DATE=8/4/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=CLARK-NATO-U-S
NUMBER=5-43999
BYLINE=ANDRE DE NESNERA
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO:   Near the end of last month, the Pentagon
forced U-S General Wesley Clark to retire from his
post as NATO supreme allied commander in Europe in
April of next year, three months before the end of his
official tour of duty.  In this report from
Washington, National Security Correspondent Andre de
Nesnera looks at General Clark's contributions in the
Kosovo air campaign and discusses some of the reasons
why the Pentagon may have decided to remove him from
his senior NATO post.

TEXT:  General Wesley Clark has been NATO's Supreme
Allied Commander in Europe since July 1997.  In that
capacity, he was responsible for conducting the
western alliance's successful 78-day air campaign
against Serb forces in Kosovo - NATO's only offensive
military endeavor in its 50-year history.

Retired Colonel David Hackworth - a decorated U-S
veteran from the Korean and Vietnam wars - says
General Clark has not received the necessary accolades
for his Kosovo campaign.

            /// HACKWORTH ACT ///

      He is a winner. He is the first General in U-S
      military history who fought a war, sustained -
      as we know - no friendly casualties and at the
      end of the war didn't get a bunch of medals,
      didn't get a victory parade down (New York's)
      Fifth Avenue and ended up getting the sack.
      (getting fired)

            /// END ACT ///

Colonel Hackworth - now a military analyst - is
referring to U-S Defense Secretary William Cohen's
decision to replace General Clark as Supreme NATO
Commander in April of next year - three months before
his three-year term expires.

Colonel Hackworth says Mr. Cohen's decision to replace
General Clark can only be interpreted as a slap at
him.

            /// SECOND HACKWORTH ACT ///

      From my experience, looking over the past NATO
      Commanders, the average time that people like
      (General) Bernard Rogers, General (Lyman)
      Lemnitzer, General (Lauris) Norstad, was a five-
      year tour of duty - General (Alexander) Haig. So
      it wasn't - as it is being put out now by the
      Pentagon - (seen) as a three-year tour. This guy
      envisaged staying there until he could move back
      to the U-S-A and become Chairman of the Joint
      Chiefs of Staff.

            /// END ACT ///

Many analysts and military experts agree with Colonel
Hackworth's assessment. And the question they are
asking is why was General Clark fired?

One interpretation is that General Clark advocated a
much more vigorous military campaign against Serb
forces in Kosovo including the introduction of ground
forces.

Retired Colonel Dan Smith - a West Point classmate of
General Clark - says the NATO Commander believes the
only way you can achieve success militarily, is to
have troops on the ground.

            /// CLARK ACT ///

      He is of the school which in the United States
      is generally attributed to General Colin Powell:
      if you are going to fight, you go in with both
      feet and you go in fast and you go in hard with
      overwhelming force - and I think that was what
      Wes was trying to push NATO into.

            /// END ACT ///

During the 11-week air campaign, there were signs of
friction between General Clark and senior Pentagon
officials - especially over the use of ground forces.
That option was essentially rejected by the Clinton
administration, putting General Clark in direct
opposition to current US policy.

Paul Beaver - senior analyst with the British
publication "Jane's Defense Weekly" - says General
Clark disagreed with another senior NATO officer about
the use of ground troops in the Kosovo campaign.

            /// BEAVER ACT ///

      Certainly he wanted to be more robust in the
      Kosovo landing operation. He wanted to go and
      confront the Russians at Pristina airfield. And
      that was actually a matter of some debate
      between him and the ground force commander
      (British General) Sir Mike Jackson in which Sir
      Mike Jackson won, because in his words it would
      have started World War Three and we weren't
      quite ready for that.

            /// END ACT ///

Sources in the U-S and British military say the
confrontation between General Clark and British
General Mike Jackson happened June 24th - 12 days after
Russian troops occupied Kosovo's Pristina airfield,
surprising NATO officials.  According to the sources,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair backed General
Jackson, while General Clark did  not  receive the
support from senior Pentagon and White House officials
- another sign of their eroding confidence in the
senior NATO Commander. 

But U-S officials have dismissed any notion that
disagreements with General Clark led to the decision
to retire him early.

Analysts say another explanation for General Clark's
early departure was US Defense Secretary Cohen's
desire to place a trusted colleague - Air Force
General Joseph Ralston, vice-chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff - into a senior NATO post.

Retired Colonel Dan Smith (from the Washington-based
Center for Defense Intelligence), says General Ralston
could not be re-appointed as vice-Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff since he has held that post for
two consecutive terms. So the Pentagon had to find him
another posting to keep him on active duty - and
Colonel Smith says General Clark's European Command
was the logical choice.

            /// SECOND SMITH ACT //

      The European Command, which has been (reserved
      for the) army for many, many, many years. I
      think you have to go back to the early 1950's to
      find an Air Force officer (there) (General
      Lauris Norstad, 56-62). But that is one in which
      an Air Force officer could logically serve in
      and I think it came to - well, if we are going
      to keep General Ralston, the only place he could
      go to was the European Command - and that means
      that General Clark was going to have to leave
      three months before his basic term is up. Of
      course most EUCOM Commanders are extended into
      their fourth year. So it looks a little strange.

            /// END ACT ///

In the final analysis, according to sources, General
Clark's premature departure from his senior NATO post
was due to a combination of factors: first, the
Pentagon's displeasure with his - as one analyst said
- more bellicose views. And the need to find a
suitable position for a well-liked, senior US officer
who otherwise would have to leave active duty.

So as one analyst put it: "General Clark had to
go."(Signed)

NEB/ADEN/KL



04-Aug-1999 14:37 PM EDT (04-Aug-1999 1837 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America