Clark Proposes Strategy for Iraq
Thursday, November 06, 2003
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Slipping in the polls, and under fire for what critics call outlandish and unfounded criticism against the Bush administration's foreign policy, Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark unveiled his four-part plan Thursday for the future of Iraq.
"We must end the American monopoly on the occupation and reconstruction. Then we must develop the right force mix to fight and win the guerrilla war," Clark said in a speech to a majority black crowd of 300 people at South Carolina State University.
Clark, a retired four-star Army general, said Iraqis must also be given a bigger stake in the country's success — by handing over responsibility for drafting a constitution and control of oil revenues. He said the United States should work on rebuilding its relationships with European allies.
The plan reflects a shift from his ongoing criticism of the administration to offering his own solutions. According to his so-called "Success Strategy," Clark would:
— Replace U.S. troops in Iraq with NATO forces led by the United States;
— Replace the U.S. civilian administrator with one from an allied nation;
— Close Iraq's borders, rebuild its military and increase its intelligence-gathering abilities; and
— Require greater consultation with European allies before taking any pre-emptive strike.
"I will work to promote a stable democracy in Iraq, to recruit other countries to share this burden, to protect our troops, draw them down and to eventually bring them home," Clark said.
The general said that while he opposed sending troops to Iraq, they must now finish the job.
"You cannot measure success by the size of the force," he said. "A reduction doesn't mean you're succeeding and an addition doesn't mean you're failing."
Aides say Clark's proposals were intended to define his campaign, but several elements have been proposed already by Clark's rivals who were quick to criticize what they called an absence of new ideas.
"A month or so ago, I welcomed Wes to the Democratic Party and to this campaign. So, I guess I should welcome him today to my plan for post-Saddam Hussein Iraq," said Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Clark has been criticized for unsubstantiated claims that the Bush administration had a plan to topple as many as seven countries in the Middle East. But asked by Fox News to substantiate his criticism with Fox News, Clark did not.
"I've reported it exactly the way I knew it. It's in my book, it's what I heard," Clark said. "There are all kinds of intelligence agencies that sell those reports and collect those ideas commercially."
Clark also has claimed that he knew of the administration's plan to invade Iraq early on, but kept quiet.
"The concern that I saw originally that I didn't report was that we were going to go after Iraq. I held that information" while commentating on another cable news network, Clark said.
Clark's plan impressed 87-year-old Marry Williams of Orangeburg.
"If we had him, we wouldn't be in this mess," she said. "He's not the kind of person to say 'We're going to do it my way.' "
But according to the latest New Hampshire poll, Clark continues to slip. He is in single digits and appears to be losing ground. Howard Dean remains the front-runner while John Kerry holds second place far behind Dean.
Fox News' Carl Cameron and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
