Person

Wesley Clark

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Overview

Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He later graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in military science. He spent 34 years in the U.S. Army, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Clark served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000, commanding Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo War. In 2003, Clark launched his candidacy for the 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries. After winning only the Oklahoma state primary, he withdrew from the race in February 2004, endorsing and campaigning for the eventual Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Clark leads a political action committee, "WesPAC", which he formed after the 2004 primaries and used to support Democratic Party candidates in the 2006 midterm elections. Clark was considered a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2008, but, on September 15, 2007, endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton. After Clinton dropped out of the presidential race, Clark endorsed the then-presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Clark has his own consulting firm, Wesley K. Clark and Associates, and is chairman and CEO of Enverra, a licensed boutique investment bank. He has worked with over 100 private and public companies on energy, security, and financial services. Clark is engaged in business in North America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Between July 2012 and November 2015, he was an honorary special advisor to Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta on economic and security matters. Early life and education Clark's father's family was Jewish; his paternal grandparents, Jacob Kanne and Ida Goldman, immigrated to the United States from Belarus / the Russian Empire, in response to the Pale of Settlement and anti-Jewish violence from Russian pogroms. Clark's father, Benjamin Jacob Kanne, graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve as an ensign during World War I, although he never participated in combat. Kanne, living in Chicago, became involved with ward politics in the 1920s as a prosecutor and served in local offices.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“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.”
— CNN Crossfire, Interview with General Wesley Clark, (25 June 2003)
“War creates its own intensity of hatred... You don't want to use force except as an absolute last resort.”
— Interview with Laura Knoy, New Hampshire Public Radio (5 November 2003)
“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.”
— Democratic candidate debates (9 December 2003)
“Well, last I checked, there was no 'if' in the 15th Amendment. One person one vote isn't just a slogan — it's the highest law of this land. As president, I will not rest until every single American can cast their vote, and every single one of those votes is counted. We shouldn't have to wait for another Florida to fully fund election reform.”
— Remarks on voting rights (29 December 2003)
“I believe in open, honest government, where we hold our leaders accountable. I believe in putting the national interests over the special interests. I believe in putting principle above politics. The bottom line: I believe we can do better. I believe we must do better. And if the system's broke — fix it.”
— Tennessee True Values Tour remarks, Jackson, Tennessee (4 February 2004)
“Mr. Trump may know something about buildings and real estate — but he has a lot to learn about how the world really works.”
— [https://www.votevets.org/press/statement-of-retired-general-wesley-k-clark-former-nato-supreme-allied-commander-on-donald-j-trumps-remarks-about-u-s-involvement-with-nato "Statement of retired General Wesley K. Clark, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander on Donald J. Trump's remarks about U.S. involvement with NATO", VoteVets.org (21 July 2016)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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Overview

Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He later graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in military science. He spent 34 years in the U.S. Army, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Clark served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000, commanding Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo War. In 2003, Clark launched his candidacy for the 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries. After winning only the Oklahoma state primary, he withdrew from the race in February 2004, endorsing and campaigning for the eventual Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Clark leads a political action committee, "WesPAC", which he formed after the 2004 primaries and used to support Democratic Party candidates in the 2006 midterm elections. Clark was considered a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2008, but, on September 15, 2007, endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton. After Clinton dropped out of the presidential race, Clark endorsed the then-presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Clark has his own consulting firm, Wesley K. Clark and Associates, and is chairman and CEO of Enverra, a licensed boutique investment bank. He has worked with over 100 private and public companies on energy, security, and financial services. Clark is engaged in business in North America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Between July 2012 and November 2015, he was an honorary special advisor to Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta on economic and security matters. Early life and education Clark's father's family was Jewish; his paternal grandparents, Jacob Kanne and Ida Goldman, immigrated to the United States from Belarus / the Russian Empire, in response to the Pale of Settlement and anti-Jewish violence from Russian pogroms. Clark's father, Benjamin Jacob Kanne, graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve as an ensign during World War I, although he never participated in combat. Kanne, living in Chicago, became involved with ward politics in the 1920s as a prosecutor and served in local offices.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“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.”
— CNN Crossfire, Interview with General Wesley Clark, (25 June 2003)
“War creates its own intensity of hatred... You don't want to use force except as an absolute last resort.”
— Interview with Laura Knoy, New Hampshire Public Radio (5 November 2003)
“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.”
— Democratic candidate debates (9 December 2003)
“Well, last I checked, there was no 'if' in the 15th Amendment. One person one vote isn't just a slogan — it's the highest law of this land. As president, I will not rest until every single American can cast their vote, and every single one of those votes is counted. We shouldn't have to wait for another Florida to fully fund election reform.”
— Remarks on voting rights (29 December 2003)
“I believe in open, honest government, where we hold our leaders accountable. I believe in putting the national interests over the special interests. I believe in putting principle above politics. The bottom line: I believe we can do better. I believe we must do better. And if the system's broke — fix it.”
— Tennessee True Values Tour remarks, Jackson, Tennessee (4 February 2004)
“Mr. Trump may know something about buildings and real estate — but he has a lot to learn about how the world really works.”
— [https://www.votevets.org/press/statement-of-retired-general-wesley-k-clark-former-nato-supreme-allied-commander-on-donald-j-trumps-remarks-about-u-s-involvement-with-nato "Statement of retired General Wesley K. Clark, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander on Donald J. Trump's remarks about U.S. involvement with NATO", VoteVets.org (21 July 2016)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.