Clark, Wesley K. 1944–

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Clark, Wesley K. 1944–

PERSONAL:

Born December 23, 1944, in Little Rock, AR; married Gertrude Kingston; children: Wesley. Education: United States Military Academy at West Point, 1966; Oxford University, M.S., 1968; National War College, Command and General Staff College, Ranger and Airborne schools.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Arlington, VA. Office—Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K St. NW, Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20006.

CAREER:

U.S. Army, 1st Battalion, 77th Armor, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO, commander, 1980-82; Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Washington, DC, plans integration division chief, 1983; Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Washington, DC, chief of the army's study group, 1983-84; National Training Center, Fort Irwin, CA, commander of operations group, 1984-86; Cold War, 4th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade, commander, 1986-88; National Training Center, Fort Irwin, CA, commander, 1989-91; Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, VA, deputy chief of staff for concepts, doctrine, and developments, 1991-92; 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX, commander, 1992-94; Joint Staff, director of strategic plans and policy, 1994-96; U.S. Southern Commander, Panama, commander-in-chief, 1996-97; supreme allied commander in Europe, 1997-2000; commander-in-chief, U.S. European Command, 1997-2000, retired General of U.S. Army; Center for Strategic and International Studies, distinguished senior advisor; Democratic candidate for U.S. president, 2003; University of California Los Angeles, Burkle Center for International Relations, senior fellow, 2006—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

White House fellow, 1975-76; Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal (three awards), Silver Star, Legion of Merit (four awards), Bronze Star Medal (two awards), Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Army Commendation Medal (two awards); two Medals for Service, National American Treaty Organization (NATO), for service on operations in relation to Kosovo and for service on operations in relation to the former Republic of Yugoslavia; Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; Commander of the Legion of Honor, France; Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Federal Republic of Germany; Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Orange-Nassau, with Swords, Netherlands; Grand Officer of the Order of Merit, Italy; Grand Cross of the Medal of Military Merit, Portugal; Commander's Cross with Star, Poland; Grand Officer, Luxembourg; Grand Medal of Military Merit (White Band), Spain; Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, Belgium; Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defense First Class, Czech Republic; Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic; Commander's Cross, Silver Order of Freedom, Republic of Slovenia; Madarski Konnik Medal, Bulgaria; Commemorative Medal of the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic First Class, Slovakia; First Class Order of Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, Lithuania; Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Estonia; Skandeberg Medal, Albania; Order of Merit, Morocco; Order of Merit, Argentina; Grade of Prince Butmir with Ribbon and Star, Croatia; Military Service Cross, Canada; Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat, Public Affairs (New York, NY), 2001.

Winning Modern Wars: Iraq, Terrorism, and the American Empire, PublicAffairs (New York, NY), 2003.

A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country, Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

General Wesley K. Clark served as supreme allied commander in Europe during the conflict in Kosovo. In his book about that experience, Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat, he describes the two wars he fought for the National American Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 where not a single NATO fighter was killed. He also discusses conflicts with his army superiors, the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of defense, and the conflicts in Yugoslavia and the resistance on the part of his army superiors to take them seriously.

The book received mixed reviews. William M. Arkin, a critic for Aerospace Power Journal, said that Clark "is most honest in describing tense relationships between [himself] and Secretary of Defense William Cohen, General Shelton, and Clark's Army colleagues in the Pentagon." Arkin continues, however: "I kept hoping for some insight into the mind of a supreme commander unable to command. And I wanted Clark to reflect on why prewar judgments proved so wrong." Writing in Military Review, John H. Barnhill offered a similar view, concluding that the book "fails to realize its potential" and "adds little to the debate over where the United States should be heading and nothing on how to get there." Nation contributor Frances Fitzgerald, on the other hand, observed that Clark is "a very good writer" with "much of interest to say about military operations and the relationship—or lack of it—between specific campaigns and the overall U.S. security strategy."

In a similar vein, Business Week writer Bruce Nussbaum called Clark's next book, Winning Modern Wars: Iraq, Terrorism, and the American Empire, a "a smart take on the battlefield tactics used in Iraq as well as a tough-minded critique of the military strategy and the geopolitical doctrine followed by the Bush Administration." Adding that Clark provides insights that transcend partisan politics, the critic concluded that the book offers "a valuable perspective no matter which candidate you vote for" in the subsequent presidential election. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote that the book is "complex and controversial … [and] merits wide public discussion for its analysis of a superpower's role in a regional conflict the sort the U.S. will most likely continue to face in the coming decade."

A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country chronicles Clark's life and career, culminating in his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency in the 2004 election. Commenting that the book reveals little information that had not been extensively covered, a writer for Publishers Weekly called the book a "combination memoir, patriotic tract and broadside about contemporary American politics." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews, however, offered a more positive assessment, hailing the autobiography as "an earnest reflection on war and peace from a commander's unique point of view."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Aerospace Power Journal, fall, 2001, William M. Arkin, review of Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat, p. 123.

Booklist, October 15, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of Winning Modern Wars: Iraq, Terrorism, and the American Empire, p. 354; August 1, 2007, Gilbert Taylor, review of A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country, p. 15.

Business Week, September 29, 2003, "Clark: What's Wrong with U.S. Policy in Iraq," p. 40.

Economist, March 27, 1999, "Wesley Clark, Europe's Biggest Hitter," p. 50; June 23, 2001, "Whose Not to Reason Why? Generals and Politicians; Wesley Clark on the Balkans," p. 1.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2007, review of A Time to Lead.

Latin Trade, January 1, 2005, review of Winning Modern Wars, p. 55.

Library Journal, August, 2001, Mark Ellis, review of Waging Modern War, p. 137; November 15, 2003, Charles M. Minyard, review of Winning Modern Wars, p. 82; July 1, 2007, Leigh Mihlrad, review of A Time to Lead, p. 106.

Military Review, July 1, 2004, John H. Barnhill, review of Winning Modern Wars, p. 101.

Nation, August 6, 2001, Dusko Doder, "Kosovo: A General Lament," p. 31; December 8, 2003, Frances Fitzgerald, "A Soldier's Story," p. 32.

National Journal, July 28, 2001, Patrick B. Pexton, review of Waging Modern War, p. 2426.

Newsweek, August 9, 1999, "Warrior's Rewards: NATO's Military Commander Won in Kosovo but Not in Washington. Now He Has Paid with His Job," p. 40.

Publishers Weekly, October 13, 2003, review of Winning Modern Wars, p. 66; July 9, 2007, review of A Time to Lead, p. 48.

U.S. News & World Report, January 31, 2000, Paul Bedard, Richard J. Newman, Kevin Whitelaw, David E. Kaplan, Linda Robinson, Kenneth T. Walsh, "Clark's Turn," p. 8; July 3, 2000, Richard J. Newman, Suzi Parker, Warren P. Strobel, Kevin Whitelaw, "A General's Life on the Outside," p. 8; March 26, 2001, Paul Bedard, Richard J. Newman, Suzi Parker, "Just like Ike," p. 8.