WesDem - You said: "Wes Clark was relieved by SecDef Cohen in July of 1999 under President Clinton."

Advertise on more than 70 progressive blogs!

WesDem

You said: "Wes Clark was relieved by SecDef Cohen in July of 1999 under President Clinton."

Posted by WesDem in General Discussion: Presidential
Fri May 23rd 2008, 03:31 PM

July of 1999 would have been the end of Clark's three-year term as SACEUR, yes. However, he was not "relieved" or fired, as is often claimed. High level commanders, as I understand it are almost never "relieved" and Clark was not "relieved" - in fact, in 2005 when Gen. Byrnes was relieved, "A spokesman said Army officials could find no case of another four-star general being relieved of duty in modern times."

Was Clark pushed out by SecDef Cohen and Gen. Shelton? Unquestionably.

The timeline is this:

July 11, 1997 Sworn in at Brussels

July 1999 asked to retire early in May 2000 (served another ten months)

February 2000 Ralston, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff term ending

May 2, 2000 Change of Command Ceremony in Germany

May 2000 Retired

July 11, 2000 Clark�s tour originally scheduled to end

At the Change of Command Ceremony in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany on May 2, 2000, Cohen said:

To help preserve that freedom at the end of the century, America turned to the leader that we honor today. In General Wes Clark, America found a scholar, a soldier and a statesman: a scholar who understands the forces of history on our time; a soldier of unquestioned courage � a Bronze and Silver Star hero � who, despite grievous wounds, inspired his unit to survival in the jungles of Vietnam, and as soldier of insight who returned home to train those who prevailed in Desert Storm. He is a statesman, whose influence has been felt from the Americas, where he helped to guide the fight against drug barons, to Dayton, where his counsel helped end the bloodletting of Bosnia.

Now, it has been said that, "without passion, man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark." Future historians will recount how the passionate leadership of Wes Clark and the dedicated men and women of this command combined to spark new possibilities across this continent, forging new bonds in a great Partnership for Peace and serving alongside soldiers from some 38 nations to bring peace to Bosnia and Kosovo.

And I would add that the service of General Clark in Bosnia has actually come full circle. He was there on that muddy mountain road five summers ago when three of America�s best gave their lives trying to end that war. And he has been there so many times since, turning the plan he helped to craft at Dayton into what we hope will be a durable peace.

This was a politic statement for Cohen to have made, because the whole thing was political. Had Clark been relieved for cause, he would not have been honored with a Change of Command Ceremony nor would he have received the numerous awards and medals he did receive. But more telling, he would not have been left to serve in office from July 1999 to May 2000. He would have been "relieved" at once.

But he was not "relieved." His tour was shortened by two months and he was given notice of that end term date almost a year earlier and the Pentagon leaked that news to the press in order to make sure it happened. He didn't walk off the job, turn in his papers or have a tantrum. He served the term he was given to its end ten months later. He had expected to be given the fourth year extension, that's a fact, and he had certainly earned it. But he had had policy and tactical disagreements with the Pentagon and he was never a yes-man. The Pentagon wanted Ralston and they got him. That's what happened.

The day before the Change of Command Ceremony, Cohen was asked at a press conference about Clark's performance:

Monday, May 1, 2000
Presenter: Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Also participating in the Joint Press Conference was Gen. Henry H. Shelton, Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff in Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo)

-snip

Q: This is General Clarke's last visit to Kosovo today. Any word on how he has performed his job?

Sec Def.: He has done an extraordinary job. General Clarke 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 Clarke 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.

These are the things said at these times, I understand, but they are not the things said about somebody relieved for cause.

Discuss (1 comments)

Visitor Tools

Use the tools below to keep track of updates to this Journal.

	Track this Journal
	Blogroll this Journal
	RSS/XML

Profile Information

WesDem

DU Donor

24623 posts

Member since Wed Feb 11th 2004

Mexico

Visit Homepage

I was "Jersey" on DU, Summer 2003-February 2004. I'm a writer and a Democrat. I believe more than ever that America needs Wes Clark. And Barack Obama.

Thanks to the lovely incapsulated for the Clark graphics.

Random Journal

photo by kevin spidel

wes clark says

I don't believe that America is run by politicians in Washington. I believe it's run by people like us, in places like this. -Tulsa OK, January 29, 2004

We must assure investments in the technology infrastructure � the broadband and wireless access improved and modernized highway, air, and rail transportation systems, and the access to affordable, reliable sustainable energy essential to continuing economic development. We must have a real plan to achieve energy independence. And we need to do so without further damaging our fragile environment. In fact, sustainable energy and so-called green engineering provide major growth opportunities for American ingenuity, and we must move in that direction. - "Real State Of The Union," January 30, 2006

We need to really get to the bottom of the Abramoff scandal, we should have a special prosecutor appointed for that, we really need a congressional investigation of the whole business of the NSA wiretapping and how far that goes, there's been a lot of squirreling around the edges; we've never completed the investigation of 9/11 and whether the administration actually misused the intelligence information it had - the evidence seems pretty clear to me, I've seen that for a long time. I think Americans are best served by a strong 2-party system and that's been out of whack and what I can do in 2006 is try to help the right Democrats get into office and that's what I'm going to do. - "This Week," March 5, 2006

stand tall

2004 primary, how'd he do?

Clark entered the primary race a year or two after everybody else was running. He was a novice candidate who ran in a field that was 80% elected officials or former elected officials; experienced campaigners, in other words. The only other candidate without an election history had been a preacher-political activist since childhood, a very, very experienced campaigner.

So how did Clark do?

In a four-month long campaign, before withdrawing on 2/11/04 and endorsing Kerry, Clark competed in 13 states. He won Oklahoma over experienced campaigners. He came in second in Arizona, New Mexico and North Dakota ahead of experienced campaigners. Third in New Hampshire, Tennessee and Virginia ahead of experienced campaigners. Fourth in Missouri and South Carolina ahead of experienced campaigners. Fifth in Delaware, Maine, Michigan, and Washington ahead of experienced campaigners.

Since the day he dropped out in February 2004 and began campaigning non-stop for John Kerry, he's been campaigning for Democratic candidates all over the country. He's now a very experienced campaigner in his own right.

GO WES!!!!

The Necessary Language

Winter 2006 Issue

Discussion Forums

Enter Discussion Forums

Big Forums

	Latest Breaking News
	Editorials & Other Articles
	Political Videos
	Research Forum
	General Discussion
	General Discussion: Presidential
	The DU Lounge

More Forums

	Topic Forums (35)
	State & Country Forums (56)
	DU Groups (131)

Today's Featured Forums

	September 11
	Iowa
	Ancient Wisdom and Pagan Spirituality Group
	Deaf/Hard of Hearing Group