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Thanks, Tivo!! Enjoy Judy Woodruff, trying to talk Clark out of defending Kerry, and she's at her best when blaming Kerry himself for the right-wing smear. Fascinating!!
WOODRUFF: With me now, retired General Wesley Clark, who has been watching these pictures coming in from Fallujah. General, I want to ask you about Iraq, before we get into some of the politics. You've heard John McCain, who is worried about how things are going over there, we need more troops, and we cannot fail, meaning the United States cannot fail. What has to happen in Iraq?
CLARK: Well, I think we do have to finish the problem with Fallujah. And, I would advocate that we finish it, if they're not going to negotiate, that we finish this with force. We do it quickly, not slowly, not drawn-out. Put sufficient up troops there, and I don't think there are sufficient troops there, based on what I'm reading in the press, to actually do the job, finish the job, get it over with. Get rid of the bad news. You've got to work Najaf separately. It should to be negotiated, brokered, and let Sustani and the Shia leadership handle it.
The most important thing to think about is what happens after the 30th of June. I know we've got to get there, but think about this, Judy. After the 30th of June, what is it that our military is supposed to do there? What's the mission? It's not defense, it's not attack. What is it? We're not policemen. We cannot police Iraq.
WOODRUFF: Keep the peace? Keep the country secure?
CLARK: Well, sure, but, I mean, what does that mean? Do we do house-to-house searches? We've already got Saddam Hussein, and we know that there are no weapons of mass destruction. We're there at the sufferance of the Iraqi people. When they say it's time to go, whether or not they have the democracy we want them to have, I think we're going to end up recognizing that we can't stay.
WOODRUFF: So, at this point, I just asked John McCain, are you optimistic or not? You talk to people at the Pentagon, you have sources. What do you hear? Are you optimistic?
CLARK: This mission has been in trouble since the beginning. And, I hope that it will lurch through, because I think, just as John McCain said, that the consequences of a catastrophic failure in that mission, and a sudden, abrupt US withdrawal is devastating. We can't afford to fail. There should be no mistake about it. This Administration has been playing politics with this mission from the beginning. In part by setting the June 30th date, by not knowing what it was, by cutting the standards, by not putting enough forces in there to do the job, we need the forces in there that are necessary.
WOODRUFF: Speaking of politics, John McCain says both sides need to stop all this talk about Vietnam, stop criticizing. You wrote this Op/Ed piece in the New York Times today. There is so much at stake, aren't both campaigns bound to talk about the national security experience of both of these candidates?
CLARK: We're in the phase of the campaign year where people are trying to define John Kerry. This is an effort by the Republican party to define him. This just happens to be the latest, in an effort to create an impression about him in the eyes of the American people. This is what happens in politics, it's an ugly part of the Republican attack machine. I think we oughta be talking about the issues.
WOODRUFF: But the White House says all they're talking about is John Kerry's record on defense, and where he differs from President Bush on defense policy questions. They say the questions about the ribbons and medals comes from elsewhere.
CLARK: Well, I think it's very clear from Karen Hughes, and other people, they're speaking out and feeding the machine. I think John Kerry has a very strong record of defense, and service. I think he'll be a very good President, a decisive leader, I think he'll be a strong leader who can bring this country together. I think the American people are tired of the bickering and attack machine coming out of the White House. They want to hear the issues discussed!
WOODRUFF: But on this current back and forth, General Clark, there are Democrats who are John Kerry allies who say he should just drop it, he's the one coming back and bringing up Vietnam over the past few days. Get over your anger, it's clear you're upset about this, move on, don't let yourself be goaded into this debate by the Republicans.
CLARK: I don't think John Kerry has been goaded into this debate. He has a great deal of pride in his service, and I think Americans should share some of that pride. He served in Vietnam honorably and heroically. He did his duty, he protested. That was also part of his duty, as he saw it! I think it's a great record of achievement, and he has every right to be angry about the way the attack machine is trying to smear him, and I think he should defend himself. I think the people who need to be called off are the Republican attack dogs.
WOODRUFF: So you don't think he's doing himself harm by continuing to respond to all of this.
CLARK: I think John Kerry is doing a great job in helping the American people understand who he is, and one of the things people will learn about Kerry, this is a guy who will fight back. This is not a man who is indecisive or ineffectual. He does take strong positions, and he works to get those positions adopted, and he fights back. It's just one of the reasons why I think John Kerry will be a great President.
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