Clark interviewed on Fox, was asked about CNN sniper video

Wesley Clark was interviewed Saturday on Fox News Channel and was asked about Al-Sadr's militia and also about the controversial CNN sniper video. Here is a link to the interview:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR6JgK-2dPo

Seriously. Today Grange wouldn't comment although he said that he'd gotten the conditions he wanted from CNN. Wes Clark is right: no one cared when they were showing dead and dying Iraqis. It's not the picture; it's the reality.

Thanks Jim.

Well, he's scheduled to be on tomorrow night. I expect O'Reilly will try his best to paint Gen. Clark a enemy sympathizer. Looking forward to another smackdown.

I'm surprised they keep him on Fox. He must be under contract.

At the end he did better, calling the CNN issue a distraction and saying that the real questions need to be directed toward the political leadership, but he is still stumping for "winning in Iraq." This has been a wrong-headed approach from day one.

he said that you could still get a D- solution in Iraq, but he wasn't hopeful. He has said for a long time that the best we can hope for is an Iraq that stays together, but it will not be a democracy and it will not be our friend.

..."we need a stategy for winning in Iraq" or something similar-- quoted from memory.

paraphrased: The Republican Congressman should ask the President to come up with a strategy that would win, we have never been told what the strategy is its not working its spiraling out of control.

I understand your point mike, but to be honest its kind of silly to compare Clark to the Republicans. He has always said we need to bring the interested parties together and that there is no military solution. I do not believe a Clark solution would look like what we have today. THere would much more pressure applied to achieve an agreement between the various factions. And since they would have a seat at the table there would less violence and likely a diminshed use of US forces.

...if he would directly and unambiguously oppose the war against Iraq, stop talking about changing strategy, succeeding in Iraq, and etc. I know his supporters maintain vehemently that that's what he means, but I just haven't heard him say it yet, at least not clearly. I am not interested in equivocation or political triangulation on that particular issue. The war against Iraq is much worse than the Vietnam war in my mind, and any politician who waffles on it is untrustworthy IMO. I'd REALLY like to hear Clark make himself clear on the issue.

like win and strategy....but the context in which they appear......as it does make a huge difference.

Clark is clear, you're just not truly listening...which is a shame, considering that you're politically active and all. :shrug:

Clark's definition is much more realistic and mostly involves getting out of Iraq without causing a wider, regional war.

In pursuit of that goal, he's insisted for 3 years that it must be a political and diplomatic solution. He's never been about 'winning' on Bush's terms.

the parents need to ask the republican congressmen to go to the administration and ask for a strategy to win. (After all, isn't that what bush is yammering on about: victory) Then Clark says: if they can't explain that, then we must ask ourselves if this is what we should be asking of our young men and women?

^^^^^^

It is a very skillful argument to put to the right wing. It is their loonie president who keeps talking about some plan. Clark said that we are spiraling down, and no one has ever explained it to the American people.

Wes chooses those words carefully because he does NOT want to play into Bush's delusions and propaganda about winning a war in Iraq. Listen carefully when Clark speaks, no time remotely recently has "win" entered into his vocabulary about Iraq. Clark knows that the U.S. already lost by invading Iraq, the only matter unresolved now is how bad a loss will it turn out to be, how much chaos will be left behind, how many terrorists will freely opereate inside Iraq, and whether or not the fighting spreads to other countries.

A strategy for success means working systematically to obtain the best possible outcome still available to us, which is what Clark calls a "D Minus" rather than "F" solution: Some kind of semi stable Iraq state that likely will be undemocratic by our standards and anti-american to a greater or lesser extent, but not engaged in a regional war, or total unchecked genocidal civil war.

...as events on the ground have warranted.

Back when he talked about 'winning' in Iraq, there was still a chance, if they had followed his advice. Of course they didn't. Later as things got worse, he offered advice that could garner a D minus out of mess. Now, he's just trying to get the soldiers home.

Iraq was never a political issue for him. He firmly believes that the disaster in Iraq could spread catastrophically to the rest of the region. He always thinks of the geopolitical consequences, not what will get him kudos from the pundits.

To me, that is his strength.

he ain't cheerleading.....at all! :eyes:

Here's what he said.....then let me know what you think.

This was his answer when the newsreader asked him what he thought about CNN showing the sniper footage.....(reporter goes on and on trying to make CNN the enemy)...

CLARK: "Well, I think it’s a very difficult situation in Iraq.(Clark dead serious here) I guess what I’d say to the families of soldiers, I’d be asking one of the Republican congressman to be asking our president to come up with a strategy that can win; succeed in Iraq. The strategy that we’ve got, apparently, it doesn’t work. We’re not quite sure what the strategy is. It’s never really been explained, but what we do know is that we’re in sort of a worsening spiral.

and the real problem is NOT WHAT is shown on television, it’s WHAT the REALITY is. It’s the fact that soldier DID-IN FACT- DIE, and he died serving our country, doing something our government asked him to do. And we have to ask ourselves every one of us as Americans. Is this is what we want our young men and women dying for? AND IF IT ISN’T, then what’s the alternative, what are the strategies, how are we going to change this course? The president and the Republican leadership owe that explanation to the American people. I think it’s a bit of a distraction to go after CNN, to be honest with you. I shared the family’s pain, but I really think that the questions have to be directed to the government’s leaders. they’re the ones that put us in this position."

Lemme know if you still think, after reading that transcription that Wes Clark was saying that we can "win" in Iraq....or what?

because he has genuine human feelings (you should post a speech where he gets fired up)

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=wesley+clark&search=Search

and he has weathered storms and brought deep insight from those lessons (Kosovo)

the combination of these factors makes him an American who cannot easily be fooled, which is above all what America needs in these dangerous and often incomprehensible times, IMO

is a really neat tribute video made after the end of his Presidential bid, hadn't seen that one before. Very nicely done. Gets me a little teary eyed.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tfcWVAdgIZU

and if he can't, then what are our kids doing there?

negotiations between ethnic groups having been involved in the Dayton accords and in Kosovo. As you heard he thinks the emphasis has to be on convincing the groups to stop using violence and showing them how to settle their disputes through other means.

when you actually listen to what he said?

Clark: "Well, I think it’s a very difficult situation in Iraq.(Clark dead serious here) I guess what I’d say to the families of soldiers, I’d be asking one of the Republican congressman to be asking our president to come up with a strategy that can win; succeed in Iraq. The strategy that we’ve got, apparently, it doesn’t work. We’re not quite sure what the strategy is. It’s never really been explained, but what we do know is that we’re in sort of a worsening spiral.

And the real problem is NOT WHAT is shown on television, it’s WHAT the REALITY is. It’s the fact that soldier DID-IN FACT- DIE, and he died serving our country, doing something our government asked him to do. And we have to ask ourselves every one of us as Americans. Is this is what we want our young men and women dying for? AND IF IT ISN’T, then what’s the alternative, what are the strategies, how are we going to change this course? The president and the Republican leadership owe that explanation to the American people. I think it’s a bit of a distraction to go after CNN, to be honest with you. I shared the family’s pain, but I really think that the questions have to be directed to the government’s leaders. they’re the ones that put us in this position."

Lemme know, K?

It's consistent with Clark's latest statement during his visit to NH last weekend; ...

"We're on the precipice of a national security calamity of catastrophic proportions,"
"Anyone want to quibble over whether (Iraq) is a civil war or not? .. It is! What we're doing is losing traction and losing troops." -Wesley Clark (Portsmouth Democrats Banquet, NH, 10.21.2006)

link: Clark bashes Bush

on it's head. He turned the issue of the sniper video by CNN into another failure by Bush about lying to start this war, and sending our troops into a battle that was not necessary. Military families should listen to Wes, and they should think twice about supporting Bush. I don't know another candidate that is as thought-full about his answers as Wes is. He made the guy on FOX squirm and I loved every minute of it. They just can't out-Fox Wes! LOL!

I don't think he is taking kindly to fox using the death of a soldier to bash CNN. The reality is that a soldier died.

I'd love to have heard what was coming over his earpiece.

The poor guy didn't know what hit him....

I thought he came off extremely authoritatively, and the interviewer was peeing himself.

really low....General....general......general. Finally guess he gave up and allowed the General to finish his fucking statement..... :eyes:

Wes is not putting up with republican talking points. When I saw him, he said that he wanted to give us our rebuttals.

He's "All patriot, no act!"

It's the administration's policies hurting American families, not some video.

Way to go Wes!

I love the way he changes pace to prevent them from doing that.

Thanks Frenchiecat. :)