Posted on 08/28/2003 7:42:33 AM PDT by TastyManatees
General blames US for Iraq 'chaos'
The former commander of Nato forces in Europe, General Wesley Clark, says American policy has "created chaos" in Iraq.
General Clark said the fundamental problem was the US tendency to fight states to get at "terrorists", rather than take on the "terrorists" themselves.
"We may have given Osama Bin Laden the recharge he needed to rebuild his arsenal and his ranks," he told the BBC's World Today programme.
General Clark is being encouraged to become a [D]emocratic [sic] candidate for next year's presidential election, but has not yet announced if he will stand.
His criticisms coincided with a warning from the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, that the country would need tens of billions of dollars to rebuild its shattered infrastructure.
The bill to overhaul essential services would reach almost $30bn, on top of the estimated $1bn per week the US already spends on its forces in Iraq, he said.
President George W Bush has pledged "no retreat" in Iraq, saying US-led forces are making good progress in restoring order and insisting Iraq is part of the wider war on terror.
But General Clark expressed reservations about waging war on a country that he did not believe was "particularly linked to terrorism" or an "imminent danger".
He said the war should have resulted in restored Iraqi relations with the UN and Nato, finding weapons of mass destruction and ensuring Iraq would "not become a hotbed of international terrorism".
"We are drawing in terrorists. We have created chaos in Iraq," he said.
'Rethink strategy'
America should have concentrated its efforts on the "fundamental problem" of fighting "terrorism", he argued.
"What I have seen again and again is a tendency to want to attack states to get at terrorists rather than dealing with the harder problem of getting the terrorists themselves."
Bremer says some $30bn is needed to restore basic services He said America should rethink its strategy on Iraq, and work to ensure Iraqis could take back control of their borders, security and reconstruction.
General Clark said he would announce in the coming days if he would stand as a democratic candidate in next year's presidential elections.
The situation in Iraq is fast becoming an issue for next year's presidential election, the BBC's Justin Webb reports from Washington.
Mr Bush's speeches have been branded "empty rhetoric" by opposition candidates, and his popularity ratings have fallen.
The number of American deaths since the end of major combat operations on 1 May has now surpassed the number killed during the war - 139 compared to 138.
General Clark said the fundamental problem was the US tendency to fight states to get at "terrorists", rather than take on the "terrorists" themselves.
And then, without blinking, says this:
"We are drawing in terrorists. We have created chaos in Iraq," he said.
What a maroon.
So much for their brand of diplomacy that they keep wishing on us now.
Bush made it absolutely clear in his speeches that Iraq was *NOT* an imminent danger. His point was "I will not risk this country's safety by waiting until Iraq *is* an imminent danger".
Clark's claims about bin Laden's recruiting are laughable. To quote Osama himself, people prefer the strong horse. The strong horse isn't the cave-cowering leadership of Al Qaeda.
Also it's real cute how the libs in the media are now combining the combat *and* non-combat deaths since May. It's a subtle shift intended to make Bush look bad.
I promise you they'll pair up somehow.
With all due respect, Sir, go @^#& yourself.
This statement is nonsense, and you know it. How would you propose to attack As Qaida bases in Afghanistan and engage their forces without the permission of the host nation? The Taliban wasn't going to let us in, they went to war over it. What are you going to use on a nation that won't allow you access to their terrorists, Sir? Harsh language?
This is the dumbest thing I've read all day.
Why vote for him? Why would any one want to? So he can do the same thing to stop terrorism that Clinton did? Have cocain and pizza parties? Maybe a few bj's for the guests?
In my opinion, this guy is a total fruit cake.
"We are drawing in terrorists. We have created chaos in Iraq," he said.
Of course we have, idiot! Bush lured the terrorist to Iraq where armed solders are waiting for them, and away from the people he serves - us!
BTW, a new baby has been born in Iraq. The mother named her son George Bush. It sounds like the innocent are supporting GW to me.
Too bad the Army can't excommunicate him.
That's already been tried, General. Our former anti-terrorist strategy (the one that didn't involve fighting other states) included lobbing cruise missiles at a tent encampment in Afghanistan, and waiting until the terrorists struck us at home. Do you seriously think that since 9/11 the American public wants to return to those days? That's what I thought...
Read more HERE. A very disturbing read.
He may have to find another day job - Lou Dobbs recently banned Weasley Clark from appearing on his show. Dobbs said Clark was deliberately misrepresenting what was happening during the war in order to discredit the Bush administration. LOL!
You beat me to it. But is Shrillary really that stupid?
What an inane statement!
Like Saddam was going to let us into his coutry to take out the terrorists he was harboring there.
We can't even get Saudi Arabia to let us take out the terrorists that they harbor.
Any further discussion as to why he fit in so well with the Clintonistas?
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