The Next War

It's always looming. But has our military learned the right lessons from this one to fight it and win?

By Wesley K. Clark

Washington Post | Sunday, September 16, 2007; B01

Testifying before Congress last week, Gen. David H. Petraeus appeared commanding, smart and alive to the challenges that his soldiers face in Iraq. But he also embodied what the Iraq conflict has come to represent: an embattled, able, courageous military at war, struggling to maintain its authority and credibility after 4 1/2 years of a "cakewalk" gone wrong.

Petraeus will not be the last general to find himself explaining how a military intervention has misfired and urging skeptical lawmakers to believe that the mission can still be accomplished. For the next war is always looming, and so is the urgent question of whether the U.S. military can adapt in time to win it.

Today, the most likely next conflict will be with Iran, a radical state that America has tried to isolate for almost 30 years and that now threatens to further destabilize the Middle East through its expansionist aims, backing of terrorist proxies such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, and far-reaching support for radical Shiite militias in Iraq. As Iran seems to draw closer to acquiring nuclear weapons, almost every U.S. leader -- and would-be president -- has said that it simply won't be permitted to reach that goal.

Think another war can't happen? Think again. Unchastened by the Iraq fiasco, hawks in Vice President Cheney's office have been pushing the use of force. It isn't hard to foresee the range of military options that policymakers face.

Shea-Porter, Clark blast Bush on Iraq policy

October 21, 2006
By JOHN DISTASOE | Senior Political Reporter | Manchester Union Leader

Manchester – Former NATO Commander Wesley Clark joined Democratic 1st District U.S. House candidate Carol Shea-Porter yesterday in denouncing the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policy, particularly its handling of the Iraq war.

Clark said Bush has "brought us to the brink of disaster." He called for a reversal of Bush's policy of not talking to enemies.

General Wesley Clark on Your World with Neil Cavuto

October 19, 2006
Transcript by RegNYC

Neil Cavuto: Well, will North Korea defy China and set off a second nuke regardless? My next guest says yes and that the risk of war is actually growing. With us now is General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. So General, you think things are going to get worse.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think they could get worse, Neil. I- the North Korean government is in a box, and they don't bluff very well. They don't bargain. They don't compromise. They just push straight ahead, and they think the only thing they've got to do is respond with more pressure when pressure's put on them. So, do they want to defy China? No, they don't want to, but if they had to, they, they could and they might. What I'm concerned about is that we don't want to take this government out of, we don't want to let it run out of options, because they still have a military option against South Korea. Do they want to use that? No, because they know that's the end of their regime. But would they use it if the end of their regime was imminent and inevitable? They might, and we don't want to have to find that out. So, somehow we've got to work and push and pull and, and then we got to do a little rope-a-dope with them. We've got to find a way that his comes out with a soft landing for the people of North Korea.

Neil Cavuto: Well, well, well what about China's-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because this government could implode.

Neil Cavuto: Right. What about China's rumored thought of just toppling the government, arranging a coup?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, as long as there's someone who can pick up the pieces, that's fine. China would be the last government that would want a mess in North Korea, because those people are coming to China. And there's 24 million people there. 2 to 3 million people marching into China this time of year would be a humanitarian disaster. It'd be an economic blow against China. It would certainly divert them-

WBHM-FM: Interview with General Clark

Steve Chiotakis | WBHM (90.3) FM

October 16, 2006

Birmingham -- Democrats have been working hard to bolster the party's image as being tough when it comes to national defense -- and retired General Wesley Clark is taking up the cause.

On a trip to Alabama this weekend, the former NATO Supreme Commander and former presidential candidate told WBHM's Steve Chiotakis that the GOP -- and, specifically Mr. Bush -- has no right to criticize opposition to the continued U.S. involvement in Iraq.

General Clark added that Afghanistan is slipping away from U.S. and NATO forces, the North Korean crisis could've been averted and Americans, of all political persuasions, want troops to succeed and be safe.