General Wesley Clark on CSPAN2

November 10, 2007

Transcript to follow

On September 8, 2007 General Wesley Clark delivered the keynote speech at the International Institute of Counter-Terrorism (ICT) 7th International Conference: An Annual Gathering of the Counter Terrorism Community

September 8-11, 2007
“Terrorism’s Global Impact”
Herzliya, Israel

Thank you for that kind introduction. What a pleasure to be with you here this evening. Every time I return here, I am overwhelmed by the physical beauty, and in awe of the spirit and the courage and the energy of the Israeli people.

My first visit was in 1976, as a member of a White House team working foreign assistance in the region. We met with your Prime Minister, Itzak Rabin, and sat around his dinner table until well after midnight discussing the region, and all that had transpired, 1948, 56, 67, 73- with him and some of his cabinet. Afterward, we walked the walls around Jerusalem, ending up at the Wailing Wall at 4 AM. Jerusalem was bathed in the orange glow of newly installed sodium vapor lights, and basking in peace. And to a young Army officer, this was just an emotional, really overpowering experience.

I've been back many times, and dealt with the issues of the region in many roles during my military service, from sharing training techniques with IDF officers visiting my command in the California desert to, in my last capacity, as Commander-in-Chief of the US European Command, and helping work Israel's security needs with Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Shaul Mofaz and others.

And so it was with particular concern that I watched from afar as intense diplomacy in Maryland gave way to strife and open conflict - just as Shaul Mofaz had warned me it would when we conferred on my last visit in the spring of 2000 - and the terrible tragedy of suicide bombing after suicide bombing returned again, vicious attacks against innocent civilians, meant to terrorize and demoralize. And like every American, I took heart in Israel's courage, and pride in Israel's strength, and tried to understand and learn from Israel's experiences.

Today Israel has proved once again its mettle in a tempestuous region, but both continuing and new challenges are growing.

Wes Clark: Iraq- Military and Diplomatic Solutions

August 3, 2007 | Chicago IL

Now, from the President's perspective, Iraq is just a war. And he's real happy General Petraeus is over there, because General Petraeus is a General, and George Bush always listens to Generals. (laughter) He's told you that. And when he gets-

When he gets tired of listening to them, he replaces them.

I know these guys. They're all my friends. Many of them have worked for me or worked with me and, and I admire them, and they're doing a terrific job. And I admire Dave Petraeus. He's a fine officer, but he's going to do his best to make the surge work. That's his duty, and I think you can see by the results that where you put American troops, they're competent, they're capable, they're well led, they're well motivated, they're fearless, they do their duty, and of course they do make a difference. If you're a terrorist or you're Al Qaeda in Iraq or you're the Madhi's Army and you come face to face with American troops, you're in trouble. You take a shot at them, they shoot back. You miss, American troops hit. Our soldiers, they hit what they shoot at. They're trained to do that, and they're good, and I'm proud of them.

But what we've got to do is create not an argument in the United States over the troops or their tactics, but raise the debate to the administration's strategies and policies in this region. Here's why. We can't succeed in Iraq with the numbers of troops, no matter how good they are, because you can't succeed in this war just by killing people or intimidating the opposition.

Dave Petraeus would be the first one to tell you that. The military's part of the solution. It's not the answer. The answer's the politics. The politics inside Iraq are not just people who are afraid. It's not just a group of people who say, 'Gee, if I just, if I could just let my kids go to school, I wouldn't have to join a militia.' Maybe there's some of that, but there's a lot more than that going on. This is a power struggle within religious factions. It's a power struggle between religious factions. And it's a geo-strategic struggle between different nations in the region. - All playing out on the ground in forms of violence, intimidation, blackmail, corruption, payoffs, influence, healthcare, coaching, counseling, there's no telling how many different intelligence agencies and means of action and influence from different nations are present in Iraq. It's a whole lot more then the number of nations participating in our coalition. I can promise you that. (Applause)

And so, we're not going to solve this problem unless we work it at the diplomatic level and that means we've got to stop isolating people we disagree with and start engaging those people.

Click here for the complete transcript

Wes Clark: President Bush, Stop Hiding Behind Your Generals. Defend Your Strategy!

But now, here's our problem. Okay? We- the administration doesn't want to talk about this. What they want to talk about is troops. They want to say they support our troops, and if we question the numbers of troops or their effectiveness, they want to say, 'You people don't support our troops. If you don't support our troops then you're not patriotic, and if you're not patriotic, then you don't have a voice.' I mean, that's what leaks out from everybody from Undersecretary Edelman and Vice President Cheney all the way down in every dialog.

.... But you're not going to change the policy by arguing about the troops strength. We've done it. We're on record. We want the troops home, but may I suggest that if we can raise the dialog, take it away from George Bush's safe ground of troops and people in uniform and 'How dare you question these Generals and these people in uniform that are so patriotic,' and say, 'No, we're not questioning the Generals. Mr. President, we are questioning you, you're administration, your leadership!'

I want you to say to President Bush, 'Mr. President, stop hiding behind Dave Petreaus and come out here and defend YOUR strategy! This is your war. You defend it.'

Click here for the complete transcript

Wes Clark: George Bush - a Rookie Pitcher

George Bush reminds me of a rookie pitcher who thinks he's got a no-hitter going in the 7th inning, and he's just trying to skate through so the loss can be given to the relief that's coming in. ...

But it's not about the military. It's about the political. And it's not only about the political in Iraq. It's about the political here at home, and that's what I want to talk a little about today.

In the last year I've traveled all over the world. I've been in Asia, in China. I've been in the Middle East three times - Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia twice. I've been in Turkey. I've been in Eastern Europe - Ukraine, Estonia. I've been in Scandinavia - Finland, Denmark. Been in Central Europe in Netherlands and in Italy three or four times. I've been in England a couple of times. Been in, in, in the Caribbean and in Panama twice.

Everywhere people love what America stands for. They respect Americans. They love us as people. They've read what we say we believe in. They just don't understand where we are.

...why is it that at every international foundation and forum, the official U.S. position is to block forward movement on issues of global warming, quarrel with the data, disagree with mandatory controls, push timelines back, argue, argue, argue, stall, stall, stall. Where is America?

...they ask me, they say, 'Well look, you know, the biggest cause of terrorism, the thing that we're most worried about is that you Americans haven't done your duty in trying to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

And oh, by the way, they get around to mentioning Iraq too. (laughter) Not one of them, not one, no statesman, no scholar, no businessman has come to me and said, 'What you Americans did in Iraq, you know, getting rid of Saddam Hussein, thank you very much. Come and do it to my country!'

Click here for the complete transcript

But what we can hope for still is a state that holds together, that doesn't break apart. And we can hope for a state that tries to work law and order issues with its own, within its own territory and doesn't become a breeding ground for future terrorist activities or for exporting violence in the region. And we can hope for a state that in some way will allow the wonderful, industrious, smart and capable people of Iraq to make their own way forward. And we can hope for a state in which thousands of Iraqis aren't dying every month.

Those are pretty modest, those are pretty modest objectives, and as we move toward those objectives, if we do it the right way, I think we can protect the larger U.S. interests in the region and we can withdraw our troops, but we can't do it without a change in the United States strategy of engagement in the region. We must engage people we don't agree with. We must take seriously our responsibilities to help bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

And, and we must do all this soon, because that war in Iraq is costing something like 100 billion dollars a year, and our children need healthcare and our country needs innovation and our roads need repair, and there's a long list of things we need to do for our country and the world that we can't do until we get out of Iraq. And if we are going to get out of Iraq. We got to get out the right way, because history doesn't stop when the last American troop heads down the road to Basra. We've still got our interests there. We need American leadership.

So, I'm looking to you, this community, you Kossacks.

Help put the intelligence in U.S foreign policy. Help put the intelligence in this debate. Help America get its priorities right. Help us recapture this vision of America, this great and noble country that protects human rights, that's generous, that welcomes strangers, that gives to the world its ideals, its ideas, its wealth, its technology, its selfless service. That's the America they're looking for. It's the America we're looking for, and it's the America that you can help us achieve.

Click here for the complete transcript

On August 3, 2007, General Clark delivered the keynote address at the YearlyKos convention in Chicago, IL.

We encourage you to listen to the speech. Watch the Gen. Wesley Clark Keynote, Courtesy UStream.tv Read more at Taylor Marsh and The Washington Note Additional interviews are available from TalkingPointsMemo and UStream.tv.

General Wesley Clark's Keynote Speech at Yearly Kos 2007

August 3, 2007
transcript by Reg NYC

"We are not questioning the generals. Mr. President, we are questioning you! Stop hiding behind Dave Petraeus." - Wesley Clark

Jon Soltz: ...an Iraq war veteran.

(applause)

(laughs) I find that so funny, because whenever you go to a Republican event, they don't seem to cheer for the troops. So, I (laughs) I, I thank you guys for that applause. I'm also the Chairman of VoteVets.org a group that (cheering) y'all have been so supportive of that without, without the support of the Kos community we would never've been where we are today. We obviously penetrated the political system from the outside much like everybody in this room, and for your support I, I thank you.

It's obviously an honor to be here. I'm here this morning to introduce General Wesley Clark who, who sits on the board of, of VoteVets.

(applause and cheering)

Click here for Jon Soltz's complete introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for General Wesley Clark.

(enthusiastic cheering and applause)

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

(more cheering and applause)
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
(more cheering and applause)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
(persistent cheering and applause)
Thank you very much
Etc., etc.

Thank you. It makes me feel good and I haven't even announced yet.
(laughter and cheering)

That was a joke.
(laughter)

I'm, I'm really happy to be here, and I'm really happy to see all of you here. This community's made a huge difference in American politics. This is the centerpiece of a new politics, and you can feel it. You can feel it in the energy. You can feel it in the ideas. You can feel it in the enthusiasm and the commitment and the, the, the selflessness that you all have brought into the business of politics. You didn't work your way up to get positions. You weren't after a claim. All you wanted was an opportunity to have your ideas heard and to be able to resonate with others who have the same concerns and the same love for America that you have. And you built a community that's incredibly powerful, and I want to thank you for that, and I want to thank you for what you did for helping Democrats take over the House and the Senate in 2006. You're wonderful.

(applause)

And I want to, I want to also recognize we've got a lot of people here who are working in this community now, you've got a lot of people here, you may not have met them, but who are candidates for elective office in the 2008 cycle. And could I ask all the candidates in 2008, if you're here, would you stand up and let this community get a look at you, because they want to meet you?

(applause)

I'm real proud of those people who are running, because it takes a lot of courage to go out there and run for office. It's not the kind of courage that you might get a Silver Star for in the military. It's the kind of courage where you really think about it, where you worry about your family. You worry about what the impact is. You worry about what it's going to do to your life and whether you actually are pursuing a, a dream that's got some chance of becoming real. It takes true, deep courage to make those kinds of commitments. So, I salute the candidates, and I'm really proud of you. I hope every one of you win.

(applause)

On July 12, 2007, General Clark testified before the House Armed Services' Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee

Click the image above for additional photos (courtesy of Knightrider)

We encourage you to listen to the full subcommittee testimony. 35 MB | Transcript of the complete testimony available here.

Washington D.C.— On Thursday, July 12, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held the first in a series of hearings on alternatives for the future of Iraq. Witnesses were General Wesley Clark, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, Max Boot, a Senior Fellow in the National Security Studies program for the Council on Foreign Relations, and Dr. Muqtedar Khan, a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute.

Text of General Clark's prepared remarks:

Chairman Snyder, distinguished members of this subcommittee, it is an honor to come before you today to discuss Iraq and our future policy options there.

At the outset, though, I'd like to thank you for the attention and the support you've given to the men and women in uniform, and their families. Members of the Armed Services Committee have been assiduous in studying the needs and providing the necessary financial authority and guidance to have built the finest Armed Forces in the world, and a force which has represented your nation and served it courageously and well.

It's only proper, therefore, that this Subcommittee help ask and answer the hard questions to be asked concerning our over four years deployment in Iraq: whether it is "succeeding," and, if not, how the mission should be modified or curtailed, and at what cost.

These questions are in no way the material of abstract, hypothetical musings. Just about everyone in public life has now formed strong opinions, and certainly the American public has, also. By strong majorities they believe the war is unwinnable, and want the strategy changed. They also want the troops brought home - and taken good care of when they return here - but they don't want to lose. And so the public debate has increasingly turned on the consequences of a withdrawal for Iraq, our friends in the region, and for ourselves - with a "precipitous withdrawal" being the one which leads to increased violence.

You can receive the testimonies of the generals and state Department experts that can discuss every tribe, militia and province. I don't propose to do that today. But what I would like to do is offer my perspective on the region, and then propose a course of action which could prove to be the "least worst" of the choices available.

The United States is today engaged in a four-fold struggle in the Middle East, and each of the struggles is interconnected with the others. At the most benign level, the US is in hot competition economically, to capture its share of oil exports and earnings, and to sell its share of goods and services. Our long term dependability has been a winning factor in building enduring US influence and commercial penetration in the region. Second, the US works to assure to security and safety of the state of Israel, within the broader interest of seeking to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and helping Israel assure its long term survival and success within the region. Third, the United States is engaged in a three-decades long struggle against Iranian extremism, which has manifested itself through terror bombing against US forces, harassment of oil shipping lanes, the pursuit of a long range, nuclear strike capability, Iranian interference in Lebanon, and, of course, assisted by our topping of Saddam Hussein, within Iraq itself. Finally, the US is caught up in the almost ten-year-old struggle against Al Qaeda.