General Wesley Clark on the Big Story

April 28, 2006
Transcript by Reg NYC

Brigitte Quinn: Let's talk a little bit more about Iran. With us now Fox News analyst General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. General, good to have you here-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thanks, Brigitte.

Brigitte Quinn: -on this morning as we're, we're just getting more details of this report from the IAEA. As Eric just pointed out, of course Russia and China have been reluctant, to say the least, to impose any sort of sanctions on Iran. Is that likely to change?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I don't- I, I think it's difficult to get China and Russia to go along with sanctions, but I do think it's important to get a resolution, especially a resolution of Chapter Seven. You know and when we did- We had a problem with Slobodan Milosevic in 1998, the former Dictator of Yugoslavia, and we got a Humanitarian Action Resolution under Chapter Seven. It was all the authorization we could get from the United Nations, but it was enough. And I think it's important to go as far as you can with the diplomacy. I would say one thing, though. It's important for the United States to tone down the rhetoric, tone down the threats, and it would be much better if the United States would talk to Iran directly, right now.

Brigitte Quinn: You think that, General? I, you know, y-y-you have President Ahmadinejad - talk about toning, toning things down - him saying, you know, even if this report comes out he, he won't give a damn. But you think the, the best approach is for us to play it a little bit cooler and let him look like the hot-head?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Brigitte Quinn: Yeah.


GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Let him look like the hot-head. Let the United Nations report speak for itself, and we should be going behind the scenes. We should be talking to the people in Iran. We should be looking at talking, not only to Ahmadinejad, but to the Religious Council behind him. There've been efforts in the past by Iran to turn this thing around and turn it off. What we don't want is, we don't want the public rhetoric. Let him keep up the public rhetoric. But what we have to do is, we have to work for a solution.

Brigitte Quinn: Right. Now what do you think that solution ultimately will be, General? I, I know it's hard to, to look into a crystal ball, but I mean, do you see diplomacy truly going somewhere this time?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I think that it's possible to construct a regional security framework in which US leadership could provide Iran the kinds of assurances it needs to withhold pursuing it's nuclear weapons activities. That, coupled with the change in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, with an effort to multi-nationalize the nuclear fuel cycle, might work. But if it- if we don't talk directly to the Iranians, we're not going to move this forward. And it's not just a matter of dialog, it's then a matter of concrete proposals which address Iran's isolation, Iran's security concerns, Iran's
nuclear power concerns and then take away any remaining excuse for them to pursue a nuclear weapons option.

Brigitte Quinn: Alright. General Clark, good to have you here as always. Thank you very much.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you.