crossposted from DK:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/1/21258/76813/33/555243

Wes Clark warned us from the beginning not to be distracted by a faux debate over the size and duration of a so-called surge because the key to long term stability and bringing our troops home from Iraq is and has always been what Wes called a "diplomatic surge".

Clark explained that Iraq's neighbors feared a spread of Iraq's sectarian violence and needed assurances over their own sovereignty and borders. Regional diplomacy was necessary to provide those assurances and in return to secure external influences over the sectarian groups in Iraq which had ties to these bordering states.

Clark also pointed out that economic conditions in Iraq, jobs, restored infrastructure and equitable sharing of the oil revenues were critical to bringing violence to an end.

Barack Obama has said, as did General Clark, that diplomacy was the key to curbing violence in Iraq. That's the kind of judgment that most of us find requisite for conflict resolution. That's why Barack Obama and Wes Clark have earned our respect on foreign policy issues.

George W Bush, Richard P Cheney and John McCain, on the other hand, have opted mindlessly for unnecessary war. Barack and Wes have told us that that approach makes unnecessary enemies and makes us less safe.

On June 13 on Morning Joe, General Clark said:

McCain's weakness is that he's always been for the use of force, force and more force. In my experience, the only time to use force is as a last resort.

http://securingamerica.com/node/2957

Over the last week or so, Senator McCain couldn't stop ranting about the military "surge", insisting that it accounts for a sea change in Iraq.

General Clark is the military expert who can credibly reinforce Senator Obama's position that an increase in military force alone would not provide a solution for Iraq or for our troops and our hope to bring those troops home.

The right wing spin machine seems to be pounding the "surge" argument much as Bush distracted us with the military surge numbers.
Wes Clark's military expertise, personal courage and respect for transparency compelled him to inform us, pre-surge, that the Emperor Bush was trying to fool us by getting us engaged in an argument over the size of the military surge. Unfortunately the media fell for it then and we are now seeing the distorted arguments ad nauseum from McCain's campaign ads.

Barack Obama needs someone with Wes Clark's credentials to back up his judgment on this point since McCain is trying to make such a big deal of it.

There has been to date little mention of the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to tribal sheiks for their cooperation in controlling the violence. This and other measures have been going on behind the scenes while the numerical troop "surge" has been grabbed by McCain as proof of his worthiness to be president.

Wes Clark recently addressed the complexity of this on Morning Joe, stating that Iraq is a buffer state between competing states and that violence is down in Iraq due in part to the influence of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Wes Clark also debunked John McCain's assertion that the "Anbar awakening" had something to do with the "military surge" as John McCain tried to argue. Here's the video of Clark on what's been going on in Iraq. It is a different picture from the one painted by McCain for political purposes:
http://securingamerica.com/node/3040

Tom Rinaldo wrote a very interesting analysis here:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/16151

Barack needs and the country needs for Wes Clark, four star general and bona fide military expert to challenge McCain's simplistic assertions and to tell us from the point of view of a military expert what's really happened behind the scenes in Iraq.

The country needs to hear more from Wes Clark on this issue. I am tired of hearing McCain slam Barack Obama using a simplistic argument on the so-called military "surge". I want some push back from a credible voice. The military expert I trust is Wes Clark.

Clark was viciously attacked for saying on Face the Nation that McCain has

never been responsible for policy formulation. He's never had leadership in a crisis or in anything larger than his own element on an aircraft carrier or in managing his own Congressional staff. It's not clear that this is going to be the strong suit that he thinks it is. McCain's weakness is that he's always been for the use of force, force and more force. In my experience, the only time to use force is as a last resort. When he talks about throwing Russia out of the G8 and makes ditties about bombing Iran, he betrays a disrespect for the office of the Presidency."

There is no one more qualified to shut McCain's faux arguments down than General Wesley Clark. And Senator Obama needs Clark's expert opinion to reinforce what he himself has been saying.

McCain seems genuinely angry about this issue or else he's doing a good head fake in desperation because, just like, Bush, he's trying to distract the country from the truth for political reasons.

McCain would be a disaster for this country.

According to UPI writer Marc Ellenbogan, Republican strategists fear the possibility that Wes Clark will be Barack Obama's choice for VEEP. http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2008/07/03/Atlantic_Eye_Defending_Gen_Wesley_Clark/UPI-67941215127242/

So it's not surprising that the "right wing freak machine" went ballistic when Wes Clark challenged John McCain's national security credentials, based on his lack of strategic experience.

Clark's the only military expert who dared to point out that John McCain's military service at the tactical level although worthy of respect did not qualify McCain at the strategic level as a foreign policy expert.

At Netroots Nation, Clark talked about the "right-wing freak machine" working for McCain's benefit.

And I hate to say this, but I was taken out of context (chuckles) on Meet the Press or on Face the Nation. (laughter) I mean, there's just no other way to say it. But someone came to me last night. They said, "You weren't taken out of context, General Clark." They said, "This was a playbook operation by the right-wing freak machine." It's the great freakshow. And what they do is they take a statement, then they either take it out of context or distort it. Then they blast it. Then they criticize, and then it becomes personal. They're getting so good at it that they did all three steps in less than 12 hours. (laughter) And you fought back and I'm (applause starts) grateful to you from the bottom of my heart.

(applause)

Several years ago, I was at a Washington dinner with James Carville, and we were just having a casual conversation. I said, "James, how are we going to, how are we going to convince the American people that just because we're in a time of war that they don't have to vote Republican? How are we going to get them to understand that Democrats have a pretty good national security record?" He said, "You'll never get the American people to believe that Democrats will defend them until Democrats stand up and defend each other."

(applause and cheering)

Thank you, because you did that.

(applause continues)

No, this is a great community, this Netroots Nation. It is a great community, because it stands for principles. You all are people who are from all walks of life, from all, every spectrum, from every state, from every profession, from every background imaginable. But you're united by your passion for good government that takes America in the direction we must go.

(applause)

I think you know what tho-those directions are. I think in foreign policy it's clear, we have to make more friends and fewer enemies in the world.

(Cheering and applause)

I think it's clear that if we're going to succeed in our efforts in Iraq and in Afghanistan that we've got to have more non-military capabilities to go along and complement and support and reinforce the incredible courage and ability of the men and women in uniform.

(applause)

http://securingamerica.com/node/3034

Barack and Wes both stand for transparency, the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Barack needs Wes, I think, to challenge McCain's faux claim to national security and military expertise. The country needs to hear the truth from an unimpeachable, expert who I believe would be the best right hand person for Barack Obama as his Vice presidential choice. Senator Obama has a host of issues to address publicly - the economy, health care, jobs, the environment, energy and foreign policy - and would benefit from Clark dealing with the faux distractions from a desperate McCain campaign.

Barack Obama and the country need Wes Clark as VEEP.