Wes Clark on Clinton (would be "great president"), Iraq, the AUMF, and electability

[jackson_dem]

As a side note, Smiley is the guy who received death threats from a ____, uh, "very passionate" group of supporters of one candidate, and whose mother was even harassed by these same zealous followers of a charismatic politician whose chief draw is his personality.

-snip-

Tavis Smiley: Let me switch gea- Thank you. Let me switch gears now to the point you made earlier about wanting and needing a Democrat in the House. The Democrat that you are supporting, as we all know, is Hillary Clinton, and, and yet when this particular issue comes up, that is to say Iraq and her votes in the Senate, it is dogging her even after all this time on the campaign trail. What say you about that?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think that Senator Clinton has explained her reasoning at the time of the 2003 vote adequately, and she's been at the forefront of those urging the President to responsibly, strategically redeploy our forces out of Iraq. She's been a leader in terms of taking care of the men and women in uniform and the veterans. She's worked across the aisle to do that. She's brought Republicans together with Democrats to tend to the needs of our service members. So, I don't think there's any issue with how she's voted in the past. I think the question is: Who's going to do the best job at adjusting America's strategy in the region? Under the Bush administration, it's been an exclusively military strategy, and it's been exclusively fo- or almost exclusively focused on Iraq. That simply won't get the job done, and it's been unfair to the men and women in uniform to put that kind of burden on them. The Commander In Chief, the President of the United States needs a real strategy for the region: Who will he talk to? What's the vision that he sees, not just to stay in Iraq for - as John McCain says, maybe 100 years - but what's the region? How, how are we going to deal with Iran? Are we going to permit Iran to have nuclear weapons? If not, how are we going to stop that? How are we going to deal with Syria? How much effort can we and should we be putting in to res- resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue? And what about our friends in the region like the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia and Jordan? How much more can they contribute and how do we encourage them to do so? There are a lot of big, BIG issues on the table that this administration has not adequately addressed. Instead, it's put all the weight, all the burden on the uniformed military to bring as what Vice President calls a 'win' in Iraq. Instead, what we need is success in the region.

Tavis Smiley: I don't need to ask you, General Clark, why you think Hillary Clinton is better on this particular issue than John McCain. You've already unpacked that to some degree just now anyway. Let me, let me ask you though specifically why on this particular issue, because he's arguing otherwise, why on this issue, that is to say the issue of Iraq and the region, do you think that Hillary Clinton is better, better equipped, better prepared to deal with this THAN Barack Obama?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I've never talked to Barack Obama on this issue, and so I'm not an expert on his thinking. I will say this, at one point I, I, I've seen a sixteen-month withdrawal proposed, and at another point I've seen his former senior foreign policy advisor say, "No, no, that was just the best case." So, I don' t know exactly where Barack stands, but I do know where Hillary stands. Hillary stands for a prompt beginning of the withdrawal and then a responsible withdrawal. She stands for the full use of diplomatic, political, economic measures to create a new U.S. strategy in the region, one that puts U.S. interests and U.S allies first and uses the military as one among many different tools in, in a U.S. toolkit. And I think she's got the experience and she's got the team around her that can do this. So, I think she's our best bet for getting the strategy right in the region and for getting our troops home responsibly.

Tavis Smiley: Let me offer this as an exit question. You know as well as I do all the talk in the media and all the pundits taking their shot at what her chances are. It seems that the conventional wisdom is that her chances of getting the nomination are diminishing and all this talk about super delegates and about Florida and Michigan and the popular vote and who won the most states. You know this stuff as, as well as I do being a, a Clinton proxy. As you sit here tonight, what's your sense of her chances still to win the nomination at this point?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think she's got a very good chance to win the nomination. I do think it's about electability in the general election. I think it's about the ability to go against John McCain and stand tall on issues of national security. I've endorsed and supported Hillary Clinton because I think she's the candidate with the greatest knowledge, the most experience. She's got tremendous character. She's decisive. She'll be a great Commander In Chief-

Tavis Smiley: Uh huh.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: -for the United States Armed Forces. I think she'll be a great President.

Video and a full transcript at: http://securingamerica.com/node/2884

[Baby Snooks]

1. Reality of withdrawal

The reality of withdrawal is it will only serve to plunge Iraq into futher chaos so whoever the next president is their options are going to be limited. About the only thing that might create order finally in Iraq is the one thing I doubt we will see - accountability on our part with regard to the disorder we created and there will be no accountablility apparently since it is too late for impeachment and obviously none of the candidates will pursue the matter of accountablity.

Madame Speaker decided to take impeachment off the table and when she swept it under the rug she swept everything else under the rug along with it.

Were someone to demand prosecution of this administration by the International Court, would any of the candidates allow this administration to be tried for war crimes?

And the problem with maintaining a presence in Iraq is the lack of accountability with regard to our military. The reality is the Iraqi people have seen more brutality at the hands of our military than they ever saw at the hands of Saddam Hussein.

Were someone to demand prosecution of our military leaders involved in this war by the International Court, would any of the candidates allow them to be tried for war crimes?

The Democrats need a little reality check as well as the Republicans.

[elleng]

2. How would 'accountability on our part with regard to the disorder

we created' create order finally in Iraq?

[karynnj]

7. Anyone campaigning on having Bush et al be tried international court will lose in a landslide

[kevinmc]

3. Slew of Military Officers Endorse Obama

Citing his judgment and ability to lead, admirals and generals from the United States Army, Navy and Air Force that together have served under the last nine Commanders-in-Chief today announced their endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for president.

The following admirals and generals endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president:

Brigadier General Larry Gillespie. Gillespie has led a distinguished 33-year career with the U.S. Army. He served as the Assistant Deputy Commanding General, (ARNG) Army Material Command. He is a recognized authority in many of the technical challenges and solutions associated with Homeland Security and National Defense. As a civilian, General Gillespie has held a series of increasingly important positions with the Air Transport Association, Hughes Aircraft Company, Raytheon Systems Company, NCI, Hampton University, and Eagle Force Association.

Major General Scott Gration (USAF-Ret). General Gration is a retired two-star general and was the Director of Strategy, Policy, and Assessments of the United States European Command in Germany. General Gration was raised in Africa and entered the Air Force in 1974 through the Air Force ROTC program at Rutgers University. He served as a White House Fellow, operations group commander and two-time wing commander. The general served as Director of Regional Affairs in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. General Gration served as the Commander of Task Force West during Operation Iraqi F reedom. His aerial combat experience includes almost a thousand hours of combat time with 274 combat missions over Iraq.

Admiral Don Guter. Admiral Guter served in the U.S. Navy for 32 years, concluding his career as the Navy’s Judge Advocate General from 2000 to 2002. Admiral Guter currently serves as the Dean of Duquesne University Law School in Pittsburgh, PA. He also is executive director of the Navy Marine Coast Guard Residence Foundation.

Brigadier General David “Dave” McGinnis. General McGinnis was the Chief of Staff of the National Guard Association of the U.S. McGinnis served as director of strategic plans and analysis for the Honorable Deborah R. Lee, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. He served two tours in Vietnam before leaving the active Army in 1972 and joining the New York National Guard that same year. In 1990, he became branch chief of the force management division at National Guard Bureau (NGB) in Washington. Subsequent assignments included Deputy Chief from 1991-92 and Director from 1992-1993.

General Merrill “Tony” McPeak. General McPeak is a retired four star general and served as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force during Operation Desert Storm. McPeak entered the Air Force in 1957 and was appointed Chief of Staff in 1990, holding that office until his retirement in1994. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War, McPeak served as a top wartime advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council. General McPeak is the recipient of the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was a fighter pilot and flew over 300 combat missions in Vietnam.

Admiral John B. Nathman. During his thirty-seven year career with the U.S. Navy, Admiral Nathman held a variety of positions in naval air and sea-based operations, finishing his service as Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Admiral Nathman became a naval aviator, ultimately serving as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School. In 1971, Admiral Nathman earned a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Systems Engineering from the University of West Florida. He attained Flag rank in 1994 and served in a number of command positions, including with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, Naval Air Forces, and U.S. Fleet Forces. Admiral Nathman also served as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

Major General Hugh Robinson. A West Point graduate, Robinson was promoted to brigadier general and became the Corps of Engineers’first African American general officer. He served as deputy director of Civil Works, and in 1980 assumed command of the Southwestern Division, a position he held until his retirement in 1983 as a major general. In 1965, he was appointed as military aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson. Robinson was the first African American to serve in that position and held the appointment throughout the remainder of Johnson’s presidency.

Brigadier General James Smith. Smith retired from the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general and served as Commander, Joint Warfighting Center, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Joint Training Analysis and Simulation Center. He was responsible for managing the joint force exercise and training development program and the modeling, simulation and deploying of solutions that demonstrated high probability of operational success. His previous assignments included Commander, 18th Wing; Vice Director for Operations, Headquarters North American Aerospace Defense Command; Commander, 325th Operations Group; and CSAF Chair, National War College.

Admiral Robert “Willie” Williamson (USN-Ret Rear Admiral). Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Williamson served as military Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition and Director, Office of Program Appraisal. He was the senior military advisor on the Secretary of the Navy staff. Williamson commanded the aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, during Desert Storm, and his last operational assignment was Commander, Carrier Group Two, (John F. Kennedy Battle Group), Deploying to the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas in support of allied operations in Bosnia.

Major General Ralph Wooten. Wooten is a former Commanding General of the Army’s Chemical Arsenal. His civilian corporate career includes Management of large material management and control of multi-million Department of Defense programs. He served 31 years in the U.S. Army and retired as a Commanding General. During his military career he crafted strategic vision, formulated operations plans, developed investment strategies, controlled facilities and equipment, executed multi-million dollar budgets, and provided leadership, direction and advocacy to human resources numbered in the thousands, and corporate management to major military installations. He is currently the Executive Vice President of Management Systems, Inc.



http://weneedobama.blogspot.com/2008/03/slew-of-military-officers-endorse-obama.html

Senator Barack Obama Receives Endorsement of Flag Officers from Army, Navy and Air Force


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[jackson_dem]

8. So what? Many endorsed Clinton. None of them have the stature of Wes Clark

Clark goes beyond just being a military expert. He was a hero among progressives before he committed heresy and endorsed Clinton.

[kevinmc]

10. I would probably Vote for Clark

Clark is loyal to Bill Clinton and that's probably the only reason he likes Hillary. He will fall in line for Obama when it's time. Bill Clinton also will fall in line.








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[MrSlayer]

4. You'll never meet a bigger Clarkie than myself.

But I just can't follow the good General on this one. I would vote for Senator Clinton in the GE even if she got the nomination through nefarious means because a vote for McCain means certain death but I strongly support Senator Obama in this primary.

[jackson_dem]

9. Fair enough but Clark, as usual, makes strong arguments that can't be ignored

It is a shame Hillary is viewed as an evil caricature by much of the blogosphere and this precludes a rational assessment of her, and as a side effect, a rational assessment of Obama. They are very similar on substance but in the la la land that is the blogosphere you would think one is a right-wing Republican and the other the second coming of Paul Wellstone.

[JoFerret]

5. Fair enough

I think she's got a very good chance to win the nomination. I do think it's about electability in the general election. I think it's about the ability to go against John McCain and stand tall on issues of national security. I've endorsed and supported Hillary Clinton because I think she's the candidate with the greatest knowledge, the most experience. She's got tremendous character. She's decisive. She'll be a great Commander In Chief-

[billyoc]

6. Ah, good old "Maximum Violence" Clark. nt

[crankychatter]

11. Another GOP endorsement

one hand washes the other I guess

"The right hand doesn't know what the FAR right hand is doing."
Hillary Rodham Clinton

The ultimate irony.

[GeorgeGist]

12. ding, ding, ding ...

we have another loser.
"... strategy in the region, one that puts U.S. interests and U.S allies first