On the front of his austere black-and-white book jacket, Gen. Wesley K. Clark is presented as the former supreme allied commander in Europe and the author of what purports to be an expert analysis of the war in Iraq. But on the book's back side, you will find a colorful full-page poster of a handsome civilian with a winning smile and the unmistakable ambition to commit more than military history.
''Winning Modern Wars'' turns out to be aptly wrapped. For its 200 pages, many of them updated just a month ago, are obviously designed to abet the swift transformation of a once embittered warrior and armchair television analyst into a hard-driving, platitudinous candidate for president.
That jacket speaks louder than the coy words with which Clark denies any partisan purpose. He allows that while writing he heard ''continuing speculation about whether I might engage in some manner'' -- sic! -- ''in the 2004 election.'' But that ''looming decision had no bearing on my analysis.'' His only aim, he insists, is to give voice to the soldiers ''far from home, in an uncertain mission,'' because they ''cannot and should not speak for themselves.''
Well, those soldiers and their fellow citizens can vote. And the general cannot camouflage the partisan thrust of his polemic. His deft review of the battlefield tactics that won Baghdad in less than a month is merely the preface to a bitter, global indictment of George W. Bush. The president and his administration are condemned for recklessly squandering a brilliant military performance on the wrong war at the worst possible time, diverting resources and talent from the pursuit of Al Qaeda, neglecting urgent domestic needs and dissipating the post-9/11 sympathy and support of most of the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/26/books/review/26FRANKET.html?8hpib
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