Wesley Clark lauds vets, extols Kerry in YSU appearance

Clark blasted Bush's management of the war and fight against terrorism.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- From Ken Smith's perspective, everything President Bush has done, from the initial preparations to our handling of the war in Iraq, has been wrong and misguided.
"It's a lose-lose situation. We should have finished the job in Afghanistan; we have no goal or exit strategy," said the Salem resident and 20-year Army veteran, who served 3 1/2 years in Vietnam. "I feel we were lied to about Iraq since there's no connection to Al-Qaida or weapons of mass destruction."
Smith was among the 200 veterans and others who attended a Sunday rally at Youngstown State University's Beeghly Center to hear retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark's presentation "A Salute to America's Military Families and Veterans."
Clark, a former NATO supreme allied commander, had challenged U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts for the Democratic nomination for president before dropping out in February.
John Hale of Pleasant Hills, Pa., who served for 23 years in the Army and Navy, said President Bush has "divided our country and world and will continue to do so" if re-elected.
Hale, a lifelong Republican who also served in Vietnam, added that Kerry has many veterans such as himself standing behind the senator's service record.
Patriotic and political
Clark's talk, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee working with the Mahoning County Democratic Party, focused on honoring veterans as well as explaining why a Kerry victory in November would benefit the nation.
Clark blasted the Bush administration for what he said were mistakes in deciphering intelligence before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, bungled efforts to capture Osama bin Laden, and poor handling of domestic issues during the last four years.
Calling veterans "the backbone of this country," Clark took time out to mention the service of Army Staff Sgt. Elvis Bourdon, 36, a 1988 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, Youngstown, who died last Monday in Baghdad when his military vehicle came under attack by enemy forces.
Clark also praised Kerry's military record and his decision to later speak out against the Vietnam War.
"It took moral courage to speak out. Moral courage is what we want in a president," he said.
Clark said fighting the war in Iraq and trying to root out Al-Qaida and bin Laden in Afghanistan has caused our military to be spread thin. The situation in Iraq is worsening daily and, if elected, Kerry would help get the troops out of that country, he continued.
Shift in focus
The president, Clark charged, initially went after bin Laden and the Taliban, but he shifted his attentions to invading Iraq and toppling former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
As a result, the Iraqi war has cost $200 million and more than 1,000 American lives, and alienated many of our allies.
"This was a presidential-level mistake, bad judgment. He let Osama bin Laden get away; bad judgment," Clark said.
On the home front, more than 1 million American jobs have been lost or gone overseas, and Medicare premiums have gone up 17 percent while the cost of public education the last several years has increased 30 percent, Clark said.
George Brown, a member of YSU's newly formed College Republicans group, said that Bush is doing the right thing by "taking the fight to the terrorists to make sure we are not attacked again."
Brown and group members Nick Spanos and Jemimah Robbs stood near Fifth Avenue with a cardboard cutout of Bush. They accused Kerry of supporting the war in Iraq but not showing support to the troops sent there.
"He has no clear stand on key issues," Brown said.