General Wesley Clark on the Fox News Live
May 12, 2006
Transcript by Reg NYC
Gretchen Carlson: ...Fox News analyst, retired General Wesley Clark, who's a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Good to see you.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Nice to see you.
Gretchen Carlson: So, how effective are these meetings?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I don't think they're particularly effective. They're mostly a photo op. I think it provides perhaps some reinforcement for some of the President's allies to say they've been in there and can take it from him. I, I think it's very hard in a meeting like that to get in any real substance, any real projection or to certainly make any significant recommendations as to courses of action.
Gretchen Carlson: So, you ran for President at one time. What would be your advice if you were invited to this meeting?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I'd say that you've got to put it in the context of a regional policy. This administration doesn't have a policy for the region. It may think it has a policy, but it doesn't. It pursues a separate course of action with Iran, a separate course of action with Iraq, won't talk to Iran, won't talk to Syria and really doesn't even listen to the concerns of the our friendly neighbors there in the Gulf. So, what we've got is a series of bilateral conversations or non-conversations with people without putting it all together in a package that can meet people's needs in the region. That's the most important single thing the United States can do is think of this as a region. What happens in one country is connected to what happens in another, and it takes a lot of high level attention at this point to be able to bring those disparate policies together, make them coherent and meet our own needs there.
Gretchen Carlson: Well, obviously the President thinks that these meetings are effective, because this is the second one now that's he's had in recent months. He's meeting with Republicans and Democrats. So, one would assume that he's hearing opposing views, but you're again saying that you don't feel that any of it is substantive.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I know in the last meeting what we got was Secretary Albright making some strong comments about going into Iraq and, and what was going on over there and so forth. There's, you know, you, you cannot get substantive discussions in a photo op meeting that goes on for an hour. If these meeting were really going to be substantive, bring in the advisors, brief all these Secretaries of Defense, read them into the issues, pull them up to Camp David for a two-day or three-day weekend and really go over the program. That's what you'd have to do if you really want to get anything out of a meeting, not everybody sitting around a table and making two or three comments.
Gretchen Carlson: Hm mm. Well, I do want to ask you about immigration since it's just been announced this morning that the President has asked for network time for 8 PM Monday night to introduce and propose his immigration reform plan. What do you think about this, and was it the Democrats that, that pushed him to finally take a stand and make an announcement on Monday?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think the immigration issue's something that's of immediate concern to, you know, hundreds of millions of people in this country and abroad. I think it really has to be dealt with. I think it's very appropriate for the President to make that announcement. I do hope that we'll be able to deal effectively with the issue. I don't believe that people who are here should be given amnesty, but I do believe they should be given a way to earn citizenship based on good performance and contributing to the American economy and the American way of life.
Gretchen Carlson: Alright well, retired General Wesley Clark. Everyone will be tuning in Monday to hear what the President has to say.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: You bet.
Gretchen Carlson: We thank you for your time.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you.
