Gen. Wesley Clark stumps for Tester

September 28, 2006
By PETER JOHNSON | Great Falls Tribune

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Jon Tester in Great Falls Thursday as both Democrats criticized Republican management of the war in Iraq.

About 150 people, including many veterans, gathered among orange- and red-leafed trees in Lion's Park.

The crowd smiled when a gust blew Tester's speech away temporarily and chuckled when he ad-libbed, "And they wonder why we advocate wind generation."

But the talk was more serious.

"America is in trouble today, right now," said Clark, a former NATO commander and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. "In Iraq 140,000 soldiers are bogged down in a conflict we didn't have to fight and that was mismanaged when we did get in. They did not get the leadership coming out of Washington that they needed."

Clark also charged that President Bush didn't follow up on initial successes fighting terrorists in Afghanistan because he was too eager to invade Iraq, and now U.S. troops are fighting pitched battles there as well.

He called for a change in leadership, and said Tester, a farmer and state Senate president, had the courage "to ask the tough questions, demand straight answers and help get the country back on course."

Tester said he realizes, with more than 175 missile silos in his state Senate district, how important the military is to Montana's economy and U.S. security.

But, he said, "American troops are being overlooked and over-stretched. They are being sent into battle with inadequate supplies, body armor and armored vehicles."

He charged that the same poor leadership in Washington is failing to provide returning veterans with adequate medical care and job training.

Tester outlined a plan to restore the strength of the military by investing more in manpower, including reserve troops; providing better armor, equipment and training for troops in the field, and enacting a military bill of rights to ensure that troops and veterans get pay, health care, educational benefits and more help in buying houses.

Asked to specify what needs to be done in Iraq, Tester said, "it is incumbent on President Bush to develop a plan to bring home our troops as soon as possible."

Clark, who drew some support from Montana Democrats in his unsuccessful 2004 attempt for the party nomination, said he has "not said I won't run in 2008," but is busy campaigning this year for like-minded Democrats.

In a brief interview, Clark:

Said he, too, is concerned by potential civil liberty violations caused by the Patriot Act, but he stopped short of supporting Tester's position that it be repealed.

Addressed incumbent Republican Conrad Burns' claim that seniority helps him deliver funding for area military projects.

"I think Jon Tester will be every bit as strong and effective in providing jobs and military funding as (Burns)," he said, adding that Burns has failed to question the Bush administration's failed strategy in Iraq.

Frank Morazan, a Vietnam era Air Force veteran, praised both speakers.

"I think they were very positive and hit the nail on the head about what we need to do to help our soldiers and veterans," Morazan said.