Gen. Clark: Saddam Not a Criminal

NewsMax.com ^ | 9/21/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

In a little noticed interview with Fortune Magazine last week, presidential frontrunner Gen. Wesley Clark defended Saddam Hussein against charges that he was engaged in crimes against his own people at the time the Iraq war started, contending instead that the Iraqi dictator should have gotten a pass because his atrocities took place ten years ago.

Asked why it was right for President Clinton to use military force to halt Slobodan Milosevic's crimes against humanity in Kosovo, but not for President Bush to do the same thing against Saddam, Clark said that in Iraq, "The imminence of stopping a guy from committing a crime in progress - it wasn't there."

"In Kosovo you had ethnic cleansing actually unfolding, and we had intervened to stop it," the ex-NATO commander insisted, without commenting on the torture chambers, rape rooms and mass graves discovered in Iraq by coalition forces.

Instead, the Democratic frontrunner suggested that the Iraqi dictator deserved a pass by outlining what Fortune described as Clark's "Statute of Limitations for Genocidal Thugs."

"It was ten years ago that Saddam brutalized the Shiite Muslims in the south," he argued. "And he used chemical weapons 15 years ago."

Instead, said the retired military man, Saddam brutality was really no worse than crimes committed by leaders in China more than a decade ago, telling Fortune:

"We still deal with communist China, right? During the Cultural Revolution they had cannibalism in China. And the same guys that ran over the students in Tiananmen, they're still there."

Fortune writer Bill Powell pointed out, however, that while China is still a police state, "the recently departed General Secretary Jiang Zemin, to take but one example, was promoted from mayor of Shanghai to succeed Deng Xiaoping in part because he avoided bloodshed during Tiananmen. . . . Have you ever heard of Saddam promoting someone because he avoided killing somebody?"

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

2004 Elections
Saddam Hussein/Iraq

[anglian]

Clark, a Clinton pal from their Arkansas and Oxford days, zoomed up the promotion ladder light years ahead of his peers because of that connection. Perfumed prince gets the axe;



NATO's General Wesley Clark is the first military leader in our country's recent history who won a war without receiving a Fifth Avenue parade.

Instead of being lionized, he got just what the rest of the U.S. Army has gotten in the last decade: downsized.

The Pentagon's spin is, "This is a normal rotation, his tour was just shortened." It was shortened, all right. A review of past NATO skippers shows they had four to five years in the job as opposed to Clark's less than three.

So what went wrong?

Was it Clark's apocalyptic order to use NATO forces for blocking Russia's end run at the Kosovo air base, or his threats to have NATO sea power stop Russian ships from supplying the Serb army with oil? Either act of bad judgement could well have triggered a nuclear war with Russia.

Was it because Clark and his flacks kept crowing about how NATO was destroying the Serb army, when in truth NATO barely laid a glove on its opponent?

Was it because Clark's $120,000 U.S. Army Mercedes -- with a reported highly classified radio system aboard -- was car-jacked while his wife used it as a personal vehicle to drive to the golf course?

Certainly these sins, plus his hot temper, abrasive style and demand for much of America's air assets to fight the Serbs, didn't exactly win fans in Washington. Like a little boy stamping his feet, he wanted everything NOW and showed no concern for the Pentagon's need to maintain global forces to cover threats from other fronts such as Iraq and North Korea.

For sure, Clark is one of the smartest guys ever to wear four stars. He finished number one in his West Point class and graduated with honors from Oxford and the National War College. He was a war hero in Vietnam, and as a young captain was earmarked as general officer material.

But among mud soldiers, he's known as a guy who never paid his dues with the troops in the trenches and doesn't understand the nitty-gritty of war or what motivates warriors down at the bayonet level. He's like a doctor who's brilliant at theory but dangerous with a scalpel because he hasn't been there and done that long enough to learn the skills of the trade.

In 33 years of service, Clark spent only seven and one-half years in command with troops from platoon to division level -- barely enough time to learn what makes a tank platoon tick. The rest of his service was as a staff weenie, an aide, a student at the White House or at some fat cat headquarters.

The man is not a field soldier; he's more a CEO in uniform. Perhaps an efficient manager, but not a Patton-like leader. The troops call his sort "Perfumed Princes," brass known for their micromanagement bias and slavish focus on "show over go" and covering their tails with fancy footwork.

Unfortunately, today's senior Army ranks are filled with such managers -- and these kind of dweebs are why the U.S. Army is in trouble. The troops and young leaders are great. But too often the senior brass are politically correct dilettantes, out of touch with their soldiers more interested in chin straps on the points of chin than in battle-drill being executed correctly. They don't understand that everything they need to learn about leadership and combat savvy doesn't come from management books or advanced degrees.

The CEO managers started taking over from the warrior leaders during the Korean War. Slowly, the Alexander Haigs and Bernard Rogers replaced the Hank Emersons and James Hollingsworths. The "slick and quick" replaced the warriors who knew how to win wars and inspire soldiers because they'd spent most of their careers down in the dirt learning their trade the hard, old-fashioned way. Instead, with the Perfumed Princes, connections and the right punches on the career ticket have become more important than troop leading skills and inspiring soldiers by example and tough love.

Looks like somebody on high finally got Clark's number and sacked him. Let's hope -- for our country's security and for the welfare of our soldiers -- that the new Army leadership team that just took over gets rid of the "Perfumed Princes" and the culture that's created them. And returns warrior leaders to the top positions.


WND
Col. David H. Hackworth
8/13/99
____________________________________________________________

[anglian]

WND 8/5/99
Col. David H. Hackworth If any top commander ever says something political that goes against policy, then he is sure to be slapped down. And that leads us to what recently happened to Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO supreme commander.

Well, he's not supreme for long.

It appears that Gen. Clark did something rather foolish last month when he testified before a Senate committee about the Russians capturing Pristina airport. When asked why he'd been caught off guard by the Russian march on Pristina, Clark replied that he hadn't been caught off guard. According to Clark, a [higher authority] had purposely allowed Pristina to fall to the Russians.

Uh oh. This was a naughty thing to have said. Everybody knows that only one authority stands higher than a four star general. It's not nice to imply that the president was to blame for the most embarrassing debacle of the Balkan campaign. Obviously, this could not go unpunished. So it wasn't surprising when President Clinton retaliated by cutting short General Clark's term as supreme NATO commander by two months.

Worse yet, a story was leaked to Newsweek suggesting that Clark had risked World War III by ordering an air assault to grab Pristina before the Russians could reach it. Clark's subordinate, British Lt. Gen. Michael Jackson, refused to carry out the order.

So now Gen. Clark -- who was Clinton's dromedary in NATO -- is now Clinton's whipping boy. From henceforth Clark is to be depicted as an irresponsible warmonger who almost unleashed a global holocaust.

What a wonderful twist. The president pushes NATO into an act of aggression against a Slavic country. He enrages the Russian people, he enables Russia to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops, he uses up precious cruise missiles bombing a country that has no significance for our national security, then he allows the Russians to capture the most significant facility in the contested province. When this is pointed out by Gen. Clark -- bang, crash, kaboom. Smoke curls up from a smoldering Clark.

[JustPiper]

Boy this guy is all over the map with his crap! He looks completely imbalanced LOL! Yes, I support the war, no I don't. Clinton kicks him to the curb, Clinton's support him, Bill wants Hill to run. These moron Libs are looking like the party of idiots they are.

[stumpy]

Where is the surprise. Isn't he from Arkansas and good friends with the clintoons. They believe they should have been given a pass on Whitewater because it happened so long ago.

[OldFriend]

Nothing makes demonrats uneasy. Other than truth, honor, and integrity of course.

[A. Pole]

Worse yet, a story was leaked to Newsweek suggesting that Clark had risked World War III by ordering an air assault to grab Pristina before the Russians could reach it.

This was much worse - he wanted to do it AFTER the Russians entered Pristina airport.

[Sparta]

I think my tagline says it all about Clark.

[maxwell]

Right on, Sarge. Spread the word.

[itsahoot]

While we're at it, let's also give a pass to Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. All murdering Communist dictators of the past get a pass

Too Late we already did that, years ago.

[Old Sarge]

Does it bother anyone when an american shills for a deposed socialist dictator ?

You mean like, THIS deposed Socialist dictator?

[Wolverine]

Clark lost the respect of his fellow generals, all services, over his ham-handed command of the Kosovo fiasco. The BDA didn't stack up.

In the end, there was no retirement parade, in fact, I believe not even a final congratulation the day of his retirement.

Even Sec Cohn didn't bid adieu.

[Criminal Number 18F]

A few more remarks like this and the little general is toast, and it can't do the clintons any good either.

You're assuming he was meant to run. What if he is a mere placeholder for Cruella De Hil?

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Criminal Number 18F]

The headline leads one to believe Clark said "Saddam is not a criminal" but I don't see such a quote in the article.

Typical for NewsMax, I'm afraid.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Criminal Number 18F]

Is Clark running for anti-Christ?

Naw. Scripture suggests that the Antichrist will be an attractive personality!

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[middie]

There is much too much acquiesence to the base urge to savage anyone, irrespective of his life-long contributions to our nation, if he deigns to oppose the policies of this administration or, heaven forbid, challenge to quality of the Presidency of G.W. bush.

General Clark is an honorable man who dedicated his adult career to serving everyone on this site. His resume' and personal history is beyond reproach. To witness the unsavory, scandalous and outrageous comments about him now that he is a candidate is among the lowest frenzied mob conduct I've ever witnessed.

He is fair game for commentary on the policies his candidacy presents and for the efficiency and effectiveness that a Clark Presidency portends. But to accuse him of every specie of disloyalty, dishonor and collaboration with America's enemies is contempt of the most disgraceful order.

One can assume that most of the posters on this site are adults with at least a modicum of decorum and ability to discern right from wrong. However, from the pejorative stream directed to General Clark one would have serious doubts about the sanity, much less the good-faith, of the authors of these screed-like remarks.

One could reasonably expect to read very soon about General Clark's depravity in abusing young children and the cannabalism he practices as ritual.

Reasonable arguments get attention, absurdities get laughs.

[judywillow]

General Clark is an honorable man who dedicated his adult career to serving everyone on this site. His resume' and personal history is beyond reproach.

I for one can live without that sort of "service". Wesley Clark is a war criminal and a certified baby-killer. He is responsible for both the Waco incident in Texas and the near debacle in Yugoslavia in 1999, and was shitcanned by the pentagon for trying to start WW-III in the aftermath of Kosovo (the famous incident of the British general refusing an order saying 'I'm not going to start WW-III for you.').

Knowing that Kosovo was another episode of dog-wagging for which he could not plausibly ask NATO airmen or soldiers to risk death or injury, Clark tried bombing Serbian military targets from 30,000' for about a month and, seeing that not working, embarked upon a wholesale campaign of war crimes directed against Serbian civilians and their infrastructure hundreds of kilometers from any legitimate military target. Thousands of little slavic orthodox kids, amongst other civilians, were killed in these mad bombing raids, which included targets such as the bridge at the little market town of Varvarin, the Chinese embassy in Belgrad, and a television station. The idea was to make the lives of ordinary Serbs so miserable that they would somehow or other force Milosevic to hand the ancient heartland of Serbia (Kosovo) over to the KLA/AlQuaeda narco-terrorists. The overall objective, of course, was to take the Juanita Broaddrick story off the front pages of our newspapers.

The laws of war have substantially changed since Hiroshima and Dresden. All of those kinds of things are illegal and have been since 1947, under Geneva conventions and every other law of war.

Somehow or other, I look at those pictures of Milica Rakic and Sanja Milenkovic, and it just seems too high a price for saving Bubba Clinton's ugly face.

All of this is Wesley Clark's handiwork. In fact, it appears to be what the guy specializes in.

In fact, the world outside the United States genreally refers to Kosovo as THE COWARDS' WAR, for reasons which were fairly obvious at the time, and this "cowards' war" was Wesley Clark's supreme accomplishment in life.

I can't believe it would be that terribly difficult to defeat the guy in an election, but Republicans have to take the gloves off, and go after the guy. In particular, somebody in a leadership position has to stand up and say to the world that the war against Serbia was wrong, and the precedent set at Kosovo must be repudiated.

There might still be time to hand Kosovo back to its rightful owners before the UN demands that we hand Texas and California over to Mexico on the same basis.

[markman46]

I have heard this on several occasions, but I guess the question I have is was he the only one in the class???

[Honorary Serb]

Gen. Clark: Saddam Not a Criminal

Yeah, right! According to KLArk, only Serbs can be criminals!!!!

[Geronimo]

This thread's a classic!

lmao...

[Terp]

If Clark gets elected it only proves one thing and that's that the world's gone crazy.