensing growing support for a Democratic presidential bid, said Saturday he is days away from announcing a decision and launched into an attack on President Bush.

In a half-hour speech to 1,000 cheering Democrats in heavily Republican East Tennessee, Clark said Bush has failed the country on health care, education and foreign policy.

"The No. 1 responsibility of the commander in chief is what? The safety and security of the United States of America," Clark said, questioning the administration's efforts to avoid the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"What happened on 9-11, Mr. President? Why is it that eight months into your administration, why is it that there was no plan to deal with the number one threat that Bill Clinton's national security team warned you about when you took office?"

Clark charged the Bush administration with "obfuscation and slow investigations and memos and shenanigans and creating departments" in response to Sept. 11.

"Let's have some accountability, here," he said, recalling Harry Truman's credo that "The buck stops here."

Clark also challenged the president to explain the administration's strategy on the war in Iraq. "What is the intent, what is the plan, Mr. President? Because the commander in chief better have a plan and we haven't heard it yet."

Clark, 58, who headed the U.S. Southern Command and was NATO commander during the 1999 campaign in Kosovo, said his 34 years in the military taught him, "The highest calling of the armed forces is not to wage war, but to prevent war."

Supporters chanted "Draft, General Clark. Draft, General Clark."

"Now I haven't made up my mind whether I am going to run," Clark, in shirt sleeves, told the crowd. "But I have my jacket off. And you can figure this out."

In an interview earlier with The Associated Press on the front porch of actor David Keith's home, Clark said there was only one decision before him. "And that decision is, do you run for the office of president or do you stay in the private sector?"

Sounding like a candidate, he said without hesitation, "I think I have a tremendous amount to offer this country, a lifetime of public service and leadership."

He said a vice presidential slot is not on his mind, though he won't rule it out.

Clark, whose calendar includes a speech in Iowa Sept. 19, said he will announce his intentions within "the next few days probably," most likely in his home state of Arkansas.

"It just seemed to me if I was going to go to Iowa I probably ought to know what I was doing before I went there," he said.

Al Sharpton, one of nine Democrats already in the race, received a warm greeting in a speech to the Democrat dinner, but it seemed a warm-up to Clark.

Clark's candidacy "would only expand the field" and help the party, Sharpton said later. Clark said he would support Sharpton if the minister wins the nomination and Sharpton said he would do the same for Clark.

"If you can bring the Wesley Clark wing and the Al Sharpton wing of the party out, George Bush doesn't stand a chance," Sharpton said.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) Howard Dean's campaign is expanding its much-touted Internet organizing as it heads toward the all-important end of the third quarter fund-raising period.

Campaign manager Joe Trippi outlined the steps Friday that range from the now-familiar Internet-organized monthly meetings via meetup.com to such newer ones as DeanTV and an expanding wireless network.

It has a goal of signing up 450,000 supporters via its Web site by the end of September, 900,000 by December and 2 million by the Democratic National Convention next August.

As of midday Friday, 390,111 people had signed up. Campaign staff said nearly all of them contribute in some form, nearly 40 percent financially and thousands more by organizing events, handing out fliers or gaining more visibility for Dean.

Trippi, while leading reporters through a demonstration of the campaign's redoubled online efforts, told of a group of 80 from Philadelphia who attended a Phillies baseball game wearing their Dean T-shirts. They were welcomed to the game with an announcement on the ballpark's scoreboard. He showed a picture of a similar group in Florida who had done the same thing.

Trippi said the goal is to develop a campaign consisting of concentric circles. The headquarters staff is at the center and networks of loosely organized volunteers across the country are in circles linking with the national team.

The tools include such things as DeanTV, where the candidate gives a pep talk each month to be shown to supporters who meet via the Web site MeetUp.com.

[J_Bravo]

My loyalty to the Republican Party is not so strong that I would call a man who dedicated his life to military service a coward or whatever this nonsense about perfume is. I might not agree with the guy on a lot of stuff but I'm not gonna choose to like some military people because they like Bush and hate other military people who don't like Bush.

Doesn't make sense.

[TADSLOS]

You miss my point. This is not a question of whether he likes Bush or not. Clark has been and is now nothing more than Bill Clinton personified. He was that way in uniform, and being a close FOB, rose in prominence before Bill, visa vis Cohen/Albright,(ironically)fired him from his post as SACEUR. Sure he wore the uniform, saw combat, et al...but he's a tainted product of the Clinton Administration, with all the character traits of his good bubba Bill (and a few of Hillary's also). This guys has brought brown nosing manipulation and the art of false perception to a high art form, and there's PLENTY of anectodal evidence out there to back up the assertion that surfaces throughout his career in the military.

[J_Bravo]

Hey, that's a valid argument. Unfortunately a lot of the people on this board don't use that. The truth is that I agree with your summation of Clark. I do not agree with some of the people calling Clark a coward and all that. Personally, I wish we (Republicans) could have a few more guys in the top ranks who actually served in the military.

[wku man]

"Now I haven't made up my mind whether I am going to run," Clark, in shirt sleeves, told the crowd. "But I have my jacket off. And you can figure this out."

Yeah, but in your 34 years in the Green Suit, did you ever get your boots muddy, Weasely? Kinda hard to get dirty from 35,000 feet, huh? Hard to tell real tanks from decoys, too. You suck, Clark.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[My2Cents]

What a dip! Here this guy's been "weighing his options" for months about making a run. and he accuses Pres. Bush of "inaction"!

BTW, who other than Wesley Clark wants Wesley Clark to run for President?

[My2Cents]

"What happened on 9-11, Mr. President? Why is it that eight months into your administration, why is it that there was no plan to deal with the number one threat that Bill Clinton's national security team warned you about when you took office?"

This is low!...If he wants to drag the name of Bill Clinton into the debate, the Republicans can have a field day about why our intelligence and the FBI were so unprepared for 9/11, going right back to Clinton's failures.

[ravingnutter]

FYI...

Wesley Clark’s career in the U.S. military was solid but not stellar. It included a variety of backwater assignments as well as one high point, White House Fellow 1975-76.

But an unexpected bolt from the blue suddenly ignited Clark’s life, turning mediocrity into a skyrocket ride that could yet land him in the Oval Office. He was named Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, III Corps, at sweltering Fort Hood southwest of Waco, Texas.

On a late winter day in 1993, Texas Governor Ann Richards suddenly called the base, later meeting with Clark’s Number Two to discuss an urgent matter. Crazies at a Waco compound had killed Federal agents. If newly-sworn-in President Bill Clinton signed a waiver setting aside the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally prohibits the military from using its arms against American citizens within our borders, could Fort Hood supply tanks and other equipment?

Clinton did. Wesley Clark’s command at Fort Hood “lent” 17 pieces of armor and 15 active service personnel under his command to the Waco Branch Davidian operation. It is absolute fact that the military equipment used by the government at Waco came from Fort Hood and Clark’s command.

The only issue debated by experts is whether Clark was at Waco in person to help direct the assault against the church compound in a scene remarkably similar to the incineration of villagers in a church by the British in Mel Gibson’s movie “The Patriot.”

What happened at Waco was the death, mostly by fire, of at least 82 men, women and children, including two babies who died after being “fire aborted” from the dying bodies of their pregnant mothers.

Planning for this final assault involved a meeting between Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno and two military officers who developed the tactical plan used but who have never been identified. Some evidence and analysis suggests that Wesley Clark was one of these two who devised what happened at Waco.

As Leftist journalists Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair noted, the ruthless tactics and attitude on display at Waco are strikingly similar to those Clark has used on other battlefields in his career.

Odd, isn’t it, that the Leftist establishment press has told you nothing about the connection between General Wesley Clark and Waco – or what happened to him immediately after the service he rendered the Clintons at Waco? Immediately after Waco, Wesley Clark’s flat career began an incredible meteoric rise.

More at:Wesley Clark: General Issues

IOW, his career was advanced by Waco from which he reaped rewards from Bill Clinton for attacking the religious right. That in itself, undermines any credibility in your argument about his "stellar" military career.

[ravingnutter]

More info for you:

Wesley Clark - A War Criminal?

[Dilbert56]

• The President served in Air National Guard.
• Donald Rumsfeld was naval aviator.
• Colin Powell was Chairman Joint Chiefs.
• Dick Cheney was not in the military but was SecDef in Gulf War I.
• Tom Ridge was a Marine.

[Tarl]

You make your point well!! His statement of questioning Bush as if implying Clinton's guys gave plenty of warning is a "puppet statement"...Clinton is now engaged in damage control on the ONLY thing that matters to him - BEING A LEGEND IN HIS OWN MIND. This is why he "defended" Bush earlier on the war...he knew if criticism continued, those wanting to defend Bush's character would dig up the root causes of 9/11 and realize they existed during Clinton's administration. He is only Clinton's mouthpiece and the proof is in the question "leveled" at Bush.

[judywillow]

That's just about got it. Except it doesn't really say a whole lot about baby-killing, which seems to be Wesley Clark's main talent in life. Do a google search on 'milica rakic' or 'sanja milenkovic' and check out some of what turns up. I mean, basically, Clark tried bombing military targets from 30,000' for two or three weeks and then, when he learned he couldn't really hurt the Serbian military from that height, he embarked upon a wholesale campaign of war crimes targeted against Serbian civilians and their infrastructure hundreds of kilometers from any legitimate military target, all of which is illegal under Geneva conventions and every other kind of law of war in existence.

I can't even believe the democrap party is messed up enough to run a guy like that for president.

[judywillow]

That's just about got it. Except it doesn't really say a whole lot about baby-killing, which seems to be Wesley Clark's main talent in life. Do a google search on 'milica rakic' or 'sanja milenkovic' and check out some of what turns up. I mean, basically, Clark tried bombing military targets from 30,000' for two or three weeks and then, when he learned he couldn't really hurt the Serbian military from that height, he embarked upon a wholesale campaign of war crimes targeted against Serbian civilians and their infrastructure hundreds of kilometers from any legitimate military target, all of which is illegal under Geneva conventions and every other kind of law of war in existence.

I can't even believe the democrap party is messed up enough to run a guy like that for president.

[scabbage]

Accuses Bush of inaction before 911...That`s as far as I got. And Clinton was the epitome of action, right? How do you like this Schwarzenneger on Oprah? The guy is hanging on by the skin of his teeth simply because of the Kennedy connection, otherwise he would have been absolutely obliterated in the press. Oafrah, right away with the "sex thing"... Just curious if Ms. Goldfish eyes ever brought up that "sex thing" with the Clintons. Not that I can remember. Hey, after all, when a woman appears on national television and accuses you of rape, it`s best to completely ignore it and tell jokes. After all, it`s only rape. Just like sexual assault is "only sex". How dare Paula Jones take offense when he told her to "kiss it". Hey babe, it`s only sex. If the media in this country got any more one sided against republicans they`d be the taliban, but on the other hand that`s what they are when you come right down to it. I didn`t hear any conservative on that PBS documentary last week calling 911 "poetic justice". ITS TIME FOR THEM TO GO! 2004 VOTE NO NO NO!!! Vote liberals out of existence. Nuke `em from orbit. It`s the only way to be sure.

[scabbage]

Accuses Bush of inaction before 911...That`s as far as I got. And Clinton was the epitome of action, right? 8 years compared to 9 months. How do you like this Schwarzenneger on Oprah? The guy is hanging on by the skin of his teeth simply because of the Kennedy connection, otherwise he would have been absolutely obliterated in the press. Oafrah, right away with the "sex thing"... Just curious if Ms. Goldfish eyes ever brought up that "sex thing" with the Clintons. Not that I can remember. Hey, after all, when a woman appears on national television and accuses you of rape, it`s best to completely ignore it and tell jokes. After all, it`s only rape. Just like sexual assault is "only sex". How dare Paula Jones take offense when he told her to "kiss it". Hey babe, it`s only sex. If the media in this country got any more one sided against republicans they`d be the taliban, but on the other hand that`s what they are when you come right down to it. I didn`t hear any conservative on that PBS documentary last week calling 911 "poetic justice". ITS TIME FOR THEM TO GO! 2004 VOTE NO NO NO!!! Vote liberals out of existence. Nuke `em from orbit. It`s the only way to be sure.

[bert]

Yet another Rat with bloody hands seeks atonement by denial.

[F.J. Mitchell]

That's why retired enlisteds tell anyone who refers to them as Sir, that "You don't have to sir me-my parents were married."

[mtbopfuyn]

Sorry, couldn't bring myself to read past the headline. Let's see - Bush's 8 months v. Clinton's 8 YEARS of inaction before 9/11.

[tet68]

"What happened on 9-11, Mr. President? Why is it that eight months into your administration, why is it that there was no plan to deal with the number one threat that Bill Clinton's national security team warned you about when you took office?"

"What happened on 9-11, Mr. Clark Why is it that eight years into Clinton's administration, there was no plan to deal with the number one threat that Bill Clinton's national security team warned HIM about."

[Mulder]

My loyalty to the Republican Party is not so strong that I would call a man who dedicated his life to military service a coward or whatever this nonsense about perfume is.

Because of his anti-gun stance, he has violated his oath to 'protect and defend the Constitution'.

As such, he is deserving of ZERO respect from any American, uniformed or not.

Furthermore, if the SOB wasn't serious about his oath in the first place, a strong case can be made for him "impersonating a military officer" and "defrauding the taxpayer".

[Mulder]

Which is a ridiculous assertion, that's frankly a bit worrisome when one realizes that an office-seeking general is comparing himself to revolutionaries.

He wanted to attack Russia while he was in Kosovo. The British general under his command wisely refused to do so.

The man is nuts, which makes him the ideal candidate in our one-party system.

[tkathy]

Maybe he could explain why Clinton spent the latter part of his presidency taking down Microsoft (thus the first hits on the stock market) instead of dealing with Osama and terrorism.

[votelife]

I really hope that Republicans blame Clinton for 9/11; and not just Clinton, the ideology of liberalism, appeasement and poltical correctness.

[Mudboy Slim]

Compare Wesley Clark's Mass-Murderin' in Kosovo to Rumsfeld's humane treatment of the Iraqi noncombatants...
There is NO COMPARISON!!

"Kosovo Slaughter"
(To be sung to Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water")

Yugoslavs thought they were sovereign...
Forgot 'bout that New World Order...
'Cuz NATO wanted a li'l more Power...
And Clinton's motives were VILE!!
Yeah, Slick Willie had a problem...
His Impeachment was bringin' him down...
Said, "Networks need 'em a story...
I'll bomb them Serbs outta town!!!"

Kosovo Slaughter...Death rainin' from the sky!!
Innocents slaughtered!!

Slick burned down that Waco House...
Kids FRIED!! What an Evil Sound...
In Viet Nam, Slick LIED and chickened out...
Now, Bill LOVES puttin' kids underground!!
When it all was over...
Them Sheeple they knew their place!!
But Slick's time is runnin' out...
SEEK JUSTICE...Slick must be DISGRACED!!!

Vile Waco Slaughter...small children, they did fry!!
Innocence slaughtered...

(Excellent guitar jammin')

We FReeped Slick up on Capitol Hill...
Slick's heart's empty, cold, and hard!!
Yes, we'll keep FReepin'...we must not stop!!
Left's just not Right!! The Righteous the Left doth fear!!
It's a worthwhile fight...gotta use our heads (UNNNHHH!!)
Truth's gonna save the day...
No matter what...Bill will feel Justice!!
We know...Slick knows...FReepers never forget!!

Kosovo Slaughter...Death rainin' from the sky!!!
Dethrone the TYRANT!!

FReegards...MUD

[Burr5]

You know, if you go to Drudge right about now (Tuesday evening) you'll see a photo of General Clark.

I find it curious that a four-star general does not know how to salute. His thumb should be pointing parallel to his fingers (not hooked into his palm) and his hand should be tilted forward so that one cannot see his palm. It's a tradition that what's in America's hand is nobody's business.

What's up General Clark? You too good for the rules guys like me used to take pride in following?

[ALOHA RONNIE]

1) T'was NATO Commander CLARK that almost single handedly started World War III during a confrontation with the Soviets at the start of the war in Kosovo.

2) Why did the CLARK's Kindergarden Friend BILL CLINTON refuse 3 Offers from the Sudan during the 1990's to bring our No. 1 Terrorist Enemy OSAMA bin LADEN to the Custody of an American Jail and Trial that would have prevented the Attacks on us all on September 11, 2001..?

3) WHY did HILLARY RODHAM and BILL CLINTON both work hard for our Terrorist Enemy HO CHI MINH's Communist Victory over US and FREEDOM during the Vietnam War..?

WHY give us all more grief and harm from these Enemies of the State in a new Time of War with our own FREEDOM now at stake..?

[Petronski]

[dinok]

This from an article by Joe Galloway on Military.com

"One recently retired general, speaking privately, said: "I'm sure he'll serve himself well. He always has."

Retired Lt. Gen. Marc Cisneros, who was the Army brass's nominee for the SouthCom job but lost it to Clark, said: "He was a training-focused leader but did not appear to care about people, only himself. I value honesty and integrity in a person … and I felt that Wes was lacking in this. He is extremely competent, but self-serving to a fault."

Privately, his military critics complained that he was a micromanager who sidestepped the chain of command to push his agenda."

There is also an article off BBC saying he almost started a war with Russia and had to be stopped.

[aruanan]

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, sensing growing support for a Democratic presidential bid, said Saturday he is days away from announcing a decision and launched into an attack on President Bush.

Another Arkansian sphincter blows.

[aruanan]

And helped to incinerate everyone at Waco, getting paid off later by Bill with the above gig.

[aruanan]

He is a strong proponent of a national defense structure that would have avoided the morass that has evolved in Iraq.

Morass. Ha ha ha. This is a perfect example of a sentence that appears to say something but really doesn't because--the problem of the underlying premise notwithstanding--there are so many contingencies involved that the conclusion is merely a wish rather than a certain prognostication of what would have happened.

[DTA]

Gen. Clark's solution for
terrorism?

[Gen. Clark salutes KLA terrorists,an Al Qaeda ally]

Salute terrorists !!!

WESLEY CLARK FOR PRESIDENT
A general only Liberals and his Mom Could Love(c)

[DTA]

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute
the office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States... ..Just like I did in Ft. Hood , Tx in 1993"

WESLEY CLARK FOR PRESIDENT
A general only Liberals and his Mom Could Love(c)

[Ryan Bailey]

Now that General Clark has finally announced his candidacy, can we hope that he will at long last be willing to address his fanciful allegations against our President? General Clark implied very candidly, on CNN, that the Bush Administration specifically asked him to draw a connection between the evil Dictator Sadaam Hussein, and the attacks of 11 September, A.D.2001. He has spent the time since trying to distance himself from these untrue remarks. Undoubtedly, he assumed that his rank would alleviate him from the liability of academic and journalistic honesty. However, he had a rude awakening when he found that there were some honest journalists who were not willing to defer to his rank, especially when it meant spreading treasonous lies about our Commander in Chief, who of course outranks the General. One such honest journalist was Sean Hannity, who in conducting what is probably the single most important interview with the General earlier this season
called him on his high treason.Of course the General could offer no response to Hannity's queries. The attitude of aloofness and royal immunity maintained by General Clark represents perhaps the most perfect example of what Colonel Hackworth referred to as the "Perfumed Prince".
The simple and irrefutable facts remain, that General Clark has repeatedly proved himself dishonest, un-American, and traitorous. He predicted on CNN, upon accepting a position there as a military commentator, that a quick victory in Iraq by our Valiant Coalition Forces was "out of the question", and yet we were militarily victorious in less than a month. His analysis of the military situation, actually not analysis at all but anti-American rhetoric, is a disgrace to every American who has ever worn a uniform. However, when we apply his standard of success to his operations in Kosovo, where he attempted to single-handedly cause World War III, we find that it was not nearly as successful as Operation Iraqi Freedom, which will probably be remembered in history as the greatest military achievement in American history. If the General led a successful military campaign in Kosovo then why are we still involved there, and better yet, why was he fired by the Clinton Administration ? I thank God that he was dismissed by Secretary Cohen after his inhuman war crimes against the civilian population of that country and other misdeeds, which included the now infamous Military Review, a double honor granted to visiting distinguished officers, which he conducted of the Kosovo Liberation Army, an avowed Terrorist Group and alleged ally to Al-Qaeda, see above piece by 'DTA' and my previous column for more on General Clark's incompetence as an officer, suffice it to say that most who have served with him would rather die than do so again.
General Clark has, like President Clinton, been very public about his receipt of the Rhodes Scholarship. This is very frightening to individuals who understand the nature of that particular honor. As for me personally I would rather have hanged for treason than accept the Anti-American Rhodes Scholarship. This particular characteristic frightens me more than any other thing about General Clark and this fear was affirmed in me when upon announcing his candidacy the first reason he gave for choosing the Democratic Party was that it is a party of "Internationalism". Well I wonder what General Washington, or even the so-called 'Democratic' General Andrew Jackson, would say about that. The Rhodes Scholarship was established by Cecil Rhodes for one purpose only; to destroy the United States of America as we know it. This he, Rhodes, intended to execute by recruiting the cream of American Academia, which has never been considered legitimate by British Universities, to the movement of restoring the authority of the British Crown over the whole of North America. In bringing U.S. graduates to Oxford and illuminating them with the superiority of British ways, Rhodes hoped to once and for all stamp out the evil and mongrelizing anathema of democracy and liberty. This plan is actually working very well. Make no mistake about it, people like Clinton and Clark, and all the others in the Rhodes Program, do not simply spend two years in Britain growing beards, women included, and smoking marijuana, they become indoctrinated with the ideals of World Communism and International Globalism.
Finally, General Clark goes too far in implying that our President has sole responsibility for the terror attacks against our nation when it is well documented that it was President Clinton that repeatedly refused to take action against Al-Qaeda following the first attacks on the World Trade Center, among other terrorist attacks seemingly ignored by President Clinton, who did not even bother to visit the attack site. He remarks in his speech; "What happened on 9-11, Mr. President? Why is it that eight months into your administration, why is it that there was no plan to deal with the number one threat that Bill Clinton's national security team warned you about when you took office?" To this I would reply, why is it that Bill Clinton did not respond to the number one threat that his National Security Team warned him about? President Clinton not only gave Al-Qaeda de facto favored status with our government, he actively rewarded Usama bin Laden by preventing other sovereign nations, and our own CIA, from taking actions to apprehend him, technically accessorizing himself to the organization. This should not be allowed to go unnoticed by the media, and I feel President Clinton should be held accountable for his treason in violating his inaugural oath by leaving our nation undefended against terrorism, so much so that even now we have not been able to bring our military back to the strength level it was at when Clinton entered office.
General Clark is not merely an incompetent officer turned political pundit, nor is he merely another Bush-bashing high tax proponent. He is a trained agent of "Internationalism" and world communism. Nevertheless, I still hold to my previous assertion as to his unelectability and I greatly anticipate seeing drop off the radar charts of political history as the American people learn more and more of the truth about his miserable and detestable career.