Matt Stoller Interviews the General
At Open Left, Matt Stoller has posted as a series parts of a wide-ranging interview he had recently with General Clark. Stoller was a supporter of the General's 2004 primary campaign. He tells Clark at the end of the final installment, "You make me proud of my country."
Matt Stoller: So how do the millions of people who feel lied to by General Petraeus express themselves? What's the appropriate way to express themselves?Wes Clark: Send emails, write editorials, call Senators, write Op-Eds, letters to the editors, but make them substantive, serious letters. If you feel like he has lied to you say so, but don't make the pun on his name. Show it with facts and let people draw the conclusion. It's inflammatory rhetoric to hurl out accusations of lying, that's a conclusion that has to be drawn by a careful review and examination of the evidence and it has to be used with great circumspection. That kind of reckless language, especially the use of puns and so forth, people don't like it, it doesn't change peoples' minds, it alienates support, and this is a democracy. We've got to convince moderate middle of the road Americans to come our way. We won't do it with those kinds of ads.
Matt Stoller: Ok, thanks a..
Wes Clark: I'm sorry, you're asking my straight up opinion, I know there are a lot of people who will disagree, but I'm gonna tell it to you straight, that's what I feel.
Part Two: Iran, Clinton, Residual Forces
Matt Stoller: I just want to thank you for your service and your work. Let's just get down to questions, particularly your endorsement of Senator Clinton. When did you decide to support her and why did you decide to support her despite her support for the war?Wes Clark: I've supported, I've known for a long time that she's the most qualified capable person in the race and when it was clear that I couldn't meet my preconditions it was just normal to support her. I mean, she's experienced, she's seen it all, she's been in the White House, she's been there in crisis, she knows how to make decisions, she's seen good decisions and bad decisions. I mean, it's a priceless set of experiences she has, she's spent her whole life learning how to run for elective office and how to serve the people once they're in elective office. And that's another great set of experiences, just like I've spent my life learning about force and diplomacy, she's spent her life in the more general sense of public office. And I think she's got great character and I think she's very tough so I think she's the best candidate in the race.
Matt Stoller: But specifically on the war, though she spent her whole life training for office, that was a terrible judgment call.
Wes Clark: Yeah that was a bad decision and I'd like to think I wouldn't have made that decision had I been in the United States Senate. A lot of people did. She said if she knows now how it would have been used she wouldn't have done it. Yeah it was a mistake but I think it's the kind of mistake you gotta let pass. You can't call everything right, and I think she's made so many right calls I think she'll make the majority of the calls, she's the best hope we've got for the kind of government we need in the future.
Part Three: The Military Budget and Post-Bush Investigations of Bush
Matt Stoller: What do we do about the, I ugh, as someone who has seen a rogue administration that has engaged in multiples acts that are beyond the bounds of American legitimacy in the political system and the international system, this country's done some very bad things over the last seven years, what do we do after the Bush administration is out of office to root out the networks of people who have engaged in these kinds of behaviors?Wes Clark: Hold them accountable. We've got to hold them accountable under law and do the investigations and have the heart and fortitude to stay with the investigations against the partisan cry of the right-wingers who say 'oh it's over now let's move on and let's look to the future'. No, it's not over, because the people who did it are still there.
Matt Stoller: So you think Senator Clinton as President will do those investigations?
Wes Clark: Yes.
Matt Stoller: And you think Congress should continue those investigations once Bush is out of office?
Wes Clark: Absolutely.
