One might not expect a former four-star general, who was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to advocate that we should use every other means but the military, before resorting to force, but Wesley K. Clark couldn't have been more emphatic and specific when he spoke at Fairfield University last Thursday evening.

Former General Clark, whose Jewish father died when he was four, gave the Carl & Dorothy Bennett lecture in honor of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

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"The war against terrorism is a weird concept because terrorism isn't an enemy, it's a method of attack," he said, noting that we, nonetheless, have enemies without a state.
"So, what are we doing in this world? It's not imposing democracy. You can't do that. George Bush found that out," said Clark.

Saying that the Iraq War was one we didn't have to fight, Clark added, "The idea that we fight anyone who threatens us has proven to be wrong. We need to create a new national security strategy and it's not preventive war. Instead, we've got to use our greatest asset, which is our values. As Colin Powell said, people are standing in line at every embassy in the world to come here."

Clark rhetorically asked why we were holding 500 people at Guatanomo and treating them in an inhumane manner, in violation of international law. "We can't win the war on terror, if we lose the very values that make America the nation that we are," he said.

"We should use every means at our disposal, including international law, economics, our allies, diplomacy, international organizations, and only as a last resort send a human being into combat," Clark said.

Fairfield Minuteman