General Wesley Clark on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

May 12, 2009

JIM LEHRER: Next tonight, the command shake-up in Afghanistan raises the "What kind of Army?" question, and to Ray Suarez.

RAY SUAREZ: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he needed new thinking and new approaches from the military when he shuffled Army commanders yesterday in Afghanistan.

Out was General David McKiernan, a one-time tank officer who headed the ground forces during the 2003 Iraq invasion. In were two generals with careers in counterinsurgency warfare, Stanley McChrystal and David Rodriguez.

But as far back as 2007, Gates told the Army it faced new challenges. "Current and future conflicts," he said, "will be fundamentally political in nature and require the application of all elements of national power."

He added, "The Army must learn how to incorporate the latest in technology without losing sight of the human and cultural dimensions of the irregular battlefield."

For more on the Army and its new wars, we turn to two retired generals. Wesley Clark was NATO commander during the Kosovo War in 1999. Like General Clark, Dan Christman began his Army career as a platoon leader in Vietnam. His final post was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

General Wesley Clark on MSNBC

February 6, 2009

Transcription by RegNYC

Contessa Brewer: Charges have been dropped against an Al Qaeda suspect in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. The Decision stems from President Obama's decision to freeze military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, but the ruling doesn't mean that Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri will go free.

Carlos Watson: Now the new administration wants to make sure that sus- that charges rather are brought against suspects at Gitmo will actually stick and al-Nashiri will remain in prison for the time being. Now new charges could be brought in the future against him. And joining us now to talk about this is Wesley Clark, a retired Four-Star General and former NATO Commander. General Clark, good to see you, Sir.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you, Carlos.

Carlos Watson: General Clark, so what do you think about this decision to drop the charges against the USS Cole suspect?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think it's a tough decision, because it's going to cause some confusion out there. And I've already seen the reaction from the sailors' families who are caught up in this in the Cole bombing in the year 2000, and they're, they're very concerned. They want justice done. But what I would say is that justice will be done. The- this dropping of these charges doesn't mean he won't be charged. It's just going to be in a different venue, in a different court and in a court where we've got all the- all the ability to show the proceedings of that court to the world and have the world condemn terrorists-

Carlos Watson: So-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: -rather than condemning the United States for having Guantanamo and military commissions.

Carlos Watson: So, to be cl-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: So, I think it's the right strategic decision.

General Wesley Clark on Fox Business

February 5, 2009

Transcription by RegNYC

Alexis Glick: Retired Army General and ex-presidential candidate Wesley Clark is enlisting in the battle to go green. Today he becomes Co-Chair of Growth Energy, a consortium of ethanol producers, and he's joined the board of directors of clean energy provider Juhl Wind. Ironically, his new business interests could get a 100 billion dollar budget boost from President Obama while his old business, defense, faces budget cuts. Joining me in a First on Fox is General Wesley Cl-Clark. General, good to see you.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you Alexsis. Good to be with you.

Alexis Glick: So, you've recently been appointed to the board of directors with Juhl Wind. You've also been an active Co-Chair with Growth Energy. Renewable energy has become a passion, a commitment. Tell me why.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, absolutely, because it's about energy independence for the United States and that's national security. It's about jobs. That's for our welfare. It's about a better environment, and it's about economic development particularly in rural America and the Midwest. And I want to talk for just a minute about ethanol, because we've worked- this is a brand new industry. It's taken- it's an American industry. It started 30 years ago. It's really taken off in the last five years. We're about to make the transition to cellulosic, and every year we're replacing hundreds of millions of barrels of imported oil from unstable countries elsewhere in the world with good American product. We've brought prosperity back into many towns across middle America. This is a great American success story, and it's getting ready to move to the next stage. That's what I'm happy to be part of.

General Wesley Clark on Morning Joe

February 4, 2009

Transcription by RegNYC

(on tape)

Hillary Clinton: It is clear that, as the Foreign Secretary said, Iran has an opportunity to step up and become a productive member of the international community. As President Obama said, we are reaching out a hand, but the fist has to unclench.

(end tape)

Joe Scarborough: Alright.

Mika Brzezinski: Mmm.

Joe Scarborough: Let's bring in right now former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired General Wesley Clark and President of the Council on Foreign relations, Richard Haass.

Mika Brzezinski: Very nice.

Joe Scarborough: Richard, let's start with you with this stimulus package. There's a portion of it that a lot of people, a lot of our allies in the European Union are concerned about.

Richard Haass: For good reason. The House version of the stimulus package basically says that any iron and steel that's used in projects that are funded by the stimulus project have, have to be used- have to be produced from the- in the United States. Senate's even broader. Anything manufactured has to be manufactured in the United States. If we pass this in that form, the Europeans will retaliate, and whatever jobs we save here through the stimulus package will be more than offset by the jobs we will lose when American exporters lose their markets in Europe.

General Wesley Clark on CNN Saturday Morning

January 24, 2009
Transcription by Melange

T.J. Holmes: …President Obama fulfilling one of his campaign promises – shut down the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. He also intends to get into to possibly repeal the ‘Don't ask, don't tell' policy which made President Clinton kind of unpopular with some of the US troops. Could Obama be looking at the same kind of chilly reception? Well, let's bring in retired 4-star general and former NATO Commander Wesley Clark, also former presidential candidate. I'll throw that one in there as well. Sir, let's start with Gitmo. Can you do this? Is this the right thing to do – to say you'll shut it down? To get a date for shutting it down without a plan for what you're going to do with these guys?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I think it's absolutely the right thing to do. The detention center at Guantanamo has cause the United States no end of problems. First of all, apparently a lot of the people who were there shouldn't be there. Secondly, it's a non-transparent facility. It's there as an alternative to an established system of justice. Let's use our system of justice. We've got the best system of justice in the world and it can certainly handle bad actors like Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

General Wesley Clark on the Ed Schultz Show

January 13, 2009
transcript by RegNYC

Ed Schultz: Thank you for being right here on The Ed Schultz Show. Daily listeners, love all of you. 1-877-934-6833. On the Hill right now, Senator Clinton is taking questions about whether she's ready to rock-n-roll as the Secretary of State in the Obama administration. She is vowing to renew U.S. leadership through a smart power mix of diplomacy and defense. For a professional take on this, General Wesley Clark, friend of mine and the program, right here on The Ed Schultz Show. General, great to have you back with us.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Ed, thanks so much. It's great to be with you.

Ed Schultz: Happy New Year. It's a little late, but here we go. (chuckles)

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Same to you. Stay warm up there.

Ed Schultz: You bet. L-let's talk about Senator Clinton. Is this a good choice, and from what you know of interaction between Secretary of State and the military, is, is, is this, is this a good move by President-Elect Obama?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I think it's absolutely an inspired choice. I think that she's going to be a great Secretary of State. She has the respect of the military. She has an enormous command of the subject matter, personal relationships, knowledge of programs, understanding of how the government works, the ability to, to bring together Congress and the Executive Branch. Ed, she's going to be phenomenal.

General Wesley Clark, Karl Rove faceoff at Univ. of Buffalo (Video)

Debate date: September 26, 2008 | Transcript by RegNYC

Article excerpts from The Buffalo News | Jay Rey | NEWS STAFF REPORTER

It wasn’t Obama-McCain, but Western New York had a pretty good debate of its own Friday night at the University at Buffalo. On one side was Karl Rove, Republican strategist and former White House deputy chief of staff.

On the other side was retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who had sought the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2004.

The two launched this year’s Distinguished Speakers Series in Alumni Arena with a bang, by debating some of the same contentious issues the presidential candidates faced, such as the economy, a $700 billion government bailout, health care and the war in Iraq.

Each started with five minutes for opening comments on his party’s slant.

“We are blessed to be citizens of this country,” Rove said. “There is something called the American Dream and people around the world want to share in it. Never lose sight this is the greatest country in the history of the world.”

“We’re a nation in trouble,” Clark said. “We need new ideas, and we need new leadership for America.”

Links to the Video of the Debate after the Jump

General Wesley Clark on the Ed Schultz Show

November 26, 2008
transcript by Reg NYC

Ed Schultz: 1-877-943-6833. Great friend of the program, General Wesley Clark. General, Great to have you back with us.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Great to be with you, Ed.

Ed Schultz: And Happy Thanksgiving to you. Looking forward to it?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Oh, I certainly am. I'm out with my family out in the Los Angeles area, and we're having a great time.

Ed Schultz: Fantastic. Secretary of Defense Mr. Gates, looks like he's going to stay in that position. What are your thoughts on that?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I think it's a, it's a good move. I think he's been a very effective, pragmatic Secretary of Defense. He's only been on the job a couple of years. There's some big issues that are going to be coming up for this administration right away, including both Iraq and Iran as well as a new strategy for Afghanistan. The President's clearly going to be in charge. Hillary's going to be the Secretary of State working the overall policy directions. Why not have an experienced guy who's got his, his feet on the ground for a few more months in the Secretary of Defense's position?

Ed Schultz: Has he been a good Secretary of Defense?