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and I believe he means a real one! Even in his recent DNC speech, Clark called to hold those accountable that should be. I think if there is any real hope to actually get to the real truth of the Bush crime family, it will be under the presidency of a Pres. Clark.......not anyone else running (other than Kucinich). "The course, right now we're hearing from every politician on this, even some of the war's staunchest supporters are admitting they were wrong. And others now call for poll-tested positions.
I speak to you today as the only person who will take this podium before you to actually have done the things we need to succeed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world.
And I believe that being right isn't enough. We must also be strong. So while I get angry, I'm reminded of the old saying "Don't get mad, get even." And to me, getting even isn't about political payback, but it's instead getting equality, justice, balance, and fair play back into American life. < > Where's the justice where sergeants and colonels are punished for the abuse of prisoners but the political leaders and high-ranking lawyers who encouraged and perhaps directed it remain in office - exempt from accountability for the tragedies they unleashed. "http://securingamerica.com/node/2197IN AUGUST OF '03 http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/17/sprj.irq.clark.comments/Ex-NATO commander: Iraq shouldn't be center of war on terror Sunday, August 17, 2003attacked the Bush administration Sunday for launching a war with Iraq on "false pretenses" and spreading the military too thin amid the global war on terrorism. snip Clark has called on Congress to investigate allegations that the Bush administration overstated intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs. snip "The issue is the issues," he said. "What does America stand for? How do we want to behave in the world? What does it take to fulfill America's dreams at home?" IN SEPTEMBER OF '03 http://www.markarkleiman.com/archives/000070.htmlAnd now, the moment all you Valerie Plame fans have been waiting for: the CIA has made a formal referral to the Justice Department.
And I think we can count on Howard Dean, who has already broached the issue, and Wesley Clark and Bob Graham to keep this issue boiling.-------- Inquiry call over US agent leakBBC Washington correspondent Justin Webb says the president's opponents believe this affair could do real damage to the reputation of the Bush White House. Democratic presidential hopefuls Howard Dean and Wesley Clark said a special investigator should be appointed.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3151066.stmAND IN OCT 2003.... Democrat Clark Blames President Bush for Sept. 11 Intelligence Failures Clark, a retired Army general who led NATO forces in Europe, delivered his sharpest critique yet of Bush's foreign policy. As the newest entry in the Democratic presidential race, he echoed many of his rivals arguments for removing Bush from office. Clark argued that Bush has manipulated facts, stifled dissent, retaliated against detractors, shown disdain for allies and started a war without just cause. He said Bush put Americans at risk by pursuing war in Iraq instead of hunting for Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, pulling a "bait-and-switch" by going after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein instead of al Qaida terrorists. He called Bush's labeling of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an axis of evil in his January 2002 State of the Union address -- "the single worst formulation in the last half century of American foreign policy." http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/103003A.shtmlSaturday, October 04, 2003 Wesley Clark Calls for Criminal Investigation of Bush Iraq policy beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan. So, I thought, this is what they mean when they talk about 'draining the swamp." "Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust than consciously to make a case for war based on false claims. We need to know if we were intentionally deceived. This administration is trying to do something that ought to be politically impossible to do in a democracy, and that is to govern against the will of the majority. That requires twisted facts, silence, secrecy and very poor lighting." Wes Clarkhttp://www.juancole.com/2003/10/wesley-clark-calls-for-criminal.htmlAND IN JANUARY OF '04 Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004 1:51 p.m. EST Clark Calls for Bush Impeachment ProbeDemocratic presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark is calling on the House of Representatives to begin an impeachment probe into what he says was President Bush's decision to invade Iraq under false pretenses.Asked by a reporter if he thought Bush's decision to attack Iraq constituted an "impeachable offense," Clark said Thursday, "Let's have that investigation done." Asked next if he thought the president's decision to go to war was "criminal," Clark told the Associated Press, "I think that's a question Congress needs to ask." "I think this Congress needs to investigate precisely" how the United States wound up in a war "that wasn't connected to the threat of al-Qaeda," the former NATO commander said. "This was an elective war. forced us to go to war," he complained. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/18/144051.shtml
http://www.atsnn.com/story/29514.htmlClark Calls for Congressional Investigation on Iraq WarWesley Clark, saying the "President is more concerned with political security than national security." Clark further contends that Bush has been obsessed with Saddam Hussein since first gaining office, and did not do enough to protect the nation against impending terror attacks. This is a broadly covered story. You can also look here for additional coverage; http://www.politicsnh.com/archives/pindell/2004/january/1_13Clark.shtml http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108236,00.html http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040113_240.html http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/13/news/oneill/
Clark Says Congress Should Determine Whether Bush's War Decisions Criminal 17-Jan-04 Wesley Clark AP: "Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark said Thursday it was up to Congress to determine whether President Bush's march to war in Iraq amounted to a criminal offense. Asked if misleading the nation in going to war would be criminal, Clark told reporters, 'I think that's a question Congress needs to ask. I think this Congress needs to investigate precisely' how the United States wound up in a war 'that wasn't connected to the threat of al-Qaida.'" http://archive.democrats.com/preview.cfm?term=Wesley%20Clark
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/16916/Let the General Lead the Charge By Robert ScheerLast week, in calling for an "independent, comprehensive investigation into the administration's handling of the intelligence leading to war in Iraq," Clark raised the key issue facing this president. "Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust than to consciously make a case for war based on false claims," he said.
And there you have it -- the basic issue that the Democrats must raise in the next election, or it isn't worth having one.
------------------------------------- CLASH OF TITANS DEBATE 2005- Clark said that joint staff officers told him 10 days after 9/11 that the Bush administration was planning to invade Iraq.
“I said, ‘But why?’ They said, ‘Well, um, we don’t know, but if the only tool you’ve got is a hammer, then every problem has to look like a nail,’” said Clark. “And they proceeded to explain that the administration really didn’t know what to do about the War on Terror, but did want to take apart a regime to show that we were powerful …”
When several audience members cried out, Clark also generated some applause after yelling “Stand up and say it! Let’s hear it! And lets hear you explain it and justify it to the families of those who have suffered the loss!”
On Prisoner Abuse.....Clark jumped in, and the issue escalated. Clark took issue with what he said were memos that came from the White House that basically said that the Geneva Convention didn’t apply.
Clark told his fellow officer that the military that he served in for 34 years “didn’t torture people. It didn’t abuse them. It didn’t punch out prisoners when it captured them.” Clark blamed the guidance from the top for undercutting the armed forces’ training.
“We never had the investigation, but I’ll tell you what, if you believe everything that has happened at Abu Ghraib, and at Guantanamo, and the rest of it, is the responsibility of a colonel or a corporal or a couple of sergeant’s somewhere,” said Clark, “then I’ve got a bridge or two I’d like you to buy!” http://www.regent.edu/news/clash_titans_debate05.html
------------------------- http://www.awesclarkdemocrat.com/2006/09/clarkcast_thoughts_on_911_and.htm#more Sept 2006- "And in Iraq, it was an invasion that didn't have to be made as the Senate study released on the 7th of September acknowledged. There was no linkage between Saddam Hussein and the events of 9/11. And so, having gone unnecessarily to war, we now find ourselves three and a half years later fully engaged - 140,00 American ground troops. Air power in the region. The Army and Marine Corps over-stretched. Iraq sliding into civil war. Effort after effort made to put a government together. The neighbors involved. Threats of disintegration of Iraq. A recruiting ground for Al Qaeda. We're creating more terrorists than we're eliminating.
Could we have possibly imagined five years ago, that we would have done so poorly?
Well the truth is, yes! We did imagine it, because right after 9/11 we saw all the indicators of an administration that was tragically mistaken in the way it approached national security, and mixed national security with politics. Its approach to national security was colored by the "Project for a New American Century" and some prejudices brought in by Administration members from a time far distant in the evolution of the Post-Cold War world. A determination to smash regimes by force in the Middle East. And a determination to strike governments rather than go after terrorists organizations themselves.
Yes, we saw that. We saw it in the refusal to deal with the terrorists before 9/11 and the president's dereliction of duty. We saw it afterwards in the hasty decision to invade Iraq no matter what. And I saw it when I went through the Pentagon in November of 2001 when a senior officer waved a memo in front of me that purported to explain the administration's plans to take down, first Iraq, then Syria, then Lebanon, then Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and then go after Iran - all in five years.
Yes, we could have imagined that all this was going to fail. We just didn't know how badly or what the tragic consequences would be. Now it's becoming increasingly clear.
Al Qaeda is not being defeated despite the fact that some of its identified leadership has been taken out. Its actually grown stronger.
The war in Iraq rumbles on consuming our armed forces, distracting American leadership from more important tasks at hand. And that so called "Axis of Evil" which the president couldn't wait to spring on the American people in his 2002 address. Well, they're more than ever working together to get precisely the weapons which the president promised he wouldn't allow to happen.
We shouldn't have been surprised. And that's why I'm asking you, on this 5th Anniversary, to think about the future of this country.
Wesley Clark: Full Congressional investigation of phone spying "mandated"DesMoines Register Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark said in Iowa Friday that the Bush administration's tracking of millions of private telephone calls as part of its war on terrorism warranted a full congressional investigation. The former NATO commander and 2004 Democratic candidate for president said Congress needs to sort out the controversy as a way of maintaining its check on the presidential power. "If you have a president, for reasons he believes are legitimate for national security, who is accused of misleading people about the extent of the program, and nobody knows what the extent of the program is, then I think a full congressional investigation is mandated," Clark said.http://www.awesclarkdemocrat.com/right_wing_coup/bush_administration/
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