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September 26, 2003
Beware of Clark
From CounterPunch, check out "Meet the Real Gen. Clark." Excerpt:
Anyone seeking to understand the bloody fiasco of the Serbian war need hardly look further than the person of the beribboned Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley K. Clark. Politicians and journalists are generally according him a respectful hearing as he discourses on the "schedule" for the destruction of Serbia, tellingly embracing phrases favored by military bureaucrats such as "systematic" and "methodical".The reaction from former army subordinates is very different. "The poster child for everything that is wrong with the GO (general officer) corps," exclaims one colonel, who has had occasion to observe Clark in action, citing, among other examples, his command of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood from 1992 to 1994.
As some one not over-fond of George Bush, his ideology, and his policies, I would like to like Gen. Wesley Clark. On paper, he seems an admirable man--and just what the Democratic party needs to defeat the G.O.P. in 2004.
But everything I have heard from friends who have served in the British and American military suggests that Clark, whilst intensely ambitious, and a not untalented strategist, would be a disaster for the U.S.. One officer I spoke to described Clark's "command decisions" as "invariably loony." Gen. Hugh Shelton (the last Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) recently said, with shocking frankness, "I will not be voting for Wes Clark. He was recalled from Europe because of his characater issues."
I met Wes Clark myself once. I found him frighteningly haywire, and unnaturally eager to please.