It's time to let General Clark know how much
we appreciate his dawn to dusk work this week,
using straight talk to draw attention to National Security issues, and to counter the attempts to "swiftboat" his words. Thank you Wes for speaking up, speaking out and not giving up. Let's all give a little something as we can for the continuation of WesPAC and keeping Wes's voice out there.

https://secure.ga3.org/01/wespac to Contribute

Gen. Clark: McCain Is "Untested And Untried" On National Security

On Tuesday, Sen. Kent Conrad revealed that Sen. Barack Obama is including "former top military leaders" among the approximately two dozen names currently rattling around in a not-so-short vice presidential short list.

Such figures don't come much more "top" in either political party than retired four-star General Wes Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO during the Kosovo War. After a late entry into the Democratic 2004 presidential race, in which he won the Oklahoma primary and finished second in three other contests, Clark turned himself into a popular surrogate on the stump for Democratic congressional candidates during the midterm elections.

Relatively new to partisan politics, he seems to have taken to the enterprise with gusto. As an early backer of Sen. Hillary Clinton, Clark traveled in the last year to Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, Indiana and South Dakota. But even now that the spouse of his former Commander in Chief is out of the race, Clark isn't done for the season. In an email pitch to his nationwide network of supporters last week, Clark urged party unity and described the call to elect Obama as a "critical mission."

In a wide-ranging interview with The Huffington Post, Clark offered opinions on the current state of American foreign policy, the Democrats' emergence as a more "full-service" party on security issues, and -- lest anyone doubt his potential use as a running mate for Obama -- the shortcomings of Sen. John McCain.

"I know he's trying to get traction by seeking to play to what he thinks is his strong suit of national security," Clark said of McCain while speaking from his office in Little Rock, Arkansas. "The truth is that, in national security terms, he's largely untested and untried. He's 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."

Resume aside, though, Clark also took issue with the Arizona Republican's instincts on national security. "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."

* * *

Yesterday, Gen. Clark received the letter below from a young veteran. Failing to provide adequate education benefits for our returning soldiers will only dissuade a large number of our best and brightest from choosing military service over other career options. The armed forces will remain strong only if we attract the most talented Americans with a promise of a bright future after they have served our country. We can do better.

21 May 2008

General Clark,

My name is Michael B. I am an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. I served with the 89^th and 42^nd Military Police Brigades in Baghdad, Balad and Ashraf, Iraq in 2004 and 2005. I was only 18 years old when I left my home to go and serve my country. I was a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for six years and was just separated in April. I am now 23 years old and cannot use my GI Bill anymore. According to the VA, the chapter 1607 GI Bill that I was using is only available to drilling reservists. And I've been told that I cannot use the Chapter 1606 GI Bill anymore.

I'm telling you these stories so that you can hear from someone on the 'front lines' of this battle. I've sent letters to both Senator Bob Casey and Senator Arlen Specter (my senators) asking them to support the new GI Bill. I'm spreading the word among my fellow vets and my family and friends, asking them to spread the word about Bush and McCain not supporting the GI Bill. I've heard that they won't support it because they fear that too many soldiers will want to get out of the military to use their new GI Bill. The net effect of that would be that retention rates drop. Should anyone ever doubt that Americans will stop answering their nation's call?

Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain are misguided and fearful. I helped three young men join the Army National Guard recently. All three are satisfactory recruits with bright futures. Never should anyone doubt that our military will crumble because of college tuition assistance. If anything, the new GI Bill will help make the decision to join the military easier.

I greatly admire you sir and have appreciated the work that you do for veterans across America. Thank you for your time. God bless you!

Your Fellow Vet,

Michael B.

I can't take credit for finding this -- it was posted to one of the yahoo groups -- but I thought everyone here would enjoy it and I haven't seen it posted here anywhere yet. Our General gets an honor he so deserves. :)

From Balkan Travellers:

Kosovo to Distinguish International Figures Who Supported its Independence

I'm grateful for all you've done to change the course of our country and send countless progressives to Congress these past four years. But the 2008 elections are coming up soon, and we need to take the White House and increase our majorities in Congress. Contribute to WesPAC in celebration of our Fourth Anniversary today!

Click to Contribute >>

The Clark Community and WesPAC didn't start with me. It was born out of a group of people who wanted to restore our nation's security and prosperity, address the threats facing America without sacrificing our civil liberties, and fight the unwise policies of the Bush Administration.

It's with the help of people like you that I founded WesPAC and that we have come to change the course of this country. As we celebrate WesPAC's fourth anniversary this month, I'd like to take a moment and look back on what we have accomplished together, and thank your for standing by me these past four years:

The Draft Clark movement started in 2003 with just a handful of activists -- only five years later, our organization includes over 300,000 activists working to increase our Democratic majorities in Congress and bring new leadership to Washington.

Your energy and commitment to our country has helped change the course of our nation both internationally and domestically. Americans across the country are frustrated with our strategic blunders in the Middle East, a weak economy and an administration that has failed to represent the interests of the people. That's why we started a campaign to stop war with Iran, sent over 25,000 emails to Congress urging our Representatives to get Ed Shultz's show on Armed Forces Radio, and have sent more than 260,000 emails to our nation's leaders demanding change in Washington.

Time and again, the WesPAC community has fought for a shared purpose to strengthen our national security, stand by our veterans, and make sure that the government is representing the interests of all Americans. But I alone could not have had the impact that we as a community have had on our nation -- instead it has taken the work of thousands of people like you to make our voice heard.

Of course, what I'm most proud of is our success in sending countless Democrats to Congress. Since 2004, I've asked you to help progressive candidates across the country, and together we have raised over 1.5 million dollars for over 100 candidates. Raising 1.5 million dollars takes more than just one person -- it takes the support of a community, and you are part of a community that has propelled countless Democratic candidates to victory at election time.

With your help, we've done great work so far for the 2008 elections, but we can't take it for granted that we'll come out on top in November. We're facing a Republican Party that is willing to do anything to cling to their seats in Congress, and our opponents are already throwing mud at progressive candidates. It's critical that we win the White House and increase our margins in Congress to move our sound economic and foreign policies forward.

Help us continue to support progressive candidates for the 2008 elections -- click here to donate today!

We've come a long way since WesPAC was founded four years ago. I'm grateful that you've joined me in our mission to bring new leadership to Washington and repair our nation's image in the world. And with your help, we'll succeed by leaps and bounds in 2008.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

RECAP from UCLA Rogue States Conference PART I:

Just in case anyone forgot, here is Part 1:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15014

And seeing as I was so late getting to Part 2 (insert very guilty faced emoticon) I thought you could use a recap. You can hopefully understand when you scroll down, and down, and down… why this took so long to pull together. Transcribing is a painstaking exercise in patience and rewind…

This intro is snipped from Part 1 to refresh your memory.

France's Le Monde published an interview with Gen. Clark last Thursday. Here's my translation:

Wes returns yet again, March 11, to UCLA Burkle Center for a Conference on Rogue States and how best to address them via our foreign policy.

___________________________________________________________________

ROGUE STATES CONFERENCE PART I-

I arrived on campus around 2:30, just as the ABC and CBS trucks were packing up their gear to pull out (I have this effect on the media….) After Bill Richardson’s address – which I could not attend. I snuck into the large conference hall just as Panel 3 had gotten underway and grabbed the nearest seat in the back of the room – trusty recorder in hand. Dr. Suphamnonghkhuo (hereafter known as “Dr. S”) was discussing the famous six party talks with N. Korea while a man two rows in front of me was busily scrolling through his Blackberry…. Waitaminute! I know the back of that head--It’s Wes! And of course- I somehow always find myself lurking just behind him, over his shoulder, making it all the more difficult to dispel that notion of me being a Zelig-ian Wes-stalker. He turned around at one point -- smiled and waved. “Hi Wes!”. I mouthed. He must be used to looking behind him in L.A. by now to find the obligatory blond with tape recorder and notebook….

Picking up where we left off-- in the jam packed 2nd story classroom at UCLA Public Affairs Bldg- Wes had just finished telling his slipping on the icy runway story from his own Presidential campaign of 2004. He recounted how the photographer had caught him, sure enough, at just the worst moment. The whole room cracked up with his physical reenactment of the slide, then settled down for the next sobering question from a young man who asks;

Q: What’s your opinion of John McCain’s foreign policy?

It wasn’t until right before Wes was scheduled to speak that I learned I would be able to attend. The event had been booked full already for days, and I had meetings to move around even if I could go. After a series of frantic last minute calls to UCLA media relations dept and then to the public affairs offices-- I finally got my clearance at the very last minute. I dropped everything to dash off to UCLA-- in record time.

Great Day for a Hike