Amy Goodman interviews General Clark for one Hour

[Clarkie1]

Here is the link to this Friday's interview....

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1440234

I highly recommend watching the video. It's great...Clark is very relaxed, open, and at ease. Also, a lot more comes through in the video than in the transcript about Clark's intentions...if you watch even the first few minutes you will see what I mean.

[PSPS]

1. I heard it on the radio, and Clark is obviously a whack job

I know there are a lot of Clark fans here, but you should listen to him spin like a top as he justifies things like cluster bombs, land mines and torture. It's a startling side that he generally keeps hidden.

He even parrots the white house talking points about our Iraq invasion. "It's a legal war, authorized by the congress and UN resolutions." (It is neither.)

Even though it is impossible for him to win a presidential election, I hope you Clark fans realize what it would mean if he were to win in a "khaki election."

[still_one]

2. Interesting how you distort what Clark said. Nice selective hearing /nt

[IA_Seth]

3. You didn't listen...

Show me where he justifies land-mines...he has said repeatedly that he would like to have them banned.

Who is the whackjob anyway?

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. Why are you boldly lying when the transcript proves you wrong?

AMY GOODMAN: General Clark, do you think Guantanamo Bay should be closed?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Absolutely.

AMY GOODMAN: If Congress cut off funds for the prison there, it would be closed. Should they?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think the first thing Congress should do is repeal the Military Commissions Act. I’m very disturbed that a number of people who are looking at the highest office in the land have supported an act which advertently or inadvertently authorizes the admission into evidence of information gained through torture. That's not the America that I believe in. And the America that I believe in doesn't detain people indefinitely without charges. So I’d start with the Military Commissions Act...


AMY GOODMAN: The Center for Constitutional Rights has filed a complaint against Donald Rumsfeld, General Miller and others in a German court, because they have universal jurisdiction. Do you think that Donald Rumsfeld should be tried for war crimes?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, I’d like to see what the evidence is against Rumsfeld. I do know this, that there was a lot of pressure put on the men and women in uniform to come up with intelligence. I remember -- I think it was either General Sanchez or General Abizaid, who stated that we don't need more troops -- this is the fall of 2003 -- we just need better information. Well, to me, that was immediate code words that we were really trying to soak these people for information.

And it's only a short step from there to all the kinds of mistreatment that occur at places like Abu Ghraib. So we know that Al Gonzales wrote a couple of really -- or authored, or his people authored and he approved, a couple of outrageous memos that attempted to define torture as deliberately inflicted pain, the equivalent of the loss of a major bodily organ or limb, which is -- it's not an adequate definition of torture. And we know that he authorized, to some degree, some coercive methods, which we have -- and we know President Bush himself accepted implicitly in a signing statement to a 2005 act on military detainees that he would use whatever methods were appropriate or necessary. So there's been some official condoning of these actions.

I think it's a violation of international law and a violation of American law and a violation of the principles of good government in America. There have always been evidences of mistreatment of prisoners. Every army has probably done it in history. But our country hasn't ever done it as a matter of deliberate policy. George Washington told his soldiers, when they captured the Hessians and the men wanted to run them through, because the Hessians were brutal and ruthless, he said, “No, treat them well.” He said, “They'll join our side.” And many of them did. It was a smart policy, not only the right thing to do, but a smart policy to treat the enemy well. We’ve made countless enemies in that part of the world by the way we've treated people and disregarded them. It's bad, bad policy.



AMY GOODMAN: Right now, the US has rejected an international call to ban the use of cluster bombs. On Friday, forty-six countries were in Oslo to develop a new international treaty to ban the use of cluster munitions by -- I think it’s 2008. Would you support that?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, you know, people who are against war often make the case by trying to attack the weapons of war and stripping away the legitimacy of those weapons. I’ve participated in some of that. I’d like to get rid of landmines. I did participate in getting rid of laser blinding weapons. And I was part of the team that put together the agreement that got rid of laser blinding weapons. I’d like to get rid of nuclear weapons. But I can't agree with those who say that force has no place in international affairs. It simply does for this country. And I would like to work to make it so that it doesn't. But the truth is, for now it does. And so, I can't go against giving our men and women in uniform the appropriate weapons they need to fight, to fight effectively to succeed on the battlefield, and to minimize their own casualties.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1440234

[Adelante]

5. Clark would ban nuclear weapons and landmines

AMY GOODMAN: Do you think cluster bombs should be banned?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: You know, we used, I think 1,400-plus cluster bombs. And there's a time when you have to use cluster bombs: when they're the most appropriate and humane weapon. But I think you have to control the use very carefully. And I think we did in Yugoslavia.

AMY GOODMAN: Right now, the US has rejected an international call to ban the use of cluster bombs. On Friday, forty-six countries were in Oslo to develop a new international treaty to ban the use of cluster munitions by -- I think it’s 2008. Would you support that?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, you know, people who are against war often make the case by trying to attack the weapons of war and stripping away the legitimacy of those weapons. I’ve participated in some of that. I’d like to get rid of landmines. I did participate in getting rid of laser blinding weapons. And I was part of the team that put together the agreement that got rid of laser blinding weapons. I’d like to get rid of nuclear weapons. But I can't agree with those who say that force has no place in international affairs. It simply does for this country. And I would like to work to make it so that it doesn't. But the truth is, for now it does. And so, I can't go against giving our men and women in uniform the appropriate weapons they need to fight, to fight effectively to succeed on the battlefield, and to minimize their own casualties.

[PSPS]

6. I guess it depends on what you want to hear & see

To me, the interview was full of "weasels." If you're a Clark groupie, nothing will change your mind.

In Clark's own words, "... there's a time when you have to use cluster bombs: when they're the most appropriate and humane weapon."

To me, at least, anyone who considers a cluster bomb "humane" is, by definition, a whack job.

But this is all academic, anyway.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Again, you misunderstand cause you want to....

We are talking about WAR. What Clark said was that war is hell, and the best thing to do is not to have wars.

Are you asking General Clark to say that if at war, we should just be dropping flowers from the bomber planes?

Think about it.

The best thing to do is not to go to war...which is what General Clark recommended!

GEN. WESLEY CLARK:"Well, you know, people who are against war often make the case by trying to attack the weapons of war and stripping away the legitimacy of those weapons. I’ve participated in some of that. I’d like to get rid of landmines. I did participate in getting rid of laser blinding weapons. And I was part of the team that put together the agreement that got rid of laser blinding weapons. I’d like to get rid of nuclear weapons.

But I can't agree with those who say that force has no place in international affairs. It simply does for this country. And I would like to work to make it so that it doesn't. But the truth is, for now it does. And so, I can't go against giving our men and women in uniform the appropriate weapons they need to fight, to fight effectively to succeed on the battlefield, and to minimize their own casualties.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1440234

Good luck in supporting a pacifist, if you can find a real one....cause it appears that you believe that war should be fought with bare hands and nothing else. That's not the ugly reality of war.....it just isn't.

[Tom Rinaldo]

10. I think wars should be fought by teams of technicians

who show up on the battle field prepared to administer painless lethal injectitons to the enemy. It is the most humane way of killing people. But then we'll also need a clean up crew to make sure that there are not any syringes left behind for children to step on.

Excuse me, but we are talking about War here.

And you are still a liar for claiming Clark defended torture and land mines during this interview when the tapes and transcripts directly contradict you.

[CarolNYC]

11. Can you please post the parts

that made you think he was justifiying the use of land mines and torture?

Thanks!

[Clarkie1]

7. Hey whackjob...Clark has repeatedly spoken against torture.

Were you on drugs when you were listenting?

[Auntie Bush]

12. The problem is he wasn't listening. His mind was wandering thinking

how evil Clark was...instead of listening. We all know people like that!Weirdos!

[CarolNYC]

13. I don't think he even pretended to listen to it...

or read the transcript. I think he just read some comment somewhere on one of those blogs that's raking Amy over the coals for daring to give the General an hour on Democracy Now! and decided to make some shit up hoping that others would be too stupid to actually read or listen and know what they were reading and hearing.

I can't for the life of me believe that anyone would be as dumb as to actually hear the interview and come away from it with what this one claims he did....

[Dinger]

14. Who Do You Support?

As if I don't know.

[AtomicKitten]

9. thanks for the link

Clark always impresses by having a command of anything he discusses. He seems really relaxed and confident, giving further credence to the notion that we need intelligent people in government (for a change).