My Conversation with Gen. Wesley Clark on Dick Cheney

Tonight, I spoke with retired General Wesley Clark and wanted to get his reaction to comments made this evening on ABC News by Vice President Dick Cheney following news of the 4000th U.S. fatality in Iraq.

The full conversation airs tonight on PBS.

Comments

[Beowoof]

Dick Cheney sat idly by as a student at the University of Wisconsin while the protests raged over the use of napalm on the men, women, and children of Vietnam. He was for that war and the one in Iraq. In his defense he has always been cold and unflinching to carnage, whether he causes it or not.

[AdultFilmLegend]

I thought he was making a smooth transition from obscurity to oblivion, but there he is again. Pres McCain or Pres Obama probably won't have much use for him, but who knows? Stranger things have happened.

[cafemocha]

It is tragic we have so many young people confusing romantic idealic "service of country" with the actual reality of "service to Bush/Cheney".

[ME08]

Tavis, great points...you're recent conference, by the way, was wonderful...keep up the good work on radio and TV!

[TN]

"Our national interests?" Are you getting some of the oil money sir. How many hands are in those pockets - you meant to say, bush, cheney, rumsfield, blair, exon, bp, shell, did I leave anyone out's, interests.

[hfjai]

We have far more important national interests in the Middle East than oil.

[chronic5]

This and video is still very messed up. I can't even copy the address and it doesn't play right. Can you fix it? I'd love to hear what Gen. Clark has to say.

[jhamm1]

"bears an enormous burden of guilt and responsibility"?

[faith]

guilt and responsibility - yes ! Not being fair to the troops? Outrageously understated. Bush has gone way beyond not being fair to the troops. He is showing a callous disregard for the troops. He has yet to fully provide safety equipment and vehicles. He has yet to make the Vet hospitals respond fully to the needs of those wounded vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush is beyond an abject failure. He is terrifying and no one seems able to do a thing about it.

[Sergeantfreedom]

I want to take issue with pretty much ALL of the American media's reporting of the American casualties in Iraq. The very first sentence of this report: "...following news of 4000th U.S. fatality in Iraq." This is stunning display of Enron accounting applied to "US Fatalities" in Iraq. The Bush Administration has been keeping a second set of accounting books on the American dead, and if anybody has called them on this deception, I haven't seen it.

[HaveyouPerspective]

"Talking to, and working with..."

[liveandlearn]

one of the things liberals like to ignore is that bush broke the military by misusing everybody so that national guard become the french foreign legion and nobody wants to sign up for the military any more. the national guard should be serving their individual states and be on standby for military action while participating in the normal economy. the army, navy, marines and air force should be the ones fighting a war if we had one that was doing any good. BRING HOME THE SOLDIERS IN IRAQ!

[klmebane]

liberals ignore that bush has misused and broken the military?? where have you been, honey?? THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG!!!

[sammy333]

By 'liberals' "liveandlearn' means Lieberman and one half of the Democratic party who vote with Republicans.

[writeaway]

Back when there was a military draft, many who now call themselves patriotic joined the National Guard to avoid the draft. One of the most famous obviously being 'Shrub'. The "Young Republicans' are notorious for advocating support for the "war" while they have better things to do, just like Cheney and all the other neo-cons. It is unfortunate that the National Guard folks who have other jobs get pressed into the 'war' but it was wrong that they could use it to avoid Vet Nam.

[LITU]

I like Clark, and always have, even when he was a Republican (I don't know if he qualifies as a conservative). He would make an outstanding cabinet member in a Democrat executive.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

FYI: Clark has said that he voted for Al Gore in 2000, but has voted for Republicans such as Ronald Reagan, held equal esteem for Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman, and had been a registered independent voter throughout his military career. Ultimately as Clark himself put it, however, he decided he was a Democrat because "I was pro-affirmative action, I was pro-choice, I was pro-education... I'm pro-health care... I realized I was either going to be the loneliest Republican in America or I was going to be a happy Democrat."[91] Clark said he liked the Democratic party, which he saw as standing for "internationalism", "ordinary men and women", and "fair play."[92][93]

[DRHoen]

What!? US military people are forced to stay in after their agreed terms are over and they want to leave? Outrageous!!!

[klmebane]

yeah, stop loss is a bitch. you serve the 4 years active duty you signed up for, and then when time for inactive duty or reenlistment comes up the government chooses for you and extends you. a wonderful volunteer military force we have, eh?

[ME08]

Can't wait for Phil Donahue's film to come out...preview on Bill Moyers' Friday was heart wrenching and tragic...the scene of dead soldiers' family members reaching and touching the face of young injured soldier featured in documentary is an image that should be emblazoned on Bush's, Rummy's, Condi's and Cheney's souls for eternity. But I forgot they have no souls.

[1pappy]

Stop loss is more than a bitch, it is a hard reality. What many don't understand is that life in the military is a hard reality in total. It is not a job one takes thinking that "if it is too tough, I'll just quit". Many stories are told about how recruiters dupe unwitting citizens into enlisting. However, most of these enlistees soon find that they have a meaningful, needed, and fullfilling profession that could result in the ultimate sacrifice. This aspect makes the service all the more meaningful. America has professional warfighters, not draftees. So denegrate their civilian and military leadership for mistakes, just understand that those professional fighters know full well what their job requires.