Is Clark just part of the MIC?

[BootinUp]

I promised to write a post about this because it is a concern for many at DU. Clark served in the military his whole career and is a Ret. General. I can understand why many here would not feel comfortable with him as President. I do not expect to change minds with this post, but I invite you to learn a little more about the General.

Have you ever heard or seen Clark talk about Kosovo? There were two interviews, 60 Minutes II and one at USATODAY. The USA TODAY one is no longer available free. but here is the 60 Minutes II:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/19/60II/main584446.shtml

In these interviews journalists he shows pictures of the ethnic cleansing, and talks about them. Women and babies that were senselessly killed, he has tears in his eyes. He says that he had to fight the Pentagon and Sec. of Def. Cohen over how to stop the atrocities. He says that Bill Clinton once inspired him by saying "If you can do good, you should." To top it off Clark lost his job after a successful campaign in Kosovo, it is reported that this was because of conflicts with the Pentagon and Cohen.

(I don't know what you think, but Clark does not strike me as someone that normally wears his heart on his sleeve. He does not seem comfortable expressing emotions in public to me.)

In other interviews Clark has talked about why he went to West Point. He wanted to serve his country and make a difference. At West Point he and his classmates were inspired by Pres Kennedy. At this time America was united in the Cold War. It was a different situation entirely from today.

What will he do? Clark wants to restore some serious thinking and planning to our foreign policy. He has enlisted the help of the best minds to accomplish this. You can read his speech given at the New American Strategies for Security and Peace Conference here:

http://www.clark04.com/speeches/008/

You can learn more about the conference here. There were excellent speeches and panel discussions:

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?cid={E9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03}&bin_id={F2813D5B-78F0-4CF4-A3C2-2D92234DC579}

Lastly, Clark has stated that the defense department budget is on the table for possible cutting in order to restore fiscal responsibility. Is this what a candidate says in order to pander to the MIC?

Feel free to ask me questions if you wish.

Cheers

[deminflorida]

1. Clark is the brightest.....

and most likely candidate to win the general election. Don't get me wrong I like Howard Dean and have respected his stance on the war issue from day one. Dean is fighter that's for sure, but his approach at rolling back the entire Bush tax package and raising taxes on the middle class in this country nixes him with me. It will also nix him with the majority of mainstream America as well. If Dean were somehow able to reverse his stance on this one issue, he would then become a viable choice to Clark. Until then, Clark remains the only solid candidate to unseat the GOP in 2004.

:dem:

[lastliberalintexas]

5. Sigh

Dean doesn't want to raise taxes on the middle class. Dean wants to repeal the Shrub tax cuts, which were a mess and overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy, so that a better tax cut plan can be put into effect. Dean simply wants a new tax package with better and more targeted cuts for the middle class.

The other candidates (one in particular) have done a disservice to Dean and Gephardt by saying they want to raise taxes on the middle class, when nothing could be further from the truth. It's just that neither Dean nor Gephardt wants to start with the awful Shrub plan and try to improve it- they'd rather start with a good package from the beginning.

[newsjunkie]

2. I am so torn between Dean and Clark in primary

I have supported Dean since I first heard about him running but I want them BOTH! I just hope one of them gets the nom and asks the other to be running mate. I think they are fabulous men and the right people for the job at hand. We are going to need their wisdom,great strength and determination to rescue us from these neocons who have highjacked our foreign policy(and are systematically dismantling our domestic infrastructure too!).

[Eurobabe]

3. Standard answer to this argument is...

I would much rather have a president who is wifty to the ways of the MIC and is an outspoken critic of their shenanigans, than the present pandering a-holes like Bu$h, Franks, Schwarzkopf, <insert cabal member here> any day of the week. I trust Clark that he is above the fray here.

On a similar note, isn't it valuable that Clark knows how the media operates behind the scenes too, having been an analyst at CNN? I view his past experiences as 'covert ops.'

Wes is just on a whole 'nother plane about where this country COULD go, he gets it.

Vote Clark in your primary! Crozet4Clark

[dkf]

4. I'm not too knowledgeable on military spending

but if there is so much excess, why do our soldiers seem to lack equipment and amenities?

The lack of proper kevlar vests, vehicles with armor to protect our troops, shoddy chemical/biological weapons suits, the early lack of generators, air conditioners, and now heaters, cutting of benefits, etc. is making me really upset.

Now I did not support this war in Iraq, but I feel incredibly bad for our men and women who are there now.

To me, even if it makes sense, it seems a little insensitive to talk about cutting the defense budget when our soldiers are doing without.

Just my $0.02.

[BootinUp]

6. Well that may be a perception

But when your talking about the whole entire humungous defense budget, Surely there are some priorities that can be determined that would do the things you mentioned and still reduce spending.

As a 34 year officer and 4 star General I think he has a much better information on that then any of the other candidates or Bush for that matter.

At this point he has only said it would be looked at like every other are of government spending. Or another way to look at it is, he's not going to be blindly for increasing the defense budget.

[hilzoy]

7. If I recall correctly...

Clark has said that the fact that some components of military spending, like weapons systems, are hugely profitable to corporations and are therefore pushed by large numbers of lobbyists while others, like peacekeeping (and, I'd assume, things like warm clothing and generators), are not, distorts military spending. He has also said that in his experience Republicans tend to favor spending on weapons systems while Democrats favor spending on the troops, and that this was one of many things that led him to become a Democrat. Based on these remarks I would not expect any changes he made in military spending to adversely affect the troops.

[BootinUp]

8. Yes

Thanks for addding that, it is exactly right.

[a_lil_wall_fly]

9. What he should have done from Kosvo before it started was

Resign with this stated loud and clear..A CLEAR MORAL OBJECTION for the actions from Pentagon and the POTUS that they have laid out as too the position as the commander of the operation within NATO control.
Then I would have be a supporter of Clark...but he did not fight from day one on all the issues that led in to the senseless deaths of civilians on his watch.

[BootinUp]

10. Are you sure?

Clark played a major role in ending the attrocity. He showed great leadership and yet you wanted him to walk away from the chance to help these people?

And I am not sure what you mean by 'his watch'. We interceded into a human crisis. We were not involved in any direct way until it was already under way.

[a_lil_wall_fly]

11. Yes I know..but because of the lack of support from the beginning from

the Pentagon and POTUS--these attrocities could have been stop well before..and there were several while he was in charge of the operation.

[Enquirer]

12. But...

"When you can do good you should" is Clark's theme here. Your suggestion that he should have walked out suggests a different version: "If you can't be perfect, don't act".

[a_lil_wall_fly]

13. Well, I have know several Macadonians and Serbian emgrants....

they hold Gen. Clark and former POTUS Willaim Clinton as the same regard as Milosevic as a war criminal.

Thou I don't ever think that personal but hearing what happened after Gen. Clark took over...yes he didn't do great things but former POTUS Clinton and the Pentagon didn't give him the full power to save some of these individuals relatives from being massacre while US troops were in striking distance.

NATO and the UN are as guility as Clark and POTUS Clinton and the powers to be within the wall of the pentagon on the unnessary deaths of innocent civilains for not take Milosevic out from the get go.

Individauls that enact genocide of any magnitude have no rights for a fair and balance trial. Death to them instant and with out mercy.

Other powers that delegate when these individauls enact the crimes are guility by association. Hence why did the Dutch part of the UN police force come under fire via the court system in Europe not saving those hundreds of civilians....

[FrenchieCat]

14. Well I know several....well just read...

http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/stories/62179.php

Albanian community rallies here
Clark, Kosovo focus at Flag Day
By Lee Sensenbrenner
November 27, 2003

At the independence celebration of their Flag Day tonight, local Albanians will be rallying around the presidential campaign of retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who as NATO commander led the 1999 bombing campaign to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

"He saved a lot of lives" of ethnic Albanians, said Gani Ahmetaj, who was born in Kosovo and came to the United States 10 years ago as a refugee. "To Milosevic, he held out peace in one hand and bombs in the other. I like people like this. They can use force effectively as a last resort."

"I don't think that the Albanian community has particularly strong partisan leanings naturally," Lease said, but they are "strongly moved to Clark's candidacy on a real personal, gut level.

"There were a lot of Albanians who hadn't missed a day of work in six years who took a day off to meet General Clark when he campaigned in Milwaukee. They love him."

[BootinUp]

15. I don't know anyone from

That area, and I can only say I think it was a tremendous tragedy and I hope that people's lives are improving.