Pentagon Defeat Fired Up Clark for White House Fight

[Manix]

LA Times
By Ralph Vartabedian


<snip>


On the phone was Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with news that would change the life of Clark, then supreme allied commander in Europe and one of the brightest stars in the U.S. military.

Should he find a secure phone, Clark asked Shelton. Don't bother, was Shelton's reply. Then, curtly, Shelton informed Clark that Defense Secretary William S. Cohen was relieving him of command early, cutting short Clark's meteoric military career.


<snip>


But it was a turning point in the career of this ambitious American general. And it would lead, four years and two months later, to Clark's decision last fall to enter a crowded field of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.

"Here he had spent his entire career serving his country, led a near perfect operation in Kosovo and was now being summarily dismissed," said Sullivan, his Pentagon aide. "I have often wondered … would he be running for president if his military career had ended on a different note?"



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[Ivote]

1. Lowdown

Great breakdown. This should convince
some people who are still skeptical
about about his intentions and commitment.

[maddezmom]

2. seems accurate n/t

[Jivenwail]

3. Exellent read

Thank you for posting this. I will be sharing this.

[LandOLincoln]

4. Pretty accurate, but (off the top of my head) there are 3 key

omissions.

In no particular order:

(1) Marc Cisneros is Bush's man. He's a Texan, a Republican, and Dick Cheney offered a cabinet post (Secretary of Veterans' Affairs) after the 2000 selection.

http://www.caller2.com/2001/june/12/today/localnew/2650.html

(2) Wes Clark and Joe Kruzel jumped into the Adriatic from their third-story hotel windows on a dare from Richard Holbrooke:

"That night we flew to Split. Four days earlier, we had stayed in the lovely old Kastile Hotel, directly on the water, where we had dared Joe Kruzel and Wes Clark to dive in from their third-story windows. The two men had leaped into the water, proud of their courage."

http://63.147.65.175/books/chap134.htm

(3) When the APC Kruzel and others were riding in went off the cliff on Mt. Igman, the 50-something Clark actually rappelled down a mined cliff to reach it:

"Since I was the only person on the mountain who spoke both French and English, I stayed on the road to work with the French while Wes descended. We anchored a rope around a tree stump so that he could rappel toward the vehicle, which French and Bosnian soldiers had already reached. Huge plumes of smoke rose from somewhere below us. We could hear Clark yelling through his walkie-talkie that he needed a fire extinguisher urgently. I looked around frantically; there was none...

"...Clark struggled up the hillside, using the ropes. He looked ten years older. 'It's the worst thing you've ever seen down there,' he said. By the time he reached the APC, he said, it was already on fire, apparently from live ammunition it was carrying that had 'cooked off' and exploded. Bosnian soldiers in the area had reached the APC first, and had taken two Americans, tentatively identified as Joe Kruzel and Dan Gerstein, to the nearest field hospital. Wes had seen charred remains of two other bodies, probably Bob and Nelson.

"...As I was talking to Shalikashvili, Menzies came into the tiny communications room. "Kruzel is dead," he said quietly, his long arms hanging motionless at his side. "Didn't make it to the hospital. Massive head injuries."

http://63.147.65.175/books/chap134.htm