Steve Clemons on Wes Clark's plan for Iraq/Iran

[CarolNYC]

There's been some talk lately about what the Dems' plan is for Iraq. I found this comment in Steve Clemons' Washington Note blog on Ari Berman's "The Strategic Class" piece in The Nation interesting. Speaking of George Soros' 75th birthday party he says:

"General Wes Clark was also there, and while I won't quote him at this point (as I want him to write up our conversation as an op-ed), we had an extensive conversation about Iran and Iraq, and I thought Clark's suggestions on what America should be doing now on both fronts were novel and deserve serious attention. I'm hoping to have General Clark join us at the terrorism conference I am helping to organized on September 6-7 in Washington -- but even if he can't be there -- by way of this blog, I'm encouraging him to get his action plan out into the public."

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/000894.html

I also hope that Gen Clark writes up their conversation as an op-ed and that he can make the terrorism conference in Sept.

I also notice that Clark is making the rounds of 75th birthday parties this month...first Charlie Rangel, now George Soros...Who else turns 75 this summer? :)

[jen4clark]

1. This is awesome!

Thanks CarolNYC! This is great news! I love and respect Clemons and am not surprised that once he had the chance to talk to Clark that he was impressed! I wonder if General Clark told Steve he was planning on writing an op-ed piece? I too hope he does!

That's awesome that Steve will be helping Clark get his ideas out there. Hopefully people in positions to do something will listen!! Like General Clark always says, it doesn't matter who gets the credit, what matters is getting the job done!

[FrenchieCat]

4. Looks like Wes' ideas are getting around.....

September 8th: Congressional Candidate Boot Camp
Start: Sep 8 2005 - 6:00pm
End: Sep 8 2005 - 9:30pm
Location:
description:
General Clark will be speaking at AFSCME's Congressional Candidate Boot Camp in Phoenix Arizona.

http://securingamerica.com/event

[CarolNYC]

13. This is very cool....

The more people that listen to Wes Clark the better, for all of us, I think.

[dogman]

2. "Clark's suggestions ....were novel and deserve serious attention."

That's always been true, and not just on this subject. Great find and can't wait for the follow-up.

[FrenchieCat]

3. I'll be waiting for the word.....

I want to know the General's novel and serious ideas on Iraq and Iran...instead of the two extremes, Bring home the troops right now or stay till it's done. I'm sure his ideas are novel cause they ain't about the same ol' same ol'.

Thanks for the info.

[Donna Zen]

5. On working with Wes Clark, according Eric Massa:

"Everyday is a PHD."

[Jai4WKC08]

6. My problems with Berman's article, "The Strategic Class"

Is that he makes it sound like the hawks like Holbrooke and Albright are the only "national security Democrats" that anyone in DC listens to. May well be true of Biden... he strikes me as the type who only wants to hear what he agrees with in the first place. I'm not sure where Clinton is coming from, but it may be that she figures her presidential prospects depend on how tough she can sound.

But the rest? We know Kerry was listening to Clark during the campaign. We know Reid does now, and that he and Pelosi have had Clark speaking to Congressional Dems. I listened to Barbara Boxer on one of the Sunday morning shows a week ago (I think it was Blitzer) and she could have been reading from Clark's book, she was so close to his language on the war and the troops. Now we learn that the AFSCME has invited him to speak to prospective candidates.

So where does Berman get the idea that ALL "national security Democrats" are hawks? And why does setting a timetable for withdrawal seem to be his only criterion for who is or is not a hawk? Why does the second tier of his "strategic class" only include the relative few who still support the war?

Sounds to me like Berman came up with what he thought was an interesting thesis, and then manipulated the facts to support the conclusion he wanted to draw, leaving out anything that might disprove it. Sloppy logic imo.

[Adelante]

7. I hear Clark and Dean are consulting, as well

It's ridiculous how the media doesn't know what really goes on or chooses not to report it or reports it in a way that misrepresents it. So "National Security Democrat=War Monger." Yech. But then there are a string of DU threads in the past 24 hours saying the same thing in different words. Very sloppy logic.

[Totally Committed]

8. I hope this message reaches Wes,

and he writes up his plan like Clemons suggests. If anyone can figure out a way to straighten out his mess, Wes can. I believe that.

(I also heard he has been meeting with Howard Dean, and think it is a wonderful turn of events. Talk about a "Dynamic Duo"!)

[Totally Committed]

9. Whattheheck, while I'm here:

:kick:

[Jai4WKC08]

10. Anybody know more about Clemons?

I know he was influential in derailing Bolton's Senate confirmation (thanks for the info, Judy :hi:), but other than that I've never heard of him. :shrug:

I was able to google up that he and some other folks at New America Foundation put together a conference on terrorism ("Al Qaeda 2.0: Transnational Terrorism after 9/11") back in December 04.
http://www.liberalsagainstterrorism.com/drupal/?q=node/45
Pretty impressive guest list, but with all the focus on the looming primaries, perhaps no one paying attention. I know I wasn't.

[Totally Committed]

11. From the "TC Files": Steven Clemons

Steven Clemons is publisher of the popular political blog, TheWashingtonNote.com, and a long-term policy practitioner and entrepreneur in Washington, D.C. He is currently Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, where he was previously Executive Vice President. Clemons currently co-directs the New America Foundation's American Strategy Program with well-known foreign policy thinkers Sherle Schwenninger and Michael Lind.

Clemons specializes in U.S. foreign policy matters, with significant experience both in Asia-Pacific and transatlantic policy matters, as well as broad international economic and security affairs. Prior to his current position, Steve Clemons served as Executive Vice President of the Economic Strategy Institute. He has also served as Senior Policy Advisor on Economic and International Affairs to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and was the first Executive Director of the Nixon Center and established it in Washington, D.C. Prior to moving to Washington, Clemons served for seven years as Executive Director of the Japan America Society of Southern California and co-founded with Chalmers Johnson the Japan Policy Research Institute, of which he is still Director.

Steve Clemons is a Member of the Board of the Clarke International Policy Center at Dickinson College, a liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and founded in 1783. He also writes frequently on matters of foreign policy, defense, and international economic policy. His work has appeared in most of the major leading op-ed pages, journal, and magazines around the world.

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/bio.html

New America Foundation:
http://www.newamerica.net/

[Jai4WKC08]

12. Ok, but so what?

Honestly, I'm not trying to diss the guy. He wouldn't be at Soros' party if he were a nobody. I sincerely want to know more about him.

What has the New American Foundation done, other than the one-day conference I googled? Who else is on their board I should have heard of? Whose ear do they have, if anyone?

Clemons has a blog, sort of, and is a member of the board for a think tank at a very old college (perhaps no accident it's in the same town at the Army War College?). But what does that all mean.

[Totally Committed]

14. Great Clemons quote:

"Everybody's on the make," says Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation, who led the fight against John Bolton from his blog, The Washington Note. "They're all worried about their next government job. People pull their punches or try to craft years in advance what sort of positions they're gonna be up for. The culture of Washington is very risk-averse."

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050815/the_strategic_class.php

Sounds like he doesn't view Wes that way at all. The fact that this man who is so opposed to "risk-averse" Washington insiders, and, yet thinks Wes needs to write up what they talked about, tells me all I need to know about him for the time being.

[CarolNYC]

15. Gen Clark will attend

Hey, there's this on Clemons' site today:

For the next several days, I will be providing regular updates about the themes and issues, as well as speakers, that will be part of a major national policy forum on terrorism that I am helping to organize in Washington on September 6 & 7.

For those of you outside Washington, we will have a high-quality, real time webcast of the two-day event.

I am pleased to report that my discussion this past weekend in the Hamptons with General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and candidate for President of the United States, has led in part to him joining us as one of the featured speakers in the conference. He has some novel and important views to share on U.S. defense policy, terrorism, and our circumstances today in Iraq and with Iran.

He will be appearing at lunch on Tuesday, September 6th.

More later on the rest.

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/

A real time webcast...cool! :)