CLARK: Begin Troop Withdrawals (AP via Navy Times)

[Gloria]

Looks like outer limits of Clark's timeframe of "sh*t or get off the pot" has been reached....and no permanent bases, please.

http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1825852.php

May 25, 2006

Clark: Begin troop withdrawals

By Garentina Kraja
Associated Press

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro — Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark called Thursday for transition of authority in Iraq during the course of this year and said that the United States should soon begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. soldiers.

Clark, a four-star general who served as the supreme commander of NATO in 1997-2000 and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, said the fledging Iraqi government must take charge and be given the means to address the security in the country.

“It’s necessary ... to make this year a year of transition in Iraq,” Clark told The Associated Press in an interview during his visit to Kosovo. “The Iraqi government must take charge.”

He said that ministers of interior, defense and national security should be appointed, but also said that a lot of help is needed from the international community to strengthen the Iraqi government in meeting the needs of the people.

“And then we should begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. soldiers and other coalition soldiers from Iraq,” said Clark.

“I do think that there should be no permanent bases there. I think that the United States should soon begin its process of redeployment,” he said, adding that he believed there will be “some withdrawals very soon given where we are.”

MORE

[blm]

1. Very good article - great job, Wes.

.

[Bucky]

2. "a lot of help is needed from the int'l cmty". Nice theory, but...

Where are we gonna find a country willing to send resources and people into Iraq... especially if US troops are pulling out? I loathe this occupation, but US troops are one of the few things providing any sense of security there against the swirling, looming chaos. Will France, will Germany, will Japan step up and say "Oh, look, the Yanks are pulling out of that bloody hellhole. Maybe it's time I stepped up to the plate and sent some of my troops and construction consultants over to be shot at instead."

Yep, that's gonna happen.

[speedingbullet]

3. Swirling, Looming, Chaos

I shared your view about our troops securing Iraq for a long time. Kind of like the old saying:'You broke it, you bought it'. The more I read about Iraq however, the more I am convinced that we are doing more harm than good. Rather than suppressing sectarian violence, we are inciting it. You are absolutely correct that no other country will want to step in. No good answer on this one.

[Catch22Dem]

5. Could go both ways

Countries might be more willing to participate when the US isn't calling the shots.

[Catch22Dem]

4. That's my man (n/t)

[truthisfreedom]

6. no permanent bases? what about the multi-billion dollar permanent bases

we've already built, Wes?

[AAARRRGGGHHH]

7. Watch for the swiftboating of Wes

This article was actually on the Yahoo front page for a while, and for some reason I decided to check out what the message boards were saying.

Anyway, all of the RW morans who post on that bastion of truthiness are all saying that Wes turned Kosovo into an Islamic Republic, that it took 7 years to get stability there so it was therefore a "quagmire", that Wes got his job by sucking up to Clinton, that he was a terrible leader who wasn't respected by his peers, etc etc. Basically, all of the old RW lies and a few new ones that attempted to set the new bar for 'stupid'.

Don't get me wrong, I will back Wes with EVERYTHING I have in 2008, and I'm excited to see him lay the smack down on anyone who tries to swiftboat him. I am worried, though, that these RW idiots have absolutely no ability to discern truth from total lies. I fear that they won't listen to Wes enough to hear how truly brilliant and gifted he is.

p.s. rec'd for the 44th President of the United States

[MH1]

8. Cool...he's starting to sound like Kerry.

;-)

:hide:

[Clarkie1]

11. Actually, not at all.

Clark does not support a timetable for withdrawl. He supports the Real Security Plan, which he was instrumental in formulating.

[sandnsea]

16. Does he still support deploying more troops??

"We need to keep our troops in Iraq, but we need to modify the strategy far more drastically than anything President Bush called for last week...

..We need to deploy three or four American brigades, some 20,000 troops, with adequate aerial reconnaissance, to provide training, supervision and backup along Iraq's several thousand miles of vulnerable border. And even then, the borders won't be "sealed"; they'll just be more challenging to penetrate."

http://securingamerica.com/oped/nyt/2005-12-06

He's the one who has been getting in the way of the disengagement strategy. He's finally signed on to the Kerry strategy, pressuring the Iraqi government to step up and start removing the troops so they will no longer be the focus of the violence in the country.

[midnight]

9. Bring the home.

Now......

[Clarkie1]

10. The Democrats DO have an Iraq policy, and Clark is the key architect.

"To Honor the Sacrifice of Our Troops, we will:
Ensure 2006 is a year of significant transition to full
Iraqi sovereignty, with the Iraqis assuming primary
responsibility for securing and governing their country
and with the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces.
Insist that Iraqis make the political compromises
necessary to unite their country and defeat the
insurgency; promote regional diplomacy; and strongly
encourage our allies and other nations to play a
constructive role. Hold the Bush Administration accountable for its
manipulated pre-war intelligence, poor planning and
contracting abuses that have placed our troops at
greater risk and wasted billions of taxpayer dollars."

http://a9.g.akamai.net/7/9/8082/v001/democratic1.download.akamai.com/8082/pdfs/20060329_realsecurity.pdf

[Gloria]

12. And he seems to be the best at articulating it....esp. the

part about "accountability." Which most DC Dems don't go near.

Furthermore, he's been writing about his and talking on FAUX about this (and Iran) since last May...that's about a year of being ahead of most of the crowd....

[Clarkie1]

13. He has been remarkably consistent, even in the face of political pressure.

We are six months into "the significant year of transition," so it makes sense that he come out with this statement now.

Kerry's plan is already dated, as is Murtha's. That has always been the problem with the "timetable" approach in a constantly evolving situation. Clark, in contrast, is staying on message and taking a real leadership role in the Democratic party on Iraq policy by emphasizing responsibility, accountability, and realism is assesing a constantly evolving situation. It's good we have a diversity of voices in our party, but it's Clark who is bringing the party together by consistently articulating real Democratic leadership on the issue by sticking to "The Plan."

I think with time, many more Dems will come to see the wisdom of Clark's approach, which is also the official position of the Demcratic Party as articulated in the Real Security Plan.

Isn't it great to have a four-star general on our side? (And not just any four-star general).

[CarolNYC]

14. It is one of the great things about Clark....

Although he is open to hearing and understanding all sides of an issue, when he feels he is right about something he will stick to it until someone can convince him that he's wrong. He's not going to just go throwing something out there because it's what he thinks people want to hear, because it's the popular thing to say. Soemtimes he brings us unpleasant truths...but if they are truths it's like be can't help but voice them.

When he says something you know he believes it....It's like Mario Cuomo said,"Wes Clark is a man of whom you can ask a question, and he will look you directly in the eye, and give you the most truthful and complete answer you can imagine. You will know the absolute truth of the statement as well as the thought process behind the answer. You will have no doubt as to the intellect of the speaker and meaning of the answer to this question....So you can see, as a politician, he has a lot to learn."

Maybe there are some things I don't want him to learn....

[goclark]

15. Go Clark!

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. I wouldn't mind

if Clark decided to come out of retirement. I bet Rummie would crap his own pants if he did.