Meet The Real Gen. Clark: Counterpunch

[sfecap]

A Vain, Pompous, Brown-noser

Meet the Real Gen. Clark

Anyone seeking to understand the bloody fiasco of the Serbian war need hardly look further than the person of the beribboned Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley K. Clark. Politicians and journalists are generally according him a respectful hearing as he discourses on the "schedule" for the destruction of Serbia, tellingly embracing phrases favored by military bureaucrats such as "systematic" and "methodical".

The reaction from former army subordinates is very different.
"The poster child for everything that is wrong with the GO (general officer) corps," exclaims one colonel, who has had occasion to observe Clark in action, citing, among other examples, his command of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood from 1992 to 1994.

While Clark's official Pentagon biography proclaims his triumph in "transitioning the Division into a rapidly deployable force" this officer describes the "1st Horse Division" as "easily the worst division I have ever seen in 25 years of doing this stuff."

Such strong reactions are common. A major in the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado when Clark was in command there in the early 1980s described him as a man who "regards each and every one of his subordinates as a potential threat to his career".

While he regards his junior officers with watchful suspicion, he customarily accords the lower ranks little more than arrogant contempt. A veteran of Clark's tenure at Fort Hood recalls the general's "massive tantrum because the privates and sergeants and wives in the crowded (canteen) checkout lines didn't jump out of the way fast enough to let him through".

(more....)

http://www.counterpunch.org/clark.html

[mantis]

1. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..................

[J B]

2. Not that this matters in politics.

But it is true this guy had a bad rep among those connected to the armed forces and Kosovo was not considered much of a war in military terms. Politically, it worked out. Militarily... let's just say it's good the Serbs gave up.

[Maple]

3. The only thing I know about him

is that during the whole Bosnia/Serbia thing, Freepers trashed Clark all the time.

I assumed it was because they were against the invasion in the first place, and on Serbia's side.

[JohnKleeb]

9. nah the only reason they opposed the invasion was

because of their hatred for Clinton. Kucinich opposed it for the record. Kucinich yes I know what you are thinking, you're wrong hes not Serbian American though hes Croatian American.

[Kahuna]

4. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

:boring: :boring: :boring:

[TacticalPeek]

5. I prefer my baloney between bread. n/t

[Kahuna]

6. LOL!

Good one! :thumbsup:

[blm]

7. Hey Kahuna...

Is that Counterpunch article on the REAL Dean still around?

[Kahuna]

11. I don't know. Since Counterpunch did a hatchet job on Gore...

and I had to send them a nastygram about it.. I never click on any of their links. They have proven themselves to be propadandists for the far far far far left. No thanks. :puke:

[blm]

13. Yep...that was my point.

I even thought their article on Dean was harsher than deserved.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

20. I have the CP article on Kerry....

...John Kerry's Waffle Housetm was doing banner businesss when I dropped in to speak with the budding debutante...

-snip-

...when asked about his Iraq War Resoulution vote, Kerry calmly turned to me and said "Fu*k You! Do I need a set of teacups for you to cry in?...

http://www.counterpunch.org/kerry.html%16213

[Kahuna]

22. Though...

I might be interested in seeing the Dean hatchet job....Just for a laugh. }(

[Maple]

8. And of course you've all met

or served with him, and would know?

[dsc]

10. Counter point is a lousy source

they lied about both Gore and Dean so why should we believe them on Clark.

[Kahuna]

12. I just posted above about them lying on Gore. After that...

they've lost any credibility they may have had. And I'm not sure they ever had any credibility.

[tameszu]

14. Ah, yeah, Counterpunch

Reputation: when dyed-in-the-wool Nation-type progressives and (ultradove on Israel-Palestine) like Eric Alterman trash you as Stalinist and anti-semitic, then maybe you've gone too far.

As for its substantive claims on Clark: between the BS there is probably a shred of truth there. The virtues of being a great leader are often in tension with the virtues of pleasant neighbourly human beings. I would frankly be surprised if Clark had gotten 4 stars without making any enemies. And we all agree that Clark is good with image.

But maybe the article's conclusion speaks for itself:

"This observer concludes that, confronted with the wily Slobodan and other unavoidable variables of war, Clark will soon come unglued. 'Watch the carpets at NATO HQ for teeth marks.'"

That's dead on, if by unglued, you mean winning NATO's first war without losing a single allied soldier in combat, preventing a major ethnic cleansing, and leading to a conclusion in which the defeated country produced a democracy on its own and voluntarily deported its former despotic leader to a UN war crimes tribunal.

What a strong record on its prediction, this Counterpunch.

[DrFunkenstein]

18. As a dyed-in-the-wool Nation-type progressive

I'd have to agree with the majority of your assessment.

[tameszu]

15. You mean, this Counterpunch hack job on Dean?

In the world of Counterpunch, Clark is priss and Dean is...uh, looks like a http://www.counterpunch.org/frank08092003.html">Mean, Mean conservative shill...

Ah, gotta love them neo-Stalinists...

[ButterflyBlood]

16. Counterpunch has trashed Bernie Sanders and Jim McDermott before

no one is left enough for them. I like them when they aren't trashing every Democrat in existance but otherwise no reason to take them seriously.

[jfkennedy]

17. But take a look at the real military he was in

Al Martin story about military industrial complex corruption.

When the Department of Defense brings in their turbo shredders that means that the whole thing is going to fall apart pretty soon and they want to get as much stuff shredded as possible.

By the way, the young FBI agent told the senior FBI agent that he actually met a major who told him, "Hell, for $10,000, I'll give you every goddamn military secret in the United States."

Parked in the corner of the airfield at the Redstone Arsenal, there were several private Lear jets, standing by, so if it gets too sticky, the retired guys can get to their luxury Caribbean homes in a hurry. After all, these Lear Jets are provided for them for free by the defense contractors.

http://www.almartinraw.com/behindthescenes.html

See up to the minute news on Clark at

http://antiwarmonger.com

[Kahuna]

21. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

:boring:

:boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Ya know...

This reminds me of a lot of the sniping George Washington got during the Revolution. Even some of his own commanders tried to throw banana peels under his feet and lobbied the Continental Congress to fire him. He got more loyalty out of Steuben and Lafayette than his own people.

Eisenhower got some of the same treatment. Loads of sniping about how he wasn't too bright and didn't have the battle instincts of a Patton or Monty. A poor match for the German general staff, they thought. Truman issued veiled warnings about him as a President, hinting that overall mediocrity combined with a military background is not a good thing for a politician. Thinking of Jackson and Grant, no doubt.

Well, Ike and the first and only real George W. didn't do all that bad, did they?

I always kinda liked Cockburn & Co., going way back to when he was the big mouth at the Village Voice, but there's no way in hell they're ever gonna have anything good to say about any general anywhere.

[blm]

23. Deanies should rein in their supporters.

Are you trying to sour people on Clark so it makes it hard for Dean to choose Clark as VP? As we all well know, Dean would need help on the ticket from a military and foreign policy guy.