Clark is an ass kissing wimp
Then there’s what some former subordinates and co-workers had to say on Counterpunch :
“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.[...]
Such strong reactions are common. A major in the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado when Clark was in command there in the early 1980s described him as a man who “regards each and every one of his subordinates as a potential threat to his career”.
While he regards his junior officers with watchful suspicion, he customarily accords the lower ranks little more than arrogant contempt. A veteran of Clark’s tenure at Fort Hood recalls the general’s “massive tantrum because the privates and sergeants and wives in the crowded (canteen) checkout lines didn’t jump out of the way fast enough to let him through”.
As for his judgement in times of crisis - well, it’s not often that I’ll quote the Grauniad, but this is what they had to say :
As allied troops moved into Kosovo, 200 Russian troops made a surprise dash from Bosnia and occupied Pristina airport, where [UK] General Sir Mike Jackson, the commander of the international K-For peacekeeping force, was to make his headquarters. Gen Clark ordered Gen Jackson to storm the airport at which point the British commander was reported to have said: “I’m not going to start the third world war for you.”
…As for General Clark’s views on “Unilateral Action”, they seem change markedly, depending on who is in power. From Col. Jafras USAF (Retd) :
Nancy Hey began the questioning by expressing her opposition to the U.S. being the “World’s Policeman.” Clark went into a long explanation of how we can’t stand by while people are being killed, there’s genocide and ethnic cleansing, etc., etc. He acknowledged that we can’t be everywhere but in the case of Kosovo we could do something. When Nancy pressed him about not getting involved in other countries’ civil wars and internal problems, his reply was, “Shouldn’t we have done something about the Holocaust?” I told him that trying to equate Kosovo to the Holocaust was ridiculous. When another person questioned his position that we should have gone in on the ground as one that would have resulted in unacceptable casualties, Clark replied that the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo, which remain hidden to avoid the bombing was demoralized and probable would not fight.
The reason why General Clark has been so opposed to the Iraq war appears to be quite simple : Because it’s the Republicans who’re doing it.
He has the whole Clinton electoral mafia (I don’t use the word perjoratively) behind him. I think he’s a shoe-in as Democratic VP candidate - if that’s what he’ll settle for. He’s the consumate politician, and always has been. He knows which way the wind blows, and bends accordingly. A true “Little Napoleon”.
“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.[...]
Such strong reactions are common. A major in the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado when Clark was in command there in the early 1980s described him as a man who “regards each and every one of his subordinates as a potential threat to his career”.
While he regards his junior officers with watchful suspicion, he customarily accords the lower ranks little more than arrogant contempt. A veteran of Clark’s tenure at Fort Hood recalls the general’s “massive tantrum because the privates and sergeants and wives in the crowded (canteen) checkout lines didn’t jump out of the way fast enough to let him through”.
As for his judgement in times of crisis - well, it’s not often that I’ll quote the Grauniad, but this is what they had to say :
As allied troops moved into Kosovo, 200 Russian troops made a surprise dash from Bosnia and occupied Pristina airport, where [UK] General Sir Mike Jackson, the commander of the international K-For peacekeeping force, was to make his headquarters. Gen Clark ordered Gen Jackson to storm the airport at which point the British commander was reported to have said: “I’m not going to start the third world war for you.”
…As for General Clark’s views on “Unilateral Action”, they seem change markedly, depending on who is in power. From Col. Jafras USAF (Retd) :
Nancy Hey began the questioning by expressing her opposition to the U.S. being the “World’s Policeman.” Clark went into a long explanation of how we can’t stand by while people are being killed, there’s genocide and ethnic cleansing, etc., etc. He acknowledged that we can’t be everywhere but in the case of Kosovo we could do something. When Nancy pressed him about not getting involved in other countries’ civil wars and internal problems, his reply was, “Shouldn’t we have done something about the Holocaust?” I told him that trying to equate Kosovo to the Holocaust was ridiculous. When another person questioned his position that we should have gone in on the ground as one that would have resulted in unacceptable casualties, Clark replied that the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo, which remain hidden to avoid the bombing was demoralized and probable would not fight.
The reason why General Clark has been so opposed to the Iraq war appears to be quite simple : Because it’s the Republicans who’re doing it.
He has the whole Clinton electoral mafia (I don’t use the word perjoratively) behind him. I think he’s a shoe-in as Democratic VP candidate - if that’s what he’ll settle for. He’s the consumate politician, and always has been. He knows which way the wind blows, and bends accordingly. A true “Little Napoleon”.
The National Guard...the first and last line of defense
