Posted on 09/22/2003 6:18:45 AM PDT by Matthew James
I've told a couple of friends this story over the past couple of years, and they've urged me to express it in a more public forum if General Wesley Clark ever threw his hat into the Presidential ring. So, in response to recent events...
I knew one of the liaison officers who was serving with the Russian Brigade in Bosnia. The Brigade has been there for several years, and works closely with the U.S./NATO. The U.S. military provides liaison officers who live with the Russians and serve as the direct contact conduit between the Russian and U.S./NATO command structure.
Clark was periodically in direct contact with these liaison officers, and they were able to see first-hand just how clueless and dangerous this guy really is.
Whenever referring to the Russians, Clark repeatedly referred to them as the "Soviets," and didn't seem to understand that they were [ostensibly] working with NATO. His conversations always gave the impression that he had no clue that the Cold War ended back in 1991.
NATO had indications that the Russians may decide that they wanted their own piece of land to administer in Kosovo. They've historically always supported their "Slav brethren" in the Balkans, and desperately want to be seen as a player on the world stage again.
So when Wesley received word that it looked like the Russians might move from their area in Bosnia, and head for Kosovo, he ordered this liaison officer, "Don't allow the Soviets to leave their compound."
So the liaison officer went to see the Russian Brigade Commander, and passed on Clark's desire that the Russians not leave. The Commander answered something to the effect that Russia will do what it thinks it needs to in the region, and that he would follow the orders of his superiors.
When this was passed along to Clark, he went nuts. Clark berated the liaison officer, and said that it was the officer's duty not to allow the Russians to leave their compound!
When the officer told Clark that the Russians were already lining up their combat vehicles he really started bouncing off the walls. The officer asked Clark how he expected the Brigade to be stopped by only one person armed with a 9mm pistol. Clark said, "I don't care what you have to do, just don't let them leave their compound!"
At that point the Russians were already lined up in a column that stretched though the gates of their compound. Upon hearing this Clark mentioned a bridge that they'd have to cross shortly after leaving the compound, and told the liaison officer to do "whatever it takes to keep the Soviets from crossing that bridge!"
Obviously, short of starting a shooting war with the Russians, there was nothing that the liaison officer could do. The Russian column rolled, and the rest is history.
This one episode is the tip of the iceberg. I'v heard a great many stories from people who have worked directly for Clark, and the guy is power-crazy and dangerous.
And don't believe the stories about how "smart" he is. Yes, he graduated first in his class at West Point, and went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. But surely you've known someone who gets straight "A's" without hardly trying, yet has no common sense. That's Wes Clark; and add to that an unquenchable desire for power.
Don't believe me? Read his book [Waging Modern War]. Knowing the inside story before reading it really helped me see his character, but there's enough there for anyone to see what a moron Clark truely is.
Here's one example: I've read a great many books by senior officers. What do the good ones always mention? --Their staffs. They realize that they are successful because of how good their staff is, and how they as a leader interface with that staff. How many times does Wesley even mention his staff throughout the book? --NEVER. But he points out how great he is by making important decisions with no help all the time.
There's information out there. Find it; read it; then you decide.
They'll be a perfect match with each other on the 2004 Ticket!
This story should be salted away for future use against Napoleon Clark.
CNS NEWS.com: "RAMSEY CLARK SAYS AMERICA SHOULD PAY FULL TAB FOR REBUILDING IRAQ" by Steve Brown (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - America is responsible for war-ravaged Iraq and should pay for its reconstruction instead of asking for help from the United Nations, according to one of the nation's most vocal anti-war activists and former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark. Clark, whose off-the-cuff comments in January comparing Jesus Christ to a terrorist created a media firestorm, was in Washington, D.C., Wednesday as director of International Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER). Among other things, Clark alleged that the Bush administration has lied about its "criminal war."") (September 4, 2003)
Nobody has yet pointed out to me at what point in his career Weasely Clark was able to pick up his allegedly fluent Russian.
This is from my former mentor's retired general resume:
FOREIGN LANGUAGE(S) French, German, and Vietnamese
My mentor would not claim to be fluent in any of the three languages today. He probably had special language training for his specific duties in Vietnam and as a commander in Germany.
My guess is that some reporter may have lazily used the word FLUENTLY as a matter of choice, based on viewing Clark's official resume and not necessarily knowingly when describing Clark's Russian language background. I hope this helps.
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