What is it they "have" on Clark?
"They" don't have anything on Clark, Wednesday. General Shelton was his superior and played politics with Clark during the runup to and during the Kosovo war, and Clark came out on top and was very successful (and diplomatic, statesmanlike, and courageous) in leading the coalition of US and European allies as NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Shelton & (sec. defense) Cohen got back at him by forcing him to retire several months early, but of course, they only had glowing words about his performance at the time:
obviously, this is a partisan attack and cannot be taken seriously. Here's an excerpt from a press conference held by Hugh Shelton and Sec. of Defense Cohen:
"Q: This is General Clark's last visit to Kosovo today. Any word on how he has performed his job?
Sec Def.: He has done an extraordinary job. General Clark is one of our most brilliant officers. He undertook a mission that is perhaps one the most complicated and complex and carried it out successfully. As I mentioned in my remarks, this air campaign was the most successful in the history of warfare. We had over 38,000 sorties that were flown. We had only two planes that were shot down and no pilots lost. That is a record that is unparalleled in the history of warfare. So, General Clark and his entire staff and subordinates and all who participated deserve great credit.
Q: Why is he leaving office, then?
Sec Def.: He is leaving because we have General Ralston who will become the new SACEUR. We are now replacing many of our CINCs throughout the world.
Q: It is not a reflection on his performance?
Sec Def: No reflection at all. He has done an outstanding job as the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Southern Command, and he did an outstanding job here as EUCOM Commander and also as SACEUR"
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2000/t05022000_t501koso.html
whose got integrity issues?
A couple months ago, asked about Clarks run for president, Shelton intimated that Clark was retired early for "character and integrity issues". He has since refused to back up that statement, and reportedly, when his words were used by Slobodan Milosovich to try and discredit Wes Clark's testimony (thank you Hugh Shelton) against him, Shelton told the War Crimes judge "it was just politics". Shelton, btw, is a paid "advisor" to John Edwards presidential campaign.
John McCain, who thinks well of Clark, says that Shelton, having made such a derogatory statement, should explain what he means. Charles Rangel (congressman and veteran with a purple heart and bronze star), a strong supporter of Clark, has called Shelton's comment "character assassination."
"I have watched him at close range for 35 years, in which I have looked at the allegation, and I found it totally unsupported," said retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, who taught with Clark at West Point in the 1970s. "That's not to say he isn't ambitious and quick. He is probably among the top five most talented I've met in my life. I think he is a national treasure who has a lot to offer the country."
McCaffrey acknowledges that Clark was not the most popular four-star general in the Army leadership. "This is no insult to Army culture, a culture I love and admire," McCaffrey said, "but he was way too bright, way too articulate, way too good looking and perceived to be way too wired to fit in with our culture. He was not one of the good ol' boys."