A Fast Climber Who Has Made Some Enemies (Clark)

[DoveTurnedHawk]

<...>

Clark's many supporters inside and outside the military dispute the contention voiced by critics that his ambition and drive to come out on top made him untrustworthy in the eyes of his peers.

"I have watched him at close range for 35 years, in which I have looked at the allegation, and I found it totally unsupported," said retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, who taught with Clark at West Point in the 1970s. "That's not to say he isn't ambitious and quick. He is probably among the top five most talented I've met in my life. I think he is a national treasure who has a lot to offer the country."

McCaffrey acknowledges that Clark was not the most popular four-star general in the Army leadership. "This is no insult to Army culture, a culture I love and admire," McCaffrey said, "but he was way too bright, way too articulate, way too good looking and perceived to be way too wired to fit in with our culture. He was not one of the good ol' boys."

<...>

Army Col. Douglas Macgregor is thankful he did. An author and strategist who has also had his fights with the Army brass, Macgregor said he will forever be indebted to Clark for taking a chance and naming him as director of planning at NATO headquarters in Belgium in 1997.

"There is this aspect of his character -- he is loyal to people he knows are capable and competent," Macgregor said. "As for his peers, it's a function of jealousy and envy, and it's a case of misunderstanding. General Clark is an intense person, he's passionate, and certainly the military is suspicious of people who are intense and passionate. He is a complex man who does not lend himself to simplistic formulations. But he is very competent, and devoted to the country."

(emphases added)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21814-2003Sep16.html

DTH

[fishnfla]

1. What do Shrubs military peers think of him?

Oh never mind.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Hey, DoveTurnedHawk, look what else Vernon Loeb wrote

Vernon, being the Washington Post National Security writer from the Washington Post who wrote the article you posted:

(snip) 'She Was Fighting to the Death'
Details Emerging of W. Va. Soldier's Capture and Rescue
By Susan Schmidt and Vernon Loeb
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 3, 2003; Page A01


Pfc. Jessica Lynch, rescued Tuesday from an Iraqi hospital, fought fiercely and shot several enemy soldiers after Iraqi forces ambushed the Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, U.S. officials said yesterday.

Lynch, a 19-year-old supply clerk, continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her in fighting March 23, one official said. The ambush took place after a 507th convoy, supporting the advancing 3rd Infantry Division, took a wrong turn near the southern city of Nasiriyah.

"She was fighting to the death," the official said. "She did not want to be taken alive."

Lynch was also stabbed when Iraqi forces closed in on her position, the official said, noting that initial intelligence reports indicated that she had been stabbed to death. No official gave any indication yesterday, however, that Lynch's wounds had been life-threatening. (snip/...)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A14879-2003Apr2¬Found=true

You were RIGHT to be sceptical!

[Unknown Known]

3. One message

[VolcanoJen]

4. Good find DTH...

Here's another good find:



;-)

[DoveTurnedHawk]

5. He Looks Kinda Goofy There

Time has worn well on him! :-)

DTH

[VolcanoJen]

6. Here's a similar piece in the NY Post

One would expect this from the Post, but honestly, some reporters do not even attempt any homework before making ridiculous claims like this:

http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/5962.htm

That may be the biggest risk for Democrats. A Clark candidacy would mean a campaign based solely on the war at a time when many in the party believe Bush's biggest weakness is the economy - an area in which, like every other domestic issue, Clark has no track record.

No track record on economic issues? Well, hopefully that Masters Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford (where he was a Rhodes Scholar) will help him get up-to-speed...

;-)

[Forkboy]

7. "He was not one of the good ol' boys."

Now that's a big plus right there.

[Julien Sorel]

8. Here's a great essay he wrote on rebuilding Iraq

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A8221-2003Mar21¬Found=true

It would be far better to recognize, as many are belatedly doing, that victory in Iraq will come not from fighting alone but rather from what happens afterward. And for this we must gather legitimacy from institutions such as the United Nations and NATO. We will need a substantial international military presence there for years. We need resources to rebuild the state structures of Iraq with new faces and skills. And we must exercise the patience to allow democracy to emerge slowly. Above all, we must not use our presence in Iraq as a launching pad for self-glorification, imperial pretenses or further expeditions but as an opportunity to strengthen the international institutions that we have spent more than 50 years developing and nourishing.


That's from March. In other words, he isn't on board with the PNAC vision. Or is he simply saying that to throw everyone off guard? :/

[drewb]

10. He'll get on board with the PNAC vision...

If he wants his campaign to go anywhere...

[0007]

9. Esquire Magazine had an excellent article

on Clark a few months ago.

I think Clark would make a good president.

[VolcanoJen]

11. Here's the link to the Esquire article:

http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2003/030801_mfe_clark_1.html