General Wesley Clark on Your World with Neil Cavuto
August 29, 2006
transcript by Reg NYC
Neil Cavuto: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld blasting critics of the War on Terror, comparing them to those appeased Adolph Hitler prior to World War II. (video of Sec. Rumsfeld)
Neil Cavuto: Alright, reaction now from former Presidential candidate, Fox News military analyst, General Wesley Clark, author of Winning Modern Wars: Iraq, Terrorism and the American Empire. General, what did you think of Rumsfeld's remark?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Well, I think they're, they're overdrawn and misplaced. I- no one has ignored the threat to the United States, and certainly Rumsfeld hasn't been ignored. He lead an invasion of a country that actually wasn't a sponsor of terrorism. The invasion's gone very poorly. It's been this administration's contention that it remains the center piece of the War on Terror, and what America's increasingly understanding is that the problem of Iraq is not a problem of the War on Terror. It's a problem of the Bush administration's own making.
Neil Cavuto: Alright. Still, we don't know unequivocally whether Iraq was sponsoring terror. That's a-whole-nother point, but let me ask you about what-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Well, we do know, Neil, that it had nothing to do with 9/11 and that they may have used terrorism as a method, but they weren't part of the gang of terrorists that Donald Rumsfeld wants us to attack and that all Americans want to get rid of.
Neil Cavuto: Well, let's ask to the bigger point, because we could argue that one for a while, but on this issue that Mr. Rumsfeld raise, General, that we, can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America, not the enemy, is the real source of the world's troubles?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: I don't think anybody has suggested that we have that view.
Neil Cavuto: You don't think there, there, there are those in the Democratic Party-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Absolutely not.
Neil Cavuto: -who blame the United States for the evil that's been heaped upon it?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Absolutely not. I- that, that, that's absolutely nothing but partisan attack. Look, the United States is the bastion of Democracy and freedom, and every Democrat knows that, but the invasion of Iraq was a war we didn't have to fight. This administration took us to Iraq. They took us to Iraq without a real reason for doing so under some grandiose plan to transform the Middle East and make it all democratic.
Neil Cavuto: Well General, can I ask you this?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: And what happened is that-
Neil Cavuto: C-, c-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Hamas is in charge.
Neil Cavuto: Alright, but-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Hizbullah's in charge.
Neil Cavuto: L-, Let me ask you this.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: It's backfired.
Neil Cavuto: You're a General. Y-, You're, you're one of the most widely respected Generals we've ever had, and you must realize that by disparaging this war, saying it was a mistake, for the guys still fighting there, and they catch a broadcast of this, General, they're going to say, 'What the heck? Why am I here? What am I doing?'
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: No, the guys that are still fighting there know that there are some of us on the outside who've served our time in uniform - and I had 34 years. I fought in Vietnam. I led a winning war against Slobodan Milosevic in the Balkans. - There are some of us who have enough courage to speak out about what's right and wrong, not only for the country-
Neil Cavuto: Would you tell them to get out?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: -but for the men and women in uniform.
Neil Cavuto: General, would you tell then, 'It's, guys, look, you're there. You're in a snake pit. Get out. We, we say get out right now' ?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Well, I wouldn't've gone there in the first place, but now we've got to succeed, Neil. So, I don't think most Democrats want us to just jerk the chain and pull out, and I certainly don't think that's the best thing for the country.
Neil Cavuto: Well, actually your, the, your former nominee does. John Kerry has said he regrets the vote. Others are beginning to echo that in the Democratic Party, maybe save Hillary Clinton, but are saying 'Now is the time to get out.'
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Well, I'm s-
Neil Cavuto: Are you in that camp? Yes or no.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Anybody, anybody- I-, I would not have voted for the war. I think it was a mistake to've gone in, but now the problem is not inside Iraq. It's a problem of the region. It's connected to Ahmadinejad in Iran. It's connected to Israel. It's connected to Hizbullah in Lebanon. It's connected to Syria. It's connected to the price of oil.
Neil Cavuto: I know. General, yes or no, do you think we should get out now?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: I think what we need is a regional strategy for success, and that's what this administration gas failed to provide. As part of that strategy, I think it's possible we can deploy some American- re-deploy some American troops.
Neil Cavuto: Do you-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: But-
Neil Cavuto: Do you think though that, General- Here's the thing your-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: I wouldn't call on a pull-out right now.
Neil Cavuto: Alright, General.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: No, I'm not calling for that.
Neil Cavuto: Do, do you think then, the, by the constant pounding against the war, the constant pounding of the President, saying that he's a unfit Commander in Chief, that he hasn't done his job - what message does this send to our troops - and you of course, a former esteemed general - what message do you think that sends when the Commander in Chief is bludgeoned constantly?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: I don't think that's the point. I think the point is that the Commander in Chief went to war, partly for political purposes. He's used the war for political purposes, and I object to anyone using our men and women in, in uniform-
Neil Cavuto: What political gain-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: -for political purposes.
Neil Cavuto: General, what political gain has this President gotten out of this war?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: (laughs) He's gotten control of the Congress on 2002. He won the 2004 election over it, and now he's in a hole in 2006. And so, once again he's calling anybody who disagrees with him on his foreign policy and his attack on Iraq as someone who's soft on terror. That's not the case.
Neil Cavuto: No, no. He's not actually-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Democrats are really-
Neil Cavuto: No, no, no. The best I can remember, General-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Democrats are really strong on, on winning against terrorism.
Neil Cavuto: -he wasn't. No, no,no. General, you're, you're a smart man. He's not equating Iraq in that sense. He's talking about the War on Terror. Is it possible that your party, the reason why it keeps goofing up at the polls is because it can't distinguish between the two?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: No, I think that my party has distinguished between the two. I think what it is is the other part doesn't want to. I think Americans now recognize that the invasion of Iraq, by and large, was a mistake. It's what I've been saying all along. It wasn't connected to the events of 9/11, and it hasn't facilitated our success in the War on Terror. It's made it more difficult, bogging down our Armed Forces-
Neil Cavuto: Alright.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: -And serving as a recruiting agent.
Neil Cavuto: Okay.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: But Neil, this is going to be the big election issue as the election draws near, and I hope we'll have a chance to talk about it some more.
Neil Cavuto: I hope so too, General. Good having you on. Thank you.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK:: Thank you.
Neil Cavuto: General Wesley Clark in Little Rock.