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Clark Calls Iraq War 'A Major Blunder'

t r u t h o u t - Clark Calls Iraq War 'A Major Blunder'

By Mike Glover
Associated Press
Saturday 20 September 2003
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark reversed an earlier opinion that he likely would have voted for war in Iraq, telling a cheering college-town crowd the invasion was "a major blunder" he never would have supported.
Clark said his Army career taught him that "the use of force is only a last resort" that wasn't justified in Iraq. "I'm a soldier," he said. "I've laid on the battlefield bleeding."
While the use of force can occasionally be justified, he said, "It's not a way to solve problems and resolve disputes. It's very difficult to change people's minds when you are bombing them and killing them."
Clark sought to blunt a controversy that arose as he opened his campaign. The core is his resume as a retired four-star general with the credibility to challenge President Bush and oppose the war in Iraq.
Many of his backers expressed surprise when Clark told reporters he probably would have voted to authorize the use of force.
"At the time, I probably would have voted for it, but I think that's too simple a question," The New York Times quoted Clark as saying Thursday.

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