I don’t know what to make of Shelton’s comments, but if I were a Democrat choosing a candidate, they would worry me greatly. When a general officer says that another officer was removed from a command for character and integrity reasons, that makes me sit up and take notice. Unfortunately, we don’t have any details, so it’s hard to pass judgement. But then Tommy Franks adds a vociferous, “No way would I vote for that man”, and that really worries me, because my ‘read’ on Franks is that he’s the ultimate straight shooter and stand-up guy, and he wouldn’t offer an opinion like that unless he really felt strongly about it.
And let’s not forget the controversy over Pristina airport during the Kosovo campaign - When the Russians (ostensibly allies) occupied that airport, Clark ordered an airborne attack on the airport. That led to British General Mike Jackson refusing the order, saying, “I will not start WWIII for you.” Clark then tried to go around him and order one of his American subordinates to attack the airport with Apache helicopters, and that order was also refused.
The conflict when all the way into the highest levels of the British and U.S. governments, and Clark was overruled. Thank goodness. But this does not bode well for either the man’s judgement or character.
Pilots under his command also complained that Clark forced them to fly too high - this avoided them being shot down, but resulted in much high civilian casualties because the bombing wasn’t precise.
Finally, Clark has done a complete flip-flop on the war and the President. Before the Iraq war, he sounded pretty much supportive of it. He certainly never aired any of these grave misgivings he claims he had all along. Even as late as April of this year he had said, “George Bush should be proud of his resolve in the face of doubt,” and said on several occasions that I can recall that the U.S., once having built its forces up in the Gulf, simply had to pull the trigger because there was no turning back.
Couple that with his extremely positive remarks about Bush after the election, and it seems to me that Clark is a Democrat against the war today for only one reason - because that’s the only way to get to the White House. If it were a Democrat in power and a Republican nomination that was open, Clark would be running as a conservative. Whatever gets him into power.
That’s my take on the guy, anyway. And people who want power that badly should never attain it.