General [Clark] blames US for Iraq 'chaos'

BBC News ^ | 8/28/03 | Staff

[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.

[jmaroneps37]

This great! wessy will give ammo to the far left America haters who vote in rat primaries. Since they are only half smart, they will see that wessy is unelectable but; use his treasonable words as proof that they should support how-odd dean, whom they will, in their infinate wisdom, see as their only electable candidate.
It's a beautiful thing, I tell ya; it's a beautiful thing indeed!!

[hgro]

For some reason, Arkansas has a proclivity for producing dunces.

[Ramius]

Hmm... Lessee... We have assorted whacked out muslim extremists-- terrorists-- all heading for Iraq where they will take on (and die at the hands of) the 4th ID, the 82nd and 101st Airborne... instead of coming here to take on the NYPD or the LAPD.

Yup, they've got us right where we want them.

Maybe it's just me, but I haven't spotted the problem with this plan?

[Steel Wolf]

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

Either that, or we gave hime a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) to Ft. Run-for-your-life, Pakistan, where he'll spend the rest of his miserable unwashed days looking over his shoulder, jumping at every shadow, and cowering at the roar of every jet engine in the distance. Just thinking of it makes me want to go to a good resteraunt, have a nice hot bath, and crash in my nice soft bed; three things that he'll never enjoy again from his cramped, humid little cave.

If by 'rebuild his arsenal', Clark means 'watch it be blown to smitherines, and be helpess to prevent it', then yes, he's right on the money. Al Qaida has rebuilt their arsenal very, very well. Now all they need is to find out how to kill people with very small bits of debris, and they're back in business.

His 'ranks' are a great place for fast promotions. From the hills of Afghanistan to the plains of Iraq, AQ members are gunned down like rabid dogs as soon as they show their colors. On the plus side, it's relatively safe to hide in remote caves in rural Pakistan. Where do I sign up?

[philosofy123]

The bombing of Serbia was a shameful thing in our history, IMHO. The Clinton-Albright move was and still is a very questionable decision. If Clark does not admit that it was a big mistake to bomb the capital of a country that has never offended us in any way, he will show extreme dishonesty.

[Peach]

Oh, Wesley the liar thinks we are interested in anything he has to say? Search FR for a few tidbits about him.

He has consistently lied and said that the White House called him on 9/11 "as the towers were burning" to request that he go public with the assertion that Iraq was behind the attacks. A few weeks ago he admits it was either a Saudia Arabian or Canadian (varying reports) think tank that called him on 9/11, not the White House.

A lie of this magnitude is an illness ala Clintonian.

Secondly, he has claimed the White House forced CNN to fire him! As though CNN would do as the White House asks.
What he doesn't seem to understand that as a consultant to CNN he was given free air time. Even the dunderheads at CNN figured out that potential presidential candidates should not be given any kind of free air time.

[kevkrom]

American policy has "created chaos" in Iraq.

And before we came in, sure, tens of thousands were being killed by a brutal regime that used chemical weapons on their own citizens, but at least there was order! Isn't that the most important thing?

[1Old Pro]

General Clark is being encouraged to become a [D]emocratic [sic] candidate

I hate it when I read about "Democratic" candidates. But Democrats hate being called Democrats, they always prefer to be called Democratic. I've had letters to the editor of liberal newspapers( I know, that goes without saying) change my letter by inserting Demcratic for Democrat.

[vaudine]

Wesley and Clinton had Oxford and Cecil Rhodes in common. McGovern was a Rhodes scholar, too, I believe. This so-called superior intellectualism appeals to the libs who live in Never-Never land instead of the real world. They like to stand around the cocktail parties and verbally solve all the world's problems. They leave feeling oh-so-superior to the rest of us poor work-a-day slobs. God save us from these types.

Clark is bashing Bush, but he helped give us the horror of Waco, the lies in Kosovo--ethnic cleansing only by the Serbs, when several Int'l Orgn. posted numbers showing Moslems were pouring over the borders and doing their own ethnic cleansing of Christians. The media never did publish anything but the Serbs being totally the bad guys.

I cannot see Clark getting any traction, unless Hillary does get "drafted" and chooses Wes as VP.

vaudine

[jos65]

Monday morning quarterback?

or

Just another spinmeister wannabee.

[R. Scott]

His Bio reads pretty good but of course, if he wants the Democratic nomination he does have to act like a democrat.

[TastyManatees]

Yes, the "[sic]" was due to the incorrect lower-case "d" the unfamiliar British author used when referring to the Democratic Party. This is a grammatical error, as the name of the political party is a proper noun requiring capitalization.

Tasty Manatees

[Gritty]

General Clark said the fundamental problem was the US tendency to fight states to get at "terrorists", rather than take on the "terrorists" themselves.

Whaaa...?

How, pray tell, does Weasley Clark think we can "get at the terrorists" without going into the states which actually harbor them of they don't let us in? Hasn't this supposed military expert ever heard the term "privileged sanctuary"?

"We are drawing in terrorists. We have created chaos in Iraq," (Weasely) said.

Terrific!

Better to draw them into Iraq where we have 150,000 experienced troops to kill them rather than let them congregate here in the USA where they can merrily kill us.

Weasley Clark doesn't deserve the time of day, much less high political office. He's not a buffoon. He's a dangerous man who is trying to lie and demogogue his way into power!

[b4its2late]

The former commander of Nato forces in Europe, General Wesley Clark

Is he the reason for the splintering of NATO? That'd be my guess...

[OldFriend]

They made demands on the Serbians that they KNEW were unacceptable. That was the idea......an excuse to go to war.

Now we have these criminals out there saying our President misled, LIED, to the Americans about the threats from Iraq.

[OldFriend]

Bill Bradley too was a Rhodes Scholar. These people are chosen well. They willingly carry the socialist mantra.

[.cnI redruM]

He reminds me of a song from HMS Pinafore

"He polished up the doornob so faithfully
that now he is the ruler of The Queen's Navy."

Barracks Emporer Alert!!!

[philosofy123]

Madelin all-domb and Richard Halbrook said that if the Moslem leadership in Bosnia, and Albania did not fulfill what they agreed to do, WE WILL DO NOTHING, but if the Serbians missed one single step, we will bomb them!