I don't think that is the issue, nor should it be. It is not about what one chooses to fight "for" inasmuch as how does one actually fight their fights; when was the fighting done, and what were one's various motives in standing up and fighting.
Gen. Clark fought against Genocide, questioned going into Iraq......but he has also fought for Racial equality, equal rights for gays, energy independence AND poverty!
The Anti-Poverty Candidate People who know me intimately know that I’m pretty passionate about ending poverty. I’ll get teary-eyed when I spit out sad statistics, curse efforts that increase poverty, curse when common sense solutions are ignored, and ask most politicians I meet pointed questions on poverty.......
.....I have met Wes Clark. And, yes, I asked him one of my impassioned and pointed questions on poverty. What really surprised me was that he skipped the talk about what poverty is like–sparing me details that I’m quite aware of–and jumped right into the meat of possible solutions. I’m not one to be overly impressed with famous politicians–after all, I am a couple minute walk from more than one Nobel Laureate–but I was struck by his candor and his depth of knowledge on practical solutions. We talked about community and neighborhood based financial planning programs, microcredit, fair trade policy and national cultural impediments. A far cry from “we can do better”. That he was willing to discuss some of the hurdles in addressing this issue demonstrated that he knows what he’s talking about.
I won’t enumerate or elaborate the solutions discussed right now–I’ll save that for after he announces–but I just want to mention that as a person who cares very deeply about reducing poverty, Wes Clark is my clear choice as the anti-poverty candidate. Not platitudes, but practical solutions. Not just hope, but tangible solutions.
http://stanforddemocrats.blogspot.com/2007/02/anti-poverty-candidate.html Amicus Brief To the United States Supreme Court,February 19, 2003
Based on decades of experience, amici have concluded that a highly qualified, racially diverse officer corps educated and trained to command our nation’s racially diverse enlisted ranks is essential to the military’s ability to fulfill its principal mission to provide national security.
The primary sources for the nation’s officer corps are the service academies and the ROTC, the latter comprised of students already admitted to participating colleges and universities. At present, the military cannot achieve an officer corps that is both highly qualified and racially diverse unless the service academies and the ROTC use limited race-conscious recruiting and admissions policies.
http://www.texasforclark.com/affirmative.htm Wavecrest - the company Clark started after he retired....
But right now, General Clark wants to talk about bicycles.
The retired general has been devoting much of his time to running a company making a new kind of electric motor that does not require gears or a transmission, but uses computer algorithms to maximize torque and efficiency. The company, WaveCrest Laboratories of Dulles, Va., hopes to put these motors into hybrid gas-electric cars or even hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars one day. http://greenspeed.us/wesley_clark.htmEndorsement by the Washington Blade (largest Gay Newspaper) - http://www.aegis.com/news/wb/2004/WB040109.html Saddam’s capture doesn’t sway Clark - http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/clark/articles/2003/12/17/capture_doesnt_sway_clark/WESLEY CLARK SLAMS MEDIA CONSOLIDATION "I don't think it is in the American public interest to further consolidate the media." Answering this reporter's question, the candidate said media consolidation "is damaging to putting out diverse opinions and fostering public dialogue. ... We need to distribute the ownership in media. We need to have the fairness in broadcasting rules put back in place."
http://www.fradical.com/Presidential_candidate_slams_media_violence.htmIn 2002... While politicians were busy being "misled" by Bush, Clark was predicting the future.
"The war is unpredictable and could be difficult and costly. And what is at risk in the aftermath is an open-ended American ground commitment in Iraq and an even deeper sense of humiliation in the Arab world, which could intensify our problems in the region and elsewhere."
"we're going to have chaos in that region. We may not get control of all the weapons of mass destruction, technicians, plans, capabilities; in fact, what may happen is that we'll remove a repressive regime and have it replaced with a fundamentalist regime which contributes to the strategic problem rather than helping to solve it."
"Then we're dealing with the longer mid term, the mid term problems. Will Iraq be able to establish a government that holds it together or will it fragment? There are strong factionary forces at work in Iraq and they will continue to be exacerbated by regional tensions in the area. The Shia in the south will be pulled by the Iranians.
"We've encouraged Saddam Hussein and supported him as he attacked against Iran in an effort to prevent Iranian destabilization of the Gulf. That came back and bit us when Saddam Hussein then moved against Kuwait. We encouraged the Saudis and the Pakistanis to work with the Afghans and build an army of God, the mujahaddin, to oppose the Soviets in Afghanistan. Now we have released tens of thousands of these Holy warriors, some of whom have turned against us and formed Al Qaida.
My French friends constantly remind me that these are problems that we had a hand in creating. So when it comes to creating another strategy, which is built around the intrusion into the region by U.S. forces, all the warning signs should be flashing. There are unintended consequences when force is used. Use it as a last resort. Use it multilaterally if you can. Use it unilaterally only if you must."
http://www.rapidfire-silverbullets.com/2007/01/mining_and_finding_prescient_g.html
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