The General: Did Clark Fail to Salute? (Clarks NATO Firing)

Newsweek ^ | Feb 2, 2004 | Evan Thomas and T. Trent Gegax

[XHogPilot]

Wes Clark won a war, but ran afoul of his Pentagon masters and lost his job. (snip)

Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that Clark had been sacked as commander of NATO forces after the 1999 Balkans war because of "integrity and character issues." (snip)

What really happened? According to a knowledgeable source, Clark ran afoul of Cohen and Shelton by being less than totally forthcoming in morning conference calls during the Kosovo war in the spring of 1999. 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 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 (snip)

[OldFriend]

The real tragedy is that we elected someone like X42 to be the leader of the free world.

Thanks for your blessing for my son.

[faithincowboys]

I must say Clark pisses me off more than any of the Rats in the race. His wife is as scary as he is, somebody send that woman to the dentist. He is a loser, I just don't see him being able to fool as many people as he needs to to get the nomination and the Presidency.

[cake_crumb]

"The real tragedy is that we elected someone like X42 to be the leader of the free world."

....TWICE!

[George W. Bush]

Here's a lovely pic of the General, going for the sodomy vote.



Notice how he's decked out in a gay clone style, looking like he's headed off to the baths.

He'd get more votes out of this bit if he'd gone for kinky military garb.

[Graymatter]

>>Clark has alluded on some forum that Clinton was tricked into it by Cohen and Shelton. Now, c'mon folks.

Exactly! We'll never get to the bottom of it, all the parties involved have clammed up tight, but it beggars reason to suggest that Clinton didn't know what he was signing.

People like Clinton watch people like Clark. They watch them very carefully.

[XHogPilot]

My son was in the military at the time. He was slated to go in and prepare for the peacekeepers that Milosevich ultimately refused. Altho it would have been a very dangerous mission for him, we were heartsick that the decision had been made to bomb.

If you really want to be sickened, read the Rambouillet Treaty that Yugoslavia refused to sign. It was, for whatever reason, written to ensure non-acceptance by Yugoslavia. It surrendered all of Kosovo to NATO military and political control, even to the point of installing a new constitution. That constitution, written primarily by US Sec State Albright, would have been unacceptable to anyone, especially an American.

[Woodman]

It is around a 50/50 split and many a flame war broke out over it. The was pre-moderated so I assume you can imagine the carnage

[gatorbait]

People like Clinton watch people like Clark. They watch them very carefully.

Exactly so.

[savedbygrace]

Nah, should have been:

Brevity - Wit's soul

[savedbygrace]

No soul?

[cake_crumb]

"Notice how he's decked out in a gay clone style, looking like he's headed off to the baths."

Heheheheh...well, he got his message through to his target voting bloc. Unfortunately for Weasley, they only constitute about 1% of the American public and they dislike metrosexuals. And he wonders why he polls in the single digits.

[NYCVirago]

Did you see this tidbit about Mad Maddie?

When she first pushed to threaten force against the Serbs in Kosovo, a senior administration official exclaimed, "You people always want to bomb someone. It's some kind of orgasm." Albright silenced the men in the room by remarking, "I forget what an orgasm is."

[Political Junkie Too]

They would give Clark 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]."

So, is this a classic case of "Daddy says no so I'll go ask mommy?"

-PJ

[OldFriend]

We were well aware that the treaty was something that could and should NEVER be acceptable to Milosevich. It was preordained that NATO would begin bombing. The promise was made to the KLA if I remember correctly.

Interestingly enough you can read Michael Moore's screed on the conduct of that war and find that for once in his life he was right. Of course, he is now supporting Clark so I guess he was on drugs when he wrote against the Kosovo mission or he's like the rest of the dems.......lying so much they forget their previous opinion.

[OldFriend]

And of course the rest of the world respected us so much for that bombing of Yugoslavia that they marched thru the streets by the hundreds of thousands with signs reading......MONICA BOMBS

[fatso]

The US military was at Waco

General Wesley Clark was involved in the siege and final assault near Waco, Texas that killed, by a combination of toxic gas and fire, at least 82 people including some three dozen women, children and infants. As outlandish as this claim may seem, it's a reasonable conclusion that can be drawn by any fair minded person who takes the time to examine the evidence. Further, there is substantial circumstantial evidence that, Clark, in addition to acting as a tactical consultant, may, in fact, have been the prime architect and commander of the entire operation.

If this is true, why is it important? First, it represents a clear violation of US law. The military is banned from involvement in the enforcement of US civil law except under certain carefully defined circumstances. The incident at Waco did not come even close to legally qualifying. Second, it casts light on some of the more outrageous tactics used in the war against Yugoslavia, in particular the bombing attacks on Yugoslavian news media, essential life support services, and on civilians, the latter which were sometimes, but not always, described as "accidents." Third, President Clinton began the year with the statement that he is considering a Pentagon proposal to create a new US military command, commander-in-chief for the defense of the continental U.S., a first in peace time and an alarming move for reasons described in "Bombing 'suspended' - and now, the future"

[theyibby]

Come on...don't be so critical. He's improving over Clinton skill. Clinton parsed a two-letter word--"is". Clark has moved way on up to parsing a three-letter word--"the".

You call him a "nutjob"....sorry, but that doesn't even come close!! Maybe a Clinton Clone. Better check that DNA. They're both from Arkansas.

[theyibby]

Come on...don't be so critical. He's improving over Clinton skill. Clinton parsed a two-letter word--"is". Clark has moved way on up to parsing a three-letter word--"the".

You call him a "nutjob"....sorry, but that doesn't even come close!! Maybe a Clinton Clone. Better check that DNA. They're both from Arkansas.

[Porterville]

Clinton, Albright, Cohen, Clark. All corrupt as the day is long. Clinton ran his administration like an organized crime syndicate. If you weren't corrupt, he had no use for you. Of course, you didn't want to be smarter than the Capo. You could end up in clump of bushes in Ft. Marcy Park, or crashing into a mountain top in South America with a large caliber bullet hole in your skull.

Maybe they were just really nuts from all the acid from the 60's and 70's.... I mean they were bizarrely insane, like they all had syphilis or something.

[ExSoldier]

"I've served with these fellow officers and no one hates them more than I do....."

Me too. Just look at which general is singing Clark's praises: None other than the Clinton Drug Czar himself, General Barry MaCaffrey. I served with this scum when he was first the 9th ID G3 then as Chief of Staff and later I had further dealings with him when he took over as commander of the 3rd Bde at the 9th. He ruined a lot of good officer's careers on a whim, usually by throwing them off as sacrifices to cover his own butt.

MaCaffrey was good for a laugh when he was on the staff, though. He used to strut around a conference room with a cigarette between his fingers (he was a chain smoker), ponificating on the current training scenarios. Due to a wound from an AK-47 during 'Nam, the nreves in that arm were toast. In fact, he had a big "divot" out of the forearm. But the cigarette used to burn down and suddenly there would be this intense smell of burning flesh and one of us junior officers would have to offer a loud stage whisper: "Pssssst! Sir! Time for a new cigarette!" and he'd look annoyed, drop the butt and light up another and the process would start all over. Clark and MaCaffrey are two of a kind. They're both self serving clymers of the first degree.