WESLEY CLARK & AMY GOODMAN video/audio/transcipt online now

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

I'm tired of holding out for Gore. Let's go with this guy!
----

for those who missed it:
AMY GOODMAN: Today, an exclusive hour with General Wesley Clark, the retired four-star general. He was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the Kosovo War. He has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2004, he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. He recently edited a series of books about famous US generals, including Dwight Eisenhower and Ulysses Grant, both of whom became president after their military careers ended.
On Tuesday, I interviewed Wesley Clark at the 92nd Street Y Cultural Center here in New York City before a live audience and asked him about his presidential ambitions.
• AMY GOODMAN: What do you think of these generals who run for president?
• GEN. WESLEY CLARK: I like them. It’s happened before.
• AMY GOODMAN: Will it happen again?
• GEN. WESLEY CLARK: It might.
AMY GOODMAN: Later in the interview, I followed up on that question.
• AMY GOODMAN: Will you announce for president?
• GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, I haven’t said I won’t.
• AMY GOODMAN: What are you waiting for?
• GEN. WESLEY CLARK: I’m waiting for several different preconditions, which I’m not at liberty to discuss. But I will tell you this: I think about it every single day.
lots more at:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1440234

[FrenchieCat]

1. But he ain't running yet!

But if you need any info on him, in case he does, let me recommend a couple of sites:

http://www.rapidfire-silverbullets.com/ - this one has a search feature. Just type in what you want to know about, and the information will come.

Also here......of course!
http://securingamerica.com/


And of course, its always a good thing that he's calling all the saber rattlers on Iran.....letting them know that we are all watching and that we ain't going for the Okey-Doke this time.

Great Patriot....deep into country, honor and duty! :patriot:

[Lex]

2. Thanks for the link.

nt

[Glimmer of Hope]

3. If he is thinking about running every single day, it sounds like he has already made up his mind.

I wonder what preconditions he is waiting for.

[Dinger]

4. Precondition # 1:

Gert.

[Donna Zen]

7. Actually I asked about Gert

The people that were there said that she seems okay with the idea. Also, he also said that a while ago. If he wants to go, Gert will be great.

[bonito]

5. Kick

[roody]

6. I am disappointed that Clark holds imperial

views. But then I am a Green and will not be involved in the choice of Democratic candidate.

[Donna Zen]

8. Except that he's not

He said during that interview that he doesn't know why the US thinks it can meddle in the affairs of others. He did talk about the attitude of the 20s when S. American leaders wanted to hold on to their property and came running to us. However, Wes Clark has said that leaders who refuse to change the law because the laws favor them is part of the problem.

No, Wes Clark doesn't believe in America becoming an empire. Yes, he wants this country to do well, but as a student of history, he understands the danger.

[roody]

9. Compared to the rest (DK) excepted,

he is a breath of fresh air. I just listened to the whole show. I'll listen more closely next time. He seemed to agree with the French killing every tenth soldier. Not that that was imperialist.

[Change has come]

11. Can you listen more closely before posting?

Clark certainly did not agree that decimation was a practical way of handling dissent among the troops. He was explaining how dissent was handled in the past.

[roody]

15. I did listen closely. I just want a candidate who

does not believe that violence can solve problems. He stated that John Negroponte is a good man. That would be "death squad Negroponte." Clark does not know why the US meddles??? The military serves the corporate interests of the US. United Fruit Company in Guatemala?? As a general, he should know this. If he wants to change it, he has to recognize it.

[FrenchieCat]

17. I don't think he states that violence solves problems.......in fact, it thinks the opposite....

as he talks about how covert as well as overt action on the part of the U.S. Military and our government has always had intended and uncontrollable unintended consequences. He didn't seem to believe that was a good thing.

However, I do think that he feels (as he has said as much) that the military can be used for good. In fact, that may be why he was the only one advocating that we (through the U.N.) intervene in Rwanda by in 1994. And me personally, I wish that we would have.

http://www.rapidfire-silverbullets.com/2007/02/rwanda_general_clarks_involvem.html

That 800,000 deaths that didn't have to be IF America understood how a military could be used with the right person calling the shots.

[Tom Rinaldo]

19. Clark also told supporters at a gathering before hand

that "I'm sure that Joe Lieberman is a good man personally" but went on to say that for someone who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he knows nothing. It's basically Clark's personal style to say something minimally gracious about a human being before delving into serious policy differences. Yes this has been misunderstood before, but it is part of why Wes Clark is able to appeal to a broad range of moderates and conservatives with his progressive ideas. Clark does not come across as a bitter hating person out to tear down his individual rivals. He comes across as a reasonable person with serious concerns and he keeps his comments focused on issues not personalities.

[FrenchieCat]

12. No, he didn't "agree" with it.....he was stating a fact in history. ....

As is a military man who just happens to know his history, and he was sharing that history to put in perspective the fact that a soldier today can volunteer to join the service, and then refuse to follow orders and NOT expect to be shot...although he may serve time.

If you also remembered Amy Goodman's question on the RTS Television station NATO Bombing during Kosovo, read here to know that Wes Clark clearly answered that question accurately and in candor as well....
http://www.rapidfire-silverbullets.com/2007/03/facts_on_the_1999_rts_tv_stati.html

[ConsAreLiars]

14. He's both a realist and an idealist.

He knows how things work (for example, maintaining discipline in the army in order to serve the greater good (??? - that's a hard issue) and advocates a less murderous path. His weak point is that he thinks America's traditional American Dream ideals are possible and that US power might somehow be used for the greater good (I wish so, but don't think so), but he gets my respect for honestly wanting trying to make things better, and I think he would do his best, which puts him into a small group.

[Adelante]

16. You've got something here

"His weak point is that he thinks America's traditional American Dream ideals are possible"

He really does. It wouldn't be a weakness for voters, happily. But I do know what you're saying.

[Tom Rinaldo]

18. I was at the event

No he didn't agree with that incident of dealing with deserters in war. Clark said that the French officer involved got in serious legal and moral trouble as a result. Clark never sugar coats anything, he lets those who listen to him see the full range of implications for any serious matter that he discusses, which is why Clark was willing to say outfront during this interview that the United States is supporting and/or encouraging terrorists working inside Iran against Iran. It simply is true, so he doesn't mince words.

Clark was talking about the difficult issue of compulsion during war,and why it is that militaries act early and firmly to prevent a notion taking hold that individual soldiers can disobey individual orders at will based on their own read of the situation at hand. Clark described a horrible true examle of a situation in World War I where matters drifted far our of control in every sense. Disasterous war plans led to horrible casualties that led to mass revolts. Actually Clark gave no opinion, he simply illustrated what is at stake if discipline in the military breaks down. On the one hand dozens of French soldiers were instantly exectuted as deserters, on the other hand the French Army was in danger of unravelling at that point which likely would have allowed the German Army to advance and occupy France had the revolt not been dealt with decisively.

It was a tangent from a very interesting but sobering discussion about current conscientious objectors to the war in Iraq. Clark honored those who refuse to fight for moral reasons but said that part of what made their stance courageous is that they knew they would suffer real consequences for refusing to fight. Clark doesn't do spin.

But I am glad you listened to the tape with an open mind. And I agree with your subject line.

[Hatalles]

10. I think one of those preconditions centers around Gore.

If Gore runs, Clark doesn't.

[FrenchieCat]

13. I'll take either one!

Wouldn't that be cool...that we can be guaranteed one or the other? :thumbsup: