Wesley Clark: The Flip-flop Candidate

Monday, January 5, 2004

The campaign signs said it all: "Conversations with Clark." Busy on the campaign trail, General Wesley Clark visited Brace Commons to meet students and discuss his plans for the presidency. When I walked in the Brace Commons door, Clark's campaign supporters were busy passing out literature about the former four-star General, former Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, Rhodes Scholar, and West Point valedictorian. But for all of the hype, Clark wasn't anything special. The foreign policy he presented was anemic at best, and his ideas on domestic policies weren't much better.

Much of General Clark's speech focused on matters of national defense. Calling the Iraq war a "world-class bait-and-switch," he repeatedly asked the question: "Where is Osama bin Laden?" He concluded, "If Newsweek can find him, so can we," and gave his plan for tracking down the notorious terrorist. General Clark believes the answer to finding bin Laden is getting in bed with the Saudis, pressuring them to use their forces as patrols on the Afghan-Pakistani border, where bin Laden is reportedly hiding. Now, considering the fairly close links between some members of the Saudi royal family and al Qaeda, and the added fact that the Saudi military has never operated in the mountains or outside the Middle East, this might not seem a wise position. But Clark remained firm. "It's time for real action from the Saudis to help take down al Qaeda," he said. "What we haven't done is use our leverage and connections with the Saudis to in turn leverage their connections in the region effectively."

The general further discussed his anti-Iraq war stance, stating that the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is "largely over." He added, "Let's cut our losses in pursuit of that." Quite a turnaround for someone who, fewer than six months ago, was fully supporting President Bush and "absolutely" sure that WMDs would be found in Iraq. Sadly, the question-and-answer session was shortened before audience members asked Clark about his incredible volte-face regarding the war.

Turning his attention to domestic affairs, Clark commented briefly on the country's economic state, noting that he had taught economics at West Point for several years. Clark lambasted President Bush's tax cuts and said, "trickle-down economics never work," apparently disregarding the Reagan years and other evidence to the contrary.

After his speech, Clark fielded a few questions from the overflow audience, during which he claimed to oppose the Army's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding homosexuality, stating further that he knew best regarding "what the Army can and can't do." Clark continued the military discussion by saying that he believed the anti-Vietnam War protesters were just as patriotic as those who went to fight. Yes: some gave all; some gave none. He ended the discussion by returning to the usual Bush-bashing, commenting that it's impossible for one party "to hold a monopoly on patriotism."

Wesley Clark: The Flip-flop Candidate

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