Montreal man linked to Clark controversy - Presidential candidate claims pressure

The Star ^ | 9/18/03

[areafiftyone]

WASHINGTON—A Montreal man has emerged as the key figure in a controversy that has dogged Democratic presidential aspirant Wesley Clark during the summer months.

Questions have swirled since June when the former NATO commander alleged on national television that he was pressured to link the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in a mystery phone call he received.

Clark first implied the call, not long after the attacks, might have come from White House, then later said it came from a Middle Eastern think tank in Canada. He has never identified the caller.

As Clark kicked off his campaign yesterday in Little Rock, Ark., Thomas Hecht, founder of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, told the Star he placed the call to Clark and drew his attention to a potential link between Saddam and the Al Qaeda suicide hijackers.

But Hecht said he did not pressure the former army general, who became a CNN commentator after retiring from the military, to make the link and said the matter was raised in a phone call inviting Clark to come to Montreal for a speech.

Clark's original claim and its subsequent variations had drawn much press and Internet attention in the United States as it became increasingly clear he was set to become the 10th candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Clark told the widely watched NBC show Meet the Press June 15 that the pressure to make the link "came from the White House, it came from people around the White House. It came from all over.

"I got a call on 9/11. I was on CNN, and I got a call at my home saying, `You got to say this is connected. This is state-sponsored terrorism. This has to be connected to Saddam Hussein.'"

Clark, in the interview, said he asked for evidence of the link and received none and still hasn't seen any evidence.

As he prepared for his presidential bid, Clark backed away from his comment, denying he was drawing a link to the White House, telling Fox News in July: "I personally got a call from a fellow in Canada who is part of a Middle Eastern think tank who gets inside intelligence information. He called me on 9/11."

Later in July, in another television interview, he said: The call came from "a man from a Middle East think tank in Canada, the man who's the brother of a very close friend of mine in Belgium. He's very well connected to Israeli intelligence and he follows Middle Eastern events very closely."

Hecht said his sister, who lives in Brussels, knows Clark socially.

One columnist, George Will of the Washington Post, took Clark to task because, he said, there was no Middle East think tank in Canada.

The Begin-Sadat Centre has its headquarters in Israel and its only office elsewhere is the one Hecht established in Montreal. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney is on its board, but strictly in a ceremonial role, Hecht said.

Hecht said he called Clark either Sept. 12 or Sept. 13 — not the morning of the attacks, as the former general said — but he merely passed on information he had received from Israel which drew a purported link.

Hecht said Clark called him in Montreal Sept. 7 this year to clarify the conversation the two men had, perhaps in anticipation of the question being raised again as part of his campaign.

"I told him the Begin-Sadat Centre is a center for strategic studies in Israel and has made various studies on the Iraqi threat to the state of Israel and therefore we have carried out analyses of what connection there could be between Saddam Hussein and other militant Islamic groups," Hecht said.

"I don't know why I would be confused with the White House. I don't even have white paint on my house," he added. "I saw those comments he made and I just chuckled."

The Clark campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

[Guillermo]

No, it wasn't Bush who told me to say this, it was my brothers wifes uncles cousins' previous cat owners half-sister who told me.

Anyways, I'm just a patsy for the Clintons, but I enjoy being used and abused.

[Peach]

He's blaming me because yesterday on another Clark thread GoOrdnance first claimed there did not exist a transcript of Clark saying the White House called him on 9/11 to exert pressure.

When I provided him with a transcript from MSNBC's web site, he changed tactics and then said I was mis-reading the transcript!

He still to this day refuses to acknowledge that "his candidate" has lied repeatedly and been caught lying - about a very important matter, I might add.

We can lead them to water, but we cannot make them drink (or read, apparently).

[Dog]

Mom look at Dio's link in post 11.....get to jnow Mr. Thomas Hecht.

[Dog]

jnow=know

[BurbankKarl]

there are no think tanks in Canada.

[Peach]

You are posting again from that silly web site, I see, spin something.

I'll publish the MSNBC link in a later post.

[Peach]

We are dealing with a DU'er, I'm quite sure, although a review of his In Forum posts looks quite conservative.

Regardless, here is the link to the MSNBC/Russert transcript with Clark in which Clark states the White House called him to pressure him on 9/11.http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/927000.asp

[SpinyNorman]

At least the Son of Sam killer had the good sense to say his dog told him to do the things he did! Clark just hears voices from non-existent think tanks.....

[Allan]

bump

[cookcounty]

INTERLOCUTOR: "General Clark, did you or did you not receive a call from Mr. Hecht on the 11th of September?"

GENERAL CLARK: "Uh, let me refer to counsel."

(General Clark leans over to consult with his lawyer, William Blythe Jefferson Clinton of Clinton, Clinton and Cheatem)

GENERAL CLARK: "Uh, Sir, it depends on what the meaning of "did" is.",

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for the info. Obvious that Clark is nothing but a front for the Clintons. Just announced on Fox that he had to cancel his speech to the Citadel today because of the Hurricane.

Now the other RAT candidates are demanding that he answer if he is going to be in the first debate next week that he is eligible for that is being hosted by the WSJ about the economy.

Now the question is -- Will he or will he not participate in the debate? It would be interesting to watch because if he doesn't participate, maybe the RAT candidates will go after Clark instead of President Bush!

[Peach]

hahahaha. Yes, we can all see how you are supporting President Bush, by spinning for Clark.

[geedee]

"White House Smite House," says Clark, "what's the big deal? Since when did us Democrats have to be precise?"

[alnick]

You've been shown the transcript where Clark made the claim. You, like most democrats, aren't the least bit interested in what's true.

You're obviously a troll and will never admit the truth.

Buh-bye.

[MEG33]

LOL!

[Peach]

GEN. CLARK: I think it was an effort to convince the American people to do something, and I think there was an immediate determination right after 9/11 that Saddam Hussein was one of the keys to winning the war on terror. Whether it was the need just to strike out or whether he was a linchpin in this, there was a concerted effort during the fall of 2001 starting immediately after 9/11 to pin 9/11 and the terrorism problem on Saddam Hussein.
MR. RUSSERT: By who? Who did that?
GEN. CLARK: Well, it came from the White House, it came from people around the White House. It came from all over. I got a call on 9/11. I was on CNN, and I got a call at my home saying, “You got to say this is connected. This is state-sponsored terrorism. This has to be connected to Saddam Hussein.”