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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (9239)	9/24/2003 3:34:11 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793778

If Clark wasn't going to follow orders, he could have resigned his commission and left the Army. And should have if he felt that way. He would have demanded the people under him do the same, if he was any kind of Army General. I listened to Shelton several times before he retired, and wherever possible, tried to find his remarks in transcript form, so I'd know they were indeed his. I'd follow General Shelton. Clark on the other hand, doesn't seem to know what his mouth will say from minute to minute.

To: JohnM who wrote (9239)	9/24/2003 3:34:50 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793778

Jumping the chain of Command by going over Shelton's head was the reason for the very negative comment. Nothing worse you can do in the Military. Especially if you get the reputation of being a "Political" General. Cogent comment from Sullivan on Clark brings up a good subject. The tendency I see from the left, including you, to "criminalize" the Terrorist problem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLARK ON THE WAR: A useful round-up from the AP. Money quote: Clark also was cautious about plunging into battle after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when many Americans were out for vengeance. Three days after the attacks, he counseled this response: "It's fundamentally a police effort against individuals. It's not a military effort directed against factories and airfields. You may still need to use military force, but you have to use it in a very precise way." It became a huge military effort to uproot the government of Afghanistan and the terrorist network it harbored. Clark seemed to swing behind the strategy once it was set, and he voiced confidence in the outcome. It seems to me that this gets to a very important issue in the debate. Is our fight against terrorism a "police operation" or a war? Clark wants the former, although he waxed lyrical about the conduct of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq at the time. Now, of course, he is full of criticism. If Clark's candidacy can help us focus on this critical question - policing or war - then it will be a good thing. andrewsullivan.com