Wesley Clark Quotes & Sayings

I think there's no question that, even though we may not have the evidence as Richard (Perle) says, that there have been such contacts (between Iraq and al Qaeda). It' s normal. It's natural. These are a lot of bad actors in the same region together. They are going to bump into each other. They are going to exchange information. They're going to feel each other out and see whether there are opportunities to cooperate. That's inevitable in this region, and I think it's clear that regardless of whether or not such evidence is produced of these connections that Saddam Hussein is a threat. — Wesley Clark

Maybe it's because I've never been in politics, but 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. — Wesley Clark

Europe and America must act together in the face of evil. It's high time for Americans and Europeans to restore that unity and be able to take actions collectively together. — Wesley Clark

I'm pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, pro-environment and pro-labor. I was either going to be the loneliest Republican in America or I was going to be a happy Democrat. — Wesley Clark

I said the rosary, and I said the Our Father, as they call it in the Catholic Church. One of the things I learned in the conversion process was to say the rosary, and I had a set of rosary beads. So I said 'Hail Mary, full of grace.' — Wesley Clark

I think there are some mass destruction capabilities that are still inside Iraq. I think there's some weapons that have been shipped over the border to Syria. But I don't think we're going to find that their capabilities provided the imminent threat that many feared in this country. So I think it's going to be a tough search, but I think there's stuff there. — Wesley Clark

It's important. One of the principles in the United States is civilian control of the military. — Wesley Clark

I remember in the spring of 1971, a hundred thousand people converged on the Pentagon in June of 1971. They threw blood; I guess it was goat's blood or something, on the steps to the Pentagon. People were being accused of being murderers and baby killers. You just can't imagine the civic outrage. — Wesley Clark

People make mistakes. And one of the mistakes that the United States consistently made was that it could intervene and somehow adjust people's governments, especially in the Middle East. — Wesley Clark

When Bill Clinton ran in '92, and I listened to him, and I had of course known of his record from Arkansas, I found him extraordinarily inspirational, and I voted Democratic. — Wesley Clark

One night I walked out of the church when the priest said that we should never have fought the Revolutionary war and every war was bad. It was 4th of July. It was an outrageously political statement. I just never felt right when people in the church would take these overtly political positions especially when I felt like I was a good Christian, I was serving my country, and I just didn't feel like I deserved to be lambasted by the priest on the 4th of July. — Wesley Clark

The more Marines I have around, the better I like it. — Wesley Clark

This is kind of hard to articulate, but in broad outline, the United States is going to do what the United States has to do. — Wesley Clark

I don't think it was a patriotic war. I think it was a mistake, a strategic mistake, and I think that the president of the United States wasn't patriotic in going after Saddam Hussein. He simply misled America and cost us casualties and killed and injured America's reputation around the world without valid reason for doing so. It's not patriotic; it's wrong. — Wesley Clark

I want to make one thing clear: I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-affirmative action, I'm pro- environment, pro-health care, and pro-labor. And if that ain't a Democrat, then I must be at the wrong meeting. — Wesley Clark

You have to take a plan that might work and make it work — Wesley Clark

The Ukrainians don't have the military means to stand up to Russia, but we haven't helped them militarily, either. — Wesley Clark

It doesn't take any more energy to create a big dream than it does to create a little one. — Wesley Clark

I think we should be very clear on this ... this country was founded on the principles of the Enlightenment ... It was the idea that people could talk, reason, have dialogue, discuss the issues. It wasn't founded on the idea that someone would get struck by a divine inspiration and know everything right from wrong. I mean, people who founded this country had religion, they had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, in dialogue, in civil discourse. We can't lose that in this country. We've got to get it back. — Wesley Clark

I always said I would vote for a resolution that gave the president the leverage to go to the United Nations, and then come back to the Congress for the authority to go to force. — Wesley Clark

For the United States to be a global leader, we have to have a very tight relationship with Europe. And we've held that relationship since 1949 when we established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. NATO is the bond. It's a security bond. — Wesley Clark

Global warming is a matter of national security. Will we live in a world where we must fight our neighbors for fresh water and food? Or will we take the lead now and leave to our children and grandchildren a world better off than the one we inherited from our parents? — Wesley Clark

Gert was always of the mind that she wouldn't go to another church except the Catholic Church. So when I would date her in New York City, and later when we went to Oxford before we got married, we always went to the Catholic church. — Wesley Clark

I would have been a Republican if Karl Rove had returned my phone calls. — Wesley Clark

Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust than to consciously make a war based on false claims. — Wesley Clark

I tremendously admire, and I think we all should, the great work done by our commander-in-chief, our president, George Bush. — Wesley Clark

We've proven to be quite flexible and adept in the way that we've changed what was the original pattern of air activities into something that's now very focused on the battlefield. — Wesley Clark

What I learned in the military is that gossip starts early and it stays forever. — Wesley Clark

I think we're at risk with our democracy. I think we're dealing with the most closed, imperialistic, nastiest administration in living memory. They even put Richard Nixon to shame. — Wesley Clark

I think you have to repudiate torture and I think you have to end what's going on at Guantanamo and you have to live up to American values. Basically you restore - what the American dream brought to the world stage was respect for the individual and the idea that people aren't pawns that rulers can push around but they have rights. — Wesley Clark

The safety of our country demands an end to the doctrinaire, ineffective policies that currently grip Washington. Enough is enough! A safe America - a just America - that's what we want, that's what we need. — Wesley Clark

In my experience, in bringing coercive diplomacy to bear against Slobodan Milosevic, no bomb strike was more important than maintaining NATO's cohesion. — Wesley Clark

In the 1950s, Pakistan allied with the United States in something called the Central Treaty Organization. We were lined up with, at that time, Iran, ruled by the Shah, and Pakistan and Turkey as a southward shield against Soviet expansion toward the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. It was part of the containment strategy. — Wesley Clark

The truth is, about the Middle East is, had there been no oil there, it would be like Africa. Nobody is threatening to intervene in Africa. — Wesley Clark

We've never finished the investigation of 9/11 and whether the administration actually misused the intel information it had. The evidence seems pretty clear to me. I've seen that for a long time. — Wesley Clark

Nothing is going to hurt this country - not bioweapons, not a nuclear weapon, not a terrorist strike - there is nothing that can hurt us if we stay united and move together and have a vision for moving to the future the right way. — Wesley Clark

Working together, we can build a world in which the rule of law - not the rule of force - governs relations between states. A world in which leaders respect the rights of their people, and nations seek peace, not destruction or domination. And neither we nor anyone else should live in fear ever again. — Wesley Clark

When we started after Osama bin Laden, we really decided to go after the Taliban. And we seemed to be content to kick the Taliban out of Kandahar. And then we let Osama bin Laden escape from Tora Bora. — Wesley Clark

The campaign in Iraq illustrates the continuing progress of military technology and tactics, but if there is a single overriding lesson it must be this: American military power, especially when buttressed by Britain's, is virtually unchallengeable today. Take us on? Don't try! And that's not hubris, it's just plain fact. — Wesley Clark

I'm spiritual. I'm religious. I'm a strong Christian and I'm a Catholic but I go to a Presbyterian Church. Occasionally I go to the Catholic church too. I take communion. I haven't transferred my membership or anything. — Wesley Clark

One of the principles that we operate on in this country is that leaders are held accountable. The simple truth is that we went into Iraq on the basis of some intuition, some fear, and some exaggerated rhetoric and some very, very scanty evidence. — Wesley Clark

It was of tremendous comfort. I always said my prayers at night. My mother taught actually me to say prayers at night but most of it came from the church. — Wesley Clark

President George Bush had the courage and the vision and we will always be grateful to President George Bush for that tremendous leadership and statesmanship. — Wesley Clark

When you use force, people get hurt, and when you kill people, their relatives don't like it. And usually war has some unanticipated consequences so it's something you shouldn't launch into, on the expectation that this is going to rally the nation. This is not like 'Friday Night Lights'. — Wesley Clark

I've forgotten more about national security than George W. Bush will ever learn. — Wesley Clark

Well we always need brave, capable young men and women who can run a tactical operation and take risks on the battlefield but you should know when we need you to go in there, that if there's any other way to do it, that we could do this without risking your life, we wouldn't ask you to risk your life. — Wesley Clark

I like Hilary Clinton. I think she's - she's a fantastic leader. — Wesley Clark

I don't think it's patriotic to put on a flight suit and prance around on the deck of an aircraft carrier looking for a photo op. We have a president of the United States who did not do his duty to take care of America. If you're patriotic, you do your duty. — Wesley Clark

What I did warn about when I testified in front of Congress in 2002, I said if you want to worry about a state, it shouldn't be Iraq, it should be Iran. But this government, our administration, wanted to worry about Iraq, not Iran. — Wesley Clark

I don't think you can solve what's going on in Iraq unless you can deal effectively with the region and you can't deal effectively with the region if you start with the premise that you can't talk to people who disagree with you. — Wesley Clark

Veterans have had a long record of leaning towards the Republican Party. I think that's changing. I think that President Obama has the strongest record with veterans among any president in my lifetime. — Wesley Clark

You need people with the courage to stand up and voice their opposition without being labeled unpatriotic. — Wesley Clark

The purpose of the European Union expansion is to bring stability to the East, and ultimately, that stability will come to Russia. There is no long term reason that Russia can't be part of the same peaceful community of nations. — Wesley Clark

Anyone who tells you that one political party has a monopoly on the best defense of our nation is committing a fraud on the American people. — Wesley Clark

Once you take yourself off the pedestal, saying, "It's bad for you to torture, but for us, this is our national security, so we're gonna do it". You can't live that way and the United States doesn't need to do it, it shouldn't do it, and I think a Democratic administration, whoever the democratic president is, will repudiate that kind of conduct. I think it was an overreaction caused by a lot of different strains of thought in the administration. I think it was clearly wrong and I think that repudiation, which will come from the United States, will be a key in restoring America's legitimacy. — Wesley Clark

We were really helped when President Ronald Reagan came in. I remember non-commissioned officers who were going to retire and they re-enlisted because they believed in President Reagan. That's the kind of President Ronald Reagan was. He helped our country win the Cold War. He put it behind us in a way no one ever believed would be possible. He was truly a great American leader. And those of us in the Armed Forces loved him, respected him, and tremendously admired him for his great leadership. — Wesley Clark

Everybody in the military has a reputation, and usually it doesn't come out to the public. — Wesley Clark

We're going to take out seven countries in 5 years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran — Wesley Clark

As president of the United States, my top priority will be to keep America safe. We're going to go after the terrorist networks. We're going to go after Osama bin Laden. We are not going to live in fear in this country. — Wesley Clark

It 's really hard to impose democracy. It has to emerge naturally. You have to get out of the way and let it happen. — Wesley Clark

Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president, — Wesley Clark

Certainly there's a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. It doesn't surprise me at all that they would be talking to Al Qaeda, that there would be some Al Qaeda there or that Saddam Hussein might even be, you know, discussing gee, I wonder since I don't have any scuds and since the Americans are coming at me, I wonder if I could take advantage of Al Qaeda? How would I do it? Is it worth the risk? What could they do for me? — Wesley Clark

My mother told me once that she and my father agreed that I would not be brought up Jewish in Chicago. She had me going to a Methodist church. — Wesley Clark

Our men and women fighting in Iraq are held accountable for their performance and their conduct. On duty and off, twenty-four hours a day. They're fighting for us, for our safety, our rights, and our freedoms. — Wesley Clark

Ukraine is a big country. It is 45-46 million people. It has got a lot of modern industry; it also has a lot of very key resources. There is no reason for it not to be one of the leading countries of Europe. — Wesley Clark

I worked for the troops my entire time in the United States Armed Forces because we know in the United States Armed Forces that it's not the generals and the colonels that win battles, it's the soldiers: it's the people at the front, the mechanics with their wrenches, the drivers moving the logistics back in the rear. — Wesley Clark

A commander in chief with military experience might be able to prod a conservative military into thinking more imaginatively. — Wesley Clark

I like Hemingway and I like a lot Jewish writers (such as) Saul Bellow. — Wesley Clark

Serious research and development efforts are required to produce technologies, strategies, organizations, and trained personnel who can go into failed states, work with our allies and friends, and promote the political and economic reforms that will meet popular needs and reduce the sources of terrorism and conflict. — Wesley Clark

The time has passed in America when this party can be the party of compassion and let the executive branch run foreign policy. It won't work. We have to be the party that can stand toe to toe with George W. Bush on national security, as well as the party of compassion. — Wesley Clark

War creates its own intensity of hatred ... You don't want to use force except as an absolute last resort. — Wesley Clark

Russia and China, when they were communist-like adversaries, they didn't participate. They're participating now in the world with us. They're trading monetary instruments. We're buying and selling goods back and forth, trading oil and so forth. — Wesley Clark

George W. Bush has helped those who have most, hurt those who have least and ignored everyone in between. — Wesley Clark

Well, it came from the White House, it came from people around the White House. It came from all over. I got a call on 9/11. I was on CNN, and I got a call at my home saying, 'You got to say this is connected. This is state-sponsored terrorism. This has to be connected to Saddam Hussein. — Wesley Clark

Already the scent of victory is in the air. — Wesley Clark

Actually when I was wounded and recovering in Japan. I went to church there and I remember on the air base where their hospital was, I remember coming out of that church and feeling like I had been - at that point I just felt very, very close to God and that I'd done the right thing with my life. And I knew I wasn't going back to Vietnam. I just knew I wasn't going back. — Wesley Clark

Next to upholding the Constitution of the United States, the president's highest duty is to protect the security of this country - our national security. — Wesley Clark

Once I started first grade, I started going to Emmanuel Baptist Church regularly. I went to Sunday school. We had Bible readings and things like that. — Wesley Clark

Turkey's a NATO member. If Turkey gets attacked, we have to help defend Turkey. — Wesley Clark

Slobodan Milosevic was just as smart as a five-year-old. Five-year-olds have an uncanny way of getting into your psyche, your self-esteem. — Wesley Clark

Let's not forget what the origin of the problem is. There is no place in modern Europe for ethnically pure states. That's a 19th century idea and we are trying to transition into the 21st century, and we are going to do it with multi-ethnic states. — Wesley Clark

The American public should simply accept no distractions. In our democracy, it is our duty to hold our elected leaders accountable. We do it at the ballot box. — Wesley Clark

One of the things I learned in the military is sometimes you don't know what mistakes you make for a long time. But as you go through a campaign, there's lots of decision points you make, and you don't know whether those are gonna be the right decision points or not. — Wesley Clark

I have grown up with guns all my life, but people who like assault weapons they should join the United States Army, we have them. — Wesley Clark

You have to be true to what you believe in and do your duty. — Wesley Clark

China invaded India, and there was a war between India and China in some of the disputed terrain in 1962, and India got hurt by that. — Wesley Clark