Nation needs Mahoney, retired general says
Wesley Clark, Mahoney call for 'diplomacy' in Iraq
October 18, 2006
By GREG MARTIN | Staff writer | Sun Herald
CHARLOTTE HARBOR -- The United States is on the "brink of a national security disaster" and needs more Democrats like Tim Mahoney in Congress to change the course of the Iraq war, said retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark Tuesday.
"You can't 'stay the course' if you're in a ditch," said Clark, a four-star general who commanded NATO forces in the 1998-99 Balkan war.
Clark talked about the U.S.'s "failed strategies" in Iraq and in combating terrorism during a campaign stop for Mahoney. About 60 people attended the event, held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5690, 23204 Freedom Ave.
Mahoney, an entrepreneur and cattle rancher from Royal Palm Beach, is running against Republican Joe Negron, a Stuart attorney, for the District 16 seat.
Mahoney said he looked at the "data" on Iraq and the pursuit of Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden from the perspective of a business person.
"The facts show we have engaged in a number of failed strategies," he said.
He suggested President George W. Bush "do what his dad did -- go to the region." He was referring to the first President Bush's creation of a coalition that included Muslim nations in the 1991 Gulf War.
Likewise, the second President Bush should also use diplomacy in the Middle East to create a "multinational force" with Muslim leadership, Mahoney said.
The coalition could then take over security operations in Iraq with U.S. support, according to Mahoney.
The race for District 16 has become hotly contested since the withdrawal of disgraced incumbent Mark Foley last month. Foley resigned amid reports he sent salacious messages to teenage boys who worked on Capitol Hill.
The Republican Party's state leadership nominated Negron, a member of the Florida House since 2000, to replace Foley in the race.
At stake is one of the 15 seats Democrats need to win in order to regain a House majority.
"It's national," Mahoney said of the spotlight on his race. "You're watching a struggle over the control of Congress."
Mahoney recalled that as soon as Negron entered the race, he accused Mahoney of "trashing the president."
However, he said recent statements from former Secretary of State James A. Baker add credence to Mahoney's call for change.
Baker, in an Oct. 9 interview on ABC's "This Week," said a bipartisan commission he co-chairs was writing a report calling for the president to "look at other alternatives" to staying the course.
"James Baker said we need to engage our friends (in a coalition)," said Mahoney. "He took a step even further and said we also need to engage our enemies."
During a 33-year military career, Clark served as supreme allied commander for Europe. As NATO commander from 1997-2000, he oversaw Operation Allied Force, in which 40,000 NATO forces saved 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
Clark said the threat to national security didn't begin with the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the threat has grown since.
The American people were sold the Iraq war on "hype" and faulty intelligence, Clark said. Three years later, casualties are still mounting, he pointed out.
Last week, North Korea tested a nuclear weapon, and Iran wants to join the club, Clark said.
"So, I don't give bragging rights to the Republicans on national security," Clark said.
During the Vietnam War era, Democrats had a reputation for being weak on national defense, Clark said.
"But the truth is, Democrats have a fine record on national security," he added.
The Cold War was won with the "the leadership of President Harry Truman (1945-53)," he told the audience.
President Bill Clinton also won a battle against terror with the arrest of Ramzi Yousef in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Clark noted.
When war ripped up eastern Europe in the 1990s, Clinton rose to the call, Clark said. Clinton tried to pressure the late Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic to cease a violent ethnic-cleansing campaign.
Clinton also launched a 78-day air campaign.
"We actually talked to (Milosevic) while we were bombing him," said Clark.
"(Clinton) had his hands on the details," he said. "He was the top official of the United States and he was widely respected around the world because he knew how to stop wars, not start them."
When Clinton left office after the 2000 election, he advised the incoming Bush that Osama bin Laden would prove the "greatest threat" and gave him a response plan, Clark said.
It's unknown whether the plan would have thwarted the 9/11 plot, Clark said.
"But the Bush administration simply didn't do enough," he said.
"What Gen. Clark showed us was, you can use diplomacy ... to secure the peace, and you can do this without 'nation building,'" said Mahoney.
Mahoney said he'd work with anyone, regardless of political party, to foster a coalition-led resolution of the war in Iraq.
"Heck, I'll even work with (Vice President) Dick Cheney," he said, "but I won't go hunting with him."
