Clark on Countdown: This administration doesn't support the troops; it supports it's political aims.

[calteacherguy]

An honor for us once again to be joined by our analyst, retired Four-Star Army General Wesley Clark, also of course, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and a former Democratic Presidential candidate. General Clark, thanks for being with us again tonight.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Good to be with you Keith.

Keith Olbermann: That plan that has been, been put forth by General Odom, would the main obstacle to that plan seem to be lawmakers in Congress having the guts to execute it?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I, I think the country's not quite there yet on the impeachment issue, but I do think that it's important to get those troops out of Iraq. It's time for the United States to begin redeploying. We've given it four long years. The politics has never come together. This administration won't do the diplomacy in the region. And it's left our men and women in uniform out there exposed. Bill Odom's a strategist. He's thinking of it strategically, and he says you're in a situation where you're only losing more with each passing day.

Keith Olbermann: The General's comments regarding the rhetoric of this, control the rhetoric you control the debate. How is it, in your estimation, that the administration continues to have a stranglehold on this phrase, "supporting the troops" when 3,592 of them have died and scores of thousands more have been wounded physically or psychologically?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Keith, it's hard for me to explain it. I mean, we've had Democrats for the last three years talking about how this administration hasn't supported the troops, hasn't provided them the body armor, hasn't given them a winning strategy, hasn't taken care of the veterans when they've come home. This administration doesn't support the troops in Iraq. It supports its political aims, which was to go in there and knock off one state after another through regime change. It's holding on in Iraq, waiting for the term to end and then dump the problem on the Democrats at the expense of our troops and the United States of America.

Keith Olbermann: When it comes to things like equipment, body armor, size of the troop force, how is there, is there a way of measuring how the administration has supported its troops in the field, not rhetorically, but practically?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think you can look at the actual issues that have been brought up, and you can look at the amount of the buy that's been, that's been made. Secretary Rumsfeld said it best. He said, "We went to war with the Army that we had." But that was in response to a soldier's complaint, and the soldiers know they didn't have the body armor they needed. We still don't have the right protective vehicles there to deal with the improvised explosive devices, and we don't have, and we've never had, enough troops on the ground to really do the kind of peacekeeping mission that was required. But even worse than that is the strategic failure, Keith. You know, soldiers expect their leaders to do the hard work of diplomacy and to use the military only as a last resort, because when you use the military, it's final, people die. The fate of nations hangs on it. It's much better for the diplomats to work it all out first if they can. Well, this administration didn't give the diplomacy a real chance to work before the war, and now in dealing with Iran and Syria, it simply refusing to do the diplomacy that's required. Our men and women, most of all, need the support of good leadership, courageous leadership, in the While House, and they don't have it.

Keith Olbermann: Do the, do the motives of, o-o-of, of other leaders or perhaps the courage even of other leaders, d-do the actual origins matter. Congressman Doolittle who mentioned, was mentioned today, linked to two bribery scandals. Senator Domineci was involved, who just yesterday called for a change of course in Iraq, was involved in this, really sort of kicked off, this U.S. Attorneys' firing scandal, and he's up for reelection next year. Do the motives of Republicans who are defecting detract at all from the size of the, of the problem that potentially looms for the President?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, if you're suggesting that their motives are that they're not great strategic thinkers, but they might be interested in reelection, I think that's an appropriate concern for anyone in political office. I mean, they are supposed to reflect the views of their constituents. It's clear that they're hearing from the constituents that they don't want any more of the policy. So, regardless of what their strategic acumen is, I think it's a, it's a good thing for the country that the Republican Party's starting to come apart here at the edges and maybe deeper as the President pursues his policy in Iraq. Because it's only the politics of it that can change that strategy of it.

Keith Olbermann: Yeah. Unfortunately, it's a big table, but there's seats for everybody. General Wesley Clark, MSNBC analyst. Again our pleasure, Sir. Thanks for your time.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you Keith.

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