I am writing a blog for Clark, take a look time permitting and give me your criticisms. I have a lot more to do on it this is just a start really. There are some dates I gotta check etc, just wrote this last night.
Why Wes Clark is the right man to lead our country in these times
First About me:
I am a moderate Democrat and I frequently defend other moderate dems in the blogosphere. You can usually find me at the DU – Democratic Underground supporting the Democratic Party. I am also a big admirer of Bill Clinton’s “stop and think” style of politics. Clinton is a true uniter not an ideologue, and without a doubt the best President of my lifetime. I am 43 years old, and was born and raised in So Cal. I am married with 2 children and live in Northwest Georgia.
About General Clark
General Wesley Clark (Ret.) is a four star General and Rhodes Scholar who led NATO forces as the Supreme Allied Command Europe during the Kosovo conflict 1998 – 1999? Clark graduated first in his class at West Point and served in Vietnam where he was wounded in battle. He rose through the ranks quickly and helped transform the US military into the volunteer service it has become today. He has written two books: Waging Modern War – about the Kosovo conflict, and Winning Modern Wars – about how to best approach today’s challenges in the Middle East and Iraq with an emphasis on a multilateral approach.
Clark was directly involved in negotiations with Slobodon Milosevic, the Serbia strongman who plunged the Balkans into a period of ethnic conflagration and wars during the 90’s. He was present at the Dayton accords in 1995? which established new borders and ended the Bosnian war. As NATO SAUCEUR, Clark communicated with leaders from the other NATO allies about military strategy and tactics and has received much recognition for his skilled leadership during this time.
Not a single American soldier lost his life in the Kosovo campaign and over 1.5 million Albanian refugees were returned to their homeland at the end of the war. Clark actively promoted his military strategy in Kosovo and ran into some resistance from the Pentagon. The Clinton administration was under political pressure from the Republican Congress for pursuing a humanitarian based mission to end the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. Clark stuck to his guns and accomplished his mission, but his strong advocacy resulted in some bruised egos in the Pentagon. General Hugh Shelton the CJC and Defense Secretary Cohen moved to retire Clark early with the expressed reason being to make room for General Ralston to succeed him. Despite these disagreements Clark was eventually awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton who praised Clark’s leadership of the Kosovo campaign and service to his country.
Clark became a successful businessman after retiring from the military, forming his own consulting agency, investing in technology startups, and joining the Board of Directors for technology companies. Then came the attack of September 11, 2001, a national crisis. Not long after the attack Clark visited the Pentagon and became alarmed by what he was hearing. The Bush administration was planning to invade Iraq and other Middle East countries like Syria and Iran as part of an aggressive strategy to spread democracy through the use of force.
Clark would testify before Congress in September of 2002, warning of the difficulties and regional ramifications of a unilateral invasion and occupation of Iraq. He advocated using the UN to pressure Iraq to comply with UN resolutions and UN inspection regimes. He questioned the portrayal of intelligence on Iraq and as an imminent threat. He was familiar with that intelligence from his service where he had coordinated with Centcom activities in Iraq. Paul Wellstone credited Clark’s testimony as a key reason he opposed the Republican IWR bill that was eventually passed.
Clark was a CNN military analyst during this period and was garnering attention with his insightful analysis during the lead-up and invasion of Iraq and on operations in Afghanistan. Many people remembered him from his service and leadership in the successful NATO Kosovo campaign. A draft Clark movement formed in 2003 to push Clark to enter the Presidential race. He made several appearances in the media over the summer in 2003 discussing his political views and the draft Clark movement continued to gain momentum.
Clark left his successful career in the private sector to run for the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination. His campaign was built around his opposition to the Iraq war as “a war of choice” and a “great strategic blunder”. Clark was one of the strongest voices for the Democratic Party opposing the Bush policies in the Middle East and other misguided policies related to the War on Terror. He spoke against the Patriot act and for strong protection of civil liberties. Entering the race very late in September 2003. He employed a strategy of skipping the Iowa caucus since he had not campaigned there and did not have the ground support that is a key to winning the caucus there. This late entry and strategy has been identified as one of the key reasons for his unsuccessful bid. In fact prior to the Iowa caucus, Clark was polling second behind Howard Dean in New Hampshire and was gaining on Dean during the months of December and January. He eventually withdrew from the race in February but not until after he had placed 1st in Oklahoma, 2nd in North Dakota, New Mexico, and Arizona, close 3rd in Tennessee, and 3rd in New Hampshire just behind the 2 New Englanders. He immediately threw his support to the eventual nominee John Kerry and campaigned extensively for Kerry and the Democratic Party.
The key to Clark’s strength as a political newcomer has been credited to a strong grassroots following that grew out of the Draft Clark campaign and spread via several internet sites established by the Draft Clark movement. When I first learned that Clark was considering entering the race, I went on-line and searched for more information about him.
I was able to watch several videos of interviews he had done and I saw that not only was he very telegenic, and passionate in what he believes but that he was saying exactly the right things with regard to the misguided war in Iraq, the failure to capture bin Laden or secure Afghanistan, and the domestic policies of the Bush administration that was concentrating power in the hands of a few. He spoke eloquently on how it was up to each of us to oppose these policies and put the country back on the right course. That dissent was the highest form of patriotism. When Clark speaks about our country and the challenges we face, he comes across as intelligent, thoughtful, and someone with real leadership ability. I searched the net for any information I could find about Clark and his life of service. The more I read about him the stronger I felt that he could be the type of President that only comes along rarely, a combination of selfless service, integrity, intelligence, and experience that was sorely needed in our Government right now.
The problems caused by the Iraq war will be with us for some time, certainly beyond 2008. Iraq is in a low grade civil war with no end in sight, Iran is emboldened to increase their influence over the Middle East and to proceed with their nuclear program. North Korea has just tested their first nuclear weapon and has accelerated their plutonium production. American strength and political influence over these situations is clearly weaker than before the invasion. Our military is overextended. There is no less need for the kind of leadership Clark can deliver now than there was in 2004. I am compelled to join the effort to draft him once again. This time the outcome will be different. I know he can go all the way!
With his WesPAC action committee he has been campaigning for Democrats leading up to the mid term elections of 2006 has demonstrated his commitment to be a leader for change. His frequent consultation with the Democrats in Congress has helped to mold the party National Security strategy. Clark endorsed many Democratic candidates and contributed over 1 million dollars in financial support to their campaigns. A Democratic strategist recently recognized Clark as being the dark horse candidate for 2008.
Please consider joining this effort and ask General Clark to get in the race. If you are still learning about Clark, you can visit the WesPAC internet site to get more information, talk to other supporters and get involved.
Thank you for your interest and time!
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