General Wesley Clark on Fox News Live

May 1, 2006
Transcript by Reg NYC

Jon Scott: Let's talk to someone who was present at the Bosnia negotiations, Fox News contributor retired General Wesley Clark. General Clark, good morning.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Good morning, Jon.

Jon Scott: What do you think of this Senator Biden plan?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I'd like--I'd like to take a good look at it, but in general that's always been a fallback position, is that these, these elements could split apart. But it's not the preferred position. I think it's still possible that it's- inside Iraq we could get a kind of a government that could deal with the insurgents, that could pull together an integrated Iraq. I think that's safer for the region and preferable.

Jon Scott: One of the problems with a plan like this, it seems to me, is that if you, if you divide up the country into, into three equal parts like that, the Sunnis in the South end up with practically none of the oil.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, there'd have to be arrangements made on how they'd get some share of the oil revenues. There's some people who say, 'There's plenty of oil out there. It just hasn't been explored, and the reserves haven't been cataloged.' All that has to be sorted through, but it's one of the uncertainties in this plan, which would tell you that this should be a fallback. You know, if you go into a separation plan, what you're going to have is a even more massive relocation of people. And forced relocation of people always involves human tragedy. So, this is a fallback. It certainly wouldn't be the- I think it's not time yet to do this, but I'd like to look at what Joe has to say.

Jon Scott: Well, that's what I wondered. I mean, the, the new government in Baghdad is barely established yet, and it seems like Senator Biden is already throwing up his hands and saying it's not going to work. It would seem like you'd want to give that, that new government a chance to try to get on its feet.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think what we're going to want to see is we're going to want to see the new government change the constitution so that the, all the factions can share in the oil wealth. That's number one, and number two, some effective steps against the militias that are, have infiltrated into the military and other security forces. Those are the two criteria right now that the world is watching to see whether the new Iraqi government can be effective.

Jon Scott: There's a report out that Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the guy, the Jordanian guy who's actually trying to run Al Qaeda in Iraq, is running out of suicide bombers. He hasn't been able to recruit suicide bombers to do some of his dirty deeds, and that's why he's trying to set up his own army within Iraq. Your thoughts on that?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I always take claims like this with, with some degree of doubt. There's a lot of conflicting information always in something like this, and the access to young people willing to give up their lives for a cause depends on the, the latest news and a recruiting effort that's sustained across Europe and the Middle East. So, my guess is they are plenty of additional suicide bombers out there. We're not- we should not look for any easy end to this. This is not going to be easy, but I do believe there's still a chance that the United States can get out of this with a C- or a D+ solution rather than an F.

Jon Scott: General Wesley Clark, thank you.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you.