Former NATO chief stumps for Sestak
September 30, 2006
By William Bender | Times Staff | Delco Times
CLIFTON HEIGHTS -- Former NATO commander Wesley Clark appeared at an American Legion Friday to endorse Democratic congressional candidate Joseph Sestak and urge his supporters not to cede any ground to Republicans on national security issues.
"We’re not going to duck the security issue as Democrats. We’re going to take the Republicans on head-on," said Clark, a retired four-star Army general who commanded NATO forces during the Kosovo conflict.
Clark, a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, said President Bush failed to heed warnings from the outgoing Clinton administration about Osama bin Laden, allowing the Sept. 11 attacks to occur. The number of terrorists aligned with al-Qaida, he said, has since doubled.
"I just want to remind you to remind those people that are worried about Democrats: Who was president on 9/11? It was not Bill Clinton," he told a bipartisan crowd at American Legion Post 358.
"This administration won’t tell the American people the truth. They’re not doing the job on national security," Clark said. "Osama bin Laden is still out there. He has not been caught. And the war in Iraq has served as a recruiting magnet for al-Qaida. It’s made the terrorism problem worse."
"Those aren’t the indicators," he added, "of a gang that’s very good on national security."
Clark managed to make it through his endorsement speech without mentioned Sestak’s opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon. He was asked about Weldon during a question-and-answer session with the audience.
"Look, I’ve watched Curt Weldon at close range. I try to stay away from the bursting radius. Because we always had a joke about an unguided missile, you know?" he said. "I’m sure Curt Weldon is a decent man, personally, but he’s been part of that roll-over, do-nothing rubber-stamp Congress that hasn’t held the president accountable for his misleadership in America. You need a congressman that can do that."
Sestak, a former three-star Navy admiral, is polling evenly with Weldon in the 7th District Keystone Poll released Friday. The Iraq war has emerged as the major issue in the race, followed by the economy and the war on terror, according to the poll.
In an interview before Clark’s appearance, Weldon blamed the Clinton administration for failing to enforce arms treaties throughout the 1990s that allowed Iraq, North Korea, Iran and other rogue nations to acquire banned weapons technology.
"That’s the run-up to where we are today," said Weldon, vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees.
While he defended the removal of Saddam Hussein as "the right thing to do," he acknowledged the Bush administration should have required Arab nations to fund the rebuilding of Iraq and listened to Gen. Eric Ken Shinseki when he said more U.S. soldiers would be needed to secure the country after the invasion.
Despite those "significant mistakes," Weldon said, "there is no doubt in my mind we’re better off having removed Saddam."
Clark declined to comment on his future political aspirations, other than to say he hasn’t ruled out running for president in 200
