Clark Ran Afoul of His Bosses While NATO Commander Because He Was Less Than Forthcoming

Prnewswire ^ | Sunday January 25, 9:57 am ET

[Brian Mosely]

Press Release

Source: Newsweek

NEWSWEEK: Clark Ran Afoul of His Bosses While NATO Commander Because He Was Less Than Forthcoming, A Knowledgeable Source Says

Sunday January 25, 9:57 am ET

Clark Insists: 'The Buck Usually Stopped On My Desk'

# NEW YORK, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- When Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters last September that General Wesley Clark was fired as commander of NATO because of "integrity and character issues" an uneasy pall was cast over Clark's presidential bid. Now, Newsweek has learned that Clark ran afoul of his bosses while NATO chief because he was less than forthcoming, according to a knowledgeable source.(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040125/NYSU004 )

The problem materialized during the Kosovo war in the Spring of 1999, on morning conference calls with then Defense Secretary William Cohen and Shelton, report Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas and Washington Correspondent T. Trent Gegax in the February 2 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, January 26). From his NATO headquarters in Brussels, Clark wanted to wage the war more aggressively, but back in the Pentagon, Cohen and Shelton were more cautious.

They would give Clark explicit instructions on, for instance, the scale of the bombing campaign. "Clark would say, 'Uh-huh, gotcha," says Newsweek's source. But then he would pick up the phone and call [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair and [Secretary of State] Madeleine [Albright]." As Clark knew full well, Blair and Albright were more hawkish than Shelton and Cohen. After talking to the State Department and NATO allies, Clark would have a different set of marching orders, says the source, who has spoken about the matter with both Cohen and Clark. "Then, about 1 o'clock, the Defense Department would hear what Clark was up to, and Cohen and Shelton would be furious."

But Clark insists to Newsweek, "I was forthcoming. If [Cohen and Shelton] gave me an instruction, I did it. I would never have not done what they told me to do. But the truth is, they weren't in touch with the situation well enough to tell me everything to do. It's why you have the title supreme allied commander...The buck usually stopped on my desk...I had, by necessity, a certain independence. Yet no matter how many times I tried to bring Hugh Shelton and Washington to understand the allied side, it didn't compute. They just didn't see it."

[westcott]

NATO Commander (SACEUR)

The top military commander is the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR). He is a US 4-star general who also reports to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff as the commander-in-chief of all US forces in Europe. It is the responsibility of SACEUR to recommend deployments for all NATO forces in response to any perceived threats to NATO security. These recommendations must be approved by SHAPE before being executed.

(GM's note: For game purposes, SACLANT, the western Atlantic command of NATO, has been subsumed by US Atlantic Command, or CINCLANT.)

Generally speaking, the Atlantic Alliance (AA) faction of SHAPE will most likely approve the deployment of units to any area within NATO's jurisdiction as long as those units are available and are not needed by their home country. WEU nations, on the other hand, tend to only approve deployments that involve conflicts close to their own borders, pariticularly in central and eastern Europe.


For the record - Tony Blair had to convince Bill Clinton to proceed.

[westcott]

The transatlantic union is very important and has been severely damaged by the Iraq war debacle.

George Bush can't fix it.
Wesley Clark can.
Why - because as you guys have pointed out. Tony Blair answers his calls :)
cya

[Condor51]

Ok, I'll be the first;

''No matter how many times I tried, it didn't compute.
They just didn't see it."

[Condor51]

General Clark proved that he's INSANE in incident after the war was over.

He knew that the Russians would try to take the Pristina airport and he ordered a British General to send some of his troops along with elite US Rangers to take the airport before the Russians got there. The British General however was RIGHTFULLY scared, as this INSANITY would lead to a confrontation with the Russians and possibly start WWIII, so naturally he refused to obey these idiotic orders. It is because of this incident General Clark resigned.

[Enterprise]

I agree. Clinton probably liked the little twit, but when he screwed up, it started rolling downhill.

[sinkspur]

The transatlantic union is very important and has been severely damaged by the Iraq war debacle

That's actually pretty funny. The "transatlantic union" is the US and Britain, and that relationship is just fine.

The French and Germans were complicit in Hussein's atrocities. They were never going to support any action against him.

[okie01]

George Bush can't fix it.
Wesley Clark can.
Why - because as you guys have pointed out. Tony Blair answers his calls :)

And he doesn't answer President Bush's?

Moreover, the PM was, in all liklihood, behind Clark's firing.

It was British troops, after all, that Clark asked "to start WW III" for him. Brigadier Jackson reported the incident to CIGS...and Her Majesty's Government was decidedly not pleased.

Clark is a dangerous kook who doesn't enjoy the confidence and respect of even his fellow officer corps.