Democratic presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark lashed out
on Thursday against military colleagues who have attacked his character in an
attempt to warn the public that he should not serve as president of the United
States.
Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Gen. Clark responded
to charges from former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Henry Shelton, who
revealed in September that the presidential candidate had to be relieved as
Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the Kosovo War over what Shelton
described as questions of "character and integrity."
But in quotes picked up by the New York Sun, Gen. Clark angrily told the
audience that his departure "had nothing to do about my character or integrity."
He then added that Gen. Shelton's remark "constitutes a smear."
Clark's smearmonger charge against Shelton represents a considerable
escalation of the rhetoric in the controversy, and comes as new allegations from
several additional military men threaten to further tarnish his image.
Weeks after Shelton offered his assessment, William Cohen, who wasD defense
secretary at the time Clark was ousted, told CNN: "There was friction between
General Clark and myself. ... I felt that the ax, as such, when it fell, spoke
for itself."
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Marc Cisneros went so far as to brand Clark a liar,
citing a 1996 episode in which he and Clark were competing for the same job, a
four-star position heading the U.S. Southern Command.
Cisneros, who had the Army's backing, told the Associated Press that when he
confronted Clark about the matter, he "just outright lied" and denied he was
seeking the job, which eventually did go to Clark.
"I worry about his ethical standards regarding honesty and forthrightness,"
Cisneros told the AP.
Former Army chief of staff, retired Gen. Dennis Reimer, has told reporters
that Clark is intelligent and hardworking, but says the Democratic candidate
"focused too much upward and not down on the soldiers.
"I've always believed you ought to be looking down toward your soldiers and
not up at how to please your boss. ... I just didn't see enough of that in Wes."
Retired Army Brig. Gen. David Grange says that Clark would be so focused on
success that he would not be aware of the feelings and concerns of the people
around him. Says Gen. Grange, "There's no question that General Clark is for
General Clark."
In October, Clark released his military records in an attempt to rebut the
mounting criticism - and many of these documents do indeed praise his character.
As noted by USA Today, however, the records made public by Clark end when he
became a three-star general - precisely the period when the controversy about
his character arose.
_______________________________________________ Sndbox mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://sandboxmail.net/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
