Writings related to Wesley K. Clark

Hello.

This place is a little collection of things I wrote and some other articles I found interesting -- but didn't write myself -- about General Wesley K. Clark (US Army, Retired) during and after his presidential campaign in 2004. As you noticed, I stick to K.I.S.S. in design - keep it simple; don't expect dancing bears, because that makes that these pages come up fast, no matter the server load. Either way, I hope you enjoy the read.

Some things I wrote about (or related to) Wes Clark:

• Clark and the SOA (Article written in response to equally wrong-headed and persistent accusations towards Wes Clark's alleged 'involvement' in gross human rights abuse by former graduates of the School of the Americas or SOA / WHISC; Jan 20th, 2004.)
• Watergate Redux: the GOP never changes (Comment on the report of GOP staff hacking into Democratic US Senators' computer files; Jan 25th, 2004.)
• Silent Pride (Comment on unfortunately underreported support from Indian Country for Wes Clark; Jan 30th, 2004.)
• Why I support Wesley K. Clark (Article on why I believe Wes Clark is the best man to lead the USA back into the future; Feb 6th, 2004.)

Some articles about Wes Clark, not written by me:

• An Ode to the Democrat's General (Fantastic tribute by Tom Rinaldo, published right after the Democratic National Convention of 2004, where Wes Clark delivered a great speech, just prior to John Kerry's formal nomination acceptance.)
• Brief biography and overview of honors & awards for General Wesley K. Clark (US Army, Ret.)
• Waiting for the General (Wonderful lengthy portrait by Elizabeth Drew of Wes Clark and some insightful context surrounding his entry as a candidate into the Presidential elections of 2004. Published in November 2003.)
  Note: Also addresses the -- thanks to Matt Drudge -- widely repeated but never substantiated smear by Gen. Hugh Shelton, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the reason for Wes Clark's early retirement as SACEUR at NATO being tied to "integrity and character issues." What the article doesn't mention is that Hugh Shelton later went on to become a campaign advisor for Sen. John Edwards, one of Wes Clark's fellow Democratic opponents. Gen. Shelton never offered either a substantiation or explanation, let alone an apology for an undoubtedly politically motivated and baseless smear or, as I prefer to see it: an attempt at character assassination that is unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.

Some articles, speeches, and statements made by Wes Clark himself:

• Clark's graduation speech at the SOA (The speech was delivered at the School of the Americas, when Wesley Clark was CinC of SouthCom, on December 16, 1996. It is often highlighted as 'proof' that Clark somehow is or was 'sympathetic' towards the misdeeds of a few hundred former graduates of the SOA; this speech instead shows a strong commitment to human rights, and the important but subservient role in support of democracy that members of the armed forces have.)
• Clark addresses the SOA issue (At a townhall meeting during his campaign in Manchester, NH on December 19, 2003, Wes Clark answers one question plus a follow-up, detailing why he supports the SOA and rejects demands for its closure without evidence of current / recent cases of human rights abuses.)
• Clark's formal statement on the SOA (An unambiguously clear statement by Wes Clark, released on Jan 20th, 2004.)
• Clark's speech at a GOP fundraiser, the Lincoln Day Dinner (The speech was delivered on May 11, 2001, and was highlighted by detractors as 'proof' that Wes Clark has/had Republican allegiance. This transcript shows instead a convincing presentation of his own views on U.S. foreign policy, presented diplomatically but in contrast with the policies of the White House.)
• Decisive Force (Written by Wes Clark in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, published on September 15, 2001.)
• Neglected Allies (OpEd by Wes Clark dated February 2002: why doesn't the US work with its allies in NATO?)
• An Army Of One (Article by Wes Clark dated September 2002, commenting on the state of the so-called 'War on Terror,' prior to the ill-devised war with Iraq.)
• Occupation: No Model For This One (Analysis published on March 23, 2003, on odious comparisons of the post-war occupation in Iraq with the post-WWII situation in Japan.)
• Interview with Josh Marshall / TPM (Lengthy interview with Wes Clark, by Josh Marshall - one of the best blogging journalists around in the US these days. Interview posted on October 1, 2003.)
• Iraq: What Went Wrong (Two-pronged analysis by Wes Clark of the war in Iraq; it was the October 2003 feature article of The New York Review of Books. He looks at what went awry in Iraq, as a consequence of sorely lacking post-war planning in the run-up to the war; in the second part, he looks at systemic flaws in the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq, placed in a more broad context of other recent US military engagements. Article posted on The New York Review of Books' site on October 23, 2003.)
• Broken Engagement (Analysis by Wes Clark of the clearly prevalent Cold War mentality in the current administration of George W. Bush and the Pentagon, how it affects warfare in Iraq and the 'War on Terror' and how in fact the lessons of the Cold War have been grossly misapplied, if not forgotten or ignored. Published in May 2004.)
• Key To Success (Analysis by Wes Clark of the post-war situation in Iraq - with his recommendations to get out of the quagmire. Published on May 28, 2004 in the on-line version of TNR.)
• The Real Battle (This article appeared briefly after the November 2004 elections. Wes Clark takes a cold and clear look at the formidable challenges that lie ahead in Iraq for the Bush administration in its second term - in a word: reality. His sober comments are a wake-up call from the dominant empty sloganeering and shallow postures...Posted on November 12, 2004.)

Some other external links to good stuff about Wes Clark:

• WesPAC - Securing America's Future  (Wes Clark's present-day PAC. According to the website: "Through WesPAC, General Clark will put his 34 years of military and diplomatic experience to work to ensure that Democrats will never again be viewed as 'weak on defense' or 'weak on national security' or somehow 'lacking in patriotism.' WesPAC will fight for wise national security strategies to ensure that America, once again, becomes both mighty and just." What a man.)
• Clark04  (Wes Clark's campaign site, naturally "closed" since he endorsed John Kerry for President - but it's still a fountain of solid campaign info. And a reminder that Wes Clark had a campaign second to none as an issue-driven effort. Opinions aside, his site still offers a good impression of the in-depth proposals and statements he made.)
• Clark Community Network  - CCN ("The" Wes Clark campaign blog, where all diehard Clarkies have - or had - a blog. It's a magnificent rallying point for all of us Clarkies. And it's active to this very day!)
• Wesley Clark on the Issues  - profile page on the OnTheIssues.org site, which highlights Wes Clark's positions on a broad range of issues, categorized in four main topic clusters named Domestic, International, Social and Economic issues. Each summarized position is referenced, i.e. it states where and when the position statement was obtained. The site features profiles of all main candidates who participated in the 2004 presidential election cycle.
• WesleyClark.us - If not the first, certainly one of the very first dedicated Wes Clark sites, in support of his candidacy. Excellent resource for WKC speeches, articles, media and other related materials.
• Yahoo! Groups: WesPAC - not a formal (or informal) part of WesPAC, but it is designed as a collaborative companion site for those preferring maillist discussions over weblog-type conversations conducted over the Net by WKC supporters.
• US 4 Clark   (This was an awesome grassroots site featuring a staggering collection of videos, ads, speeches, and photos - the most complete in its kind. Unfortunately, that invaluable site disappeared...)
• Clark Volunteers - According to the site: "a grassroot community dedicated to supporting General Wesley K. Clark in his various endeavours!" It's a fairly recent site, but since it's set up by tried and tested hard-core Clarkies, it's surely going to be a major hub for Clark-related volunteer activities. Designed as a "portal" site.
• Yahoo! Groups WesleyClark2004  - The mail list where the "Draft Clark" movement spread its wings. (Still active!)
• Clark04's list of grassroots sites  (Not all of them are actively maintained anymore, but it still gives a good impression of the immense wave of inspiration Wes Clark set in motion.)
• Democracy in Action overview page for Wes Clark - Part of Eric Appleman's wonderful and highly informative site on the 2004 candidates' campaign organizations (including organizational info, their finances, etc.) The texts of "the most important" speeches made by Wes Clark during his campaign are neatly presented together. Be sure to also click through the other pages on Wes Clark, linked on that page - tons of "historically interesting" information there!
• Politics1.com entry for Wes Clark - Has some biographical info, but a more outstanding feature is their partial but still impressive listing of endorsements Wes Clark received throughout his 2004 campaign run.
• Wikipedia entry for Wesley Clark - Extensive and well-referenced overview article on Wikipedia.org ("the free encyclopedia") which is open-maintained (i.e., it is open to editing, comments, and discussion.) They also have a few quotations from Wes Clark on their sibling / companion Wikiquote.org site.
• Nodeworks Web Directory  - Listing of sites related to Wes Clark. Also from Nodeworks is this remarkable encyclopedic entry for Wesley K. Clark.
• DU Clarkies  (Separate message board for Clarkies who are current or former active members of the Democratic Underground forum. We had fun during Wes Clark's campaign - but it wasn't always easy...)
• Democratic Underground's Wes Clark supporters - Sub-category of forums / topics that DU's admin (Skinner) kindly set aside for all Clarkies / Clarqueros out there.
• And of course, the most important of all: Wesley Clark 2008 - A Yahoo! Groups maillist resource focused on the next elections. Come on, you didn't really think the 2004 campaign was "it" now, did you? Onward to 2008!

Sorry, but the Guestbook feature is temporarily disabled, until I found a satisfactory solution to weed out #@%$& spammers.

Last modified: Saturday, April 23, 2005 11:30 PM (PDT)