Wesley Clark visits, discusses goals for Iraq
Originally published by the Indy Star
July 20, 2005
Wesley Clark visits, discusses goals for Iraq
Retired Army general says U.S. will need a 'smarter set of strategies' to win war on terror.
By Rob Schneider
Resolve alone is not enough to win the war in Iraq, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark said during a Tuesday visit to Indianapolis.
In front of about 300 people at a business forum hosted by Nextel Communications, Clark discussed the importance of communication among public agencies during emergencies.
Afterward, sipping a vanilla milkshake at a Fountain Square diner, Clark talked of a need for a "smarter set of strategies" in the war on terror and in Iraq.
Iraq is more than a military problem, Clark said. "To succeed in Iraq is a matter of the Iraqis forming their own government and convincing their populations that they have to work together to defeat the insurgency."
If he were in charge, Clark said, he would put more emphasis on political, economic and diplomatic efforts. "We need to persuade some of Iraq's neighbors, like Syria and Iran, that a peaceful, integrated, cohesive, democratized Iraq is in their interests."
But while the military has a role, Clark said, the key to winning a war on terror is to first win it ideologically.
"The Islamic community itself has to not only condemn those that would use violence against innocent people, but you have to defeat the arguments of the extremists that would let young men and women justify killing in the name of Allah."
Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, was in New Hampshire last month to appear at the Manchester City Democrats' annual Flag Day dinner.
"I am very interested in service to the country and want to help in any way I can," Clark said when asked whether he was considering another presidential campaign in 2008. "I haven't ruled anything out."
