Wesley Clark: 7 Muslim Countries Were On U.S. War List

WASHINGTON, September 22 (IslamOnline.net) - U.S. Presidential hopeful Wesley Clark, the former general who led NATO forces during the Kosovo campaign, revealed on Monday, September 22, that the Bush administration had set-up a five-year plan to invade seven Muslim countries after the 9/11 attacks, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and finally Sudan.

In his book "The Clark Critique" excerpts of which were published by this week's Newsweek edition, the four-star retired general wrote that following the September attacks, the U.S. administration became preoccupied with the idea of "state sponsorship" and "draining the swamp" of terrorism.

"In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, many in the Bush administration seemed most focused on a prospective move against Iraq. This was the old idea of state sponsorship-even though there was no evidence of Iraqi sponsorship of 9/11 whatsoever," the anti-Iraqi war Democrat said.

"But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan."

The Vietnam veteran said that Washington saw that it would be effective to attack a state than "to chase after individuals, nebulous organizations, and shadowy associations."

"…For this was not something I wanted to hear. And it was not something I wanted to see moving forward, either," he said.

'What A Mistake!'

The decorated general criticized the Bush administration for its narrow-mindedness in combating terrorism and neglecting the main swamp of terrorism.

"What a mistake! I reflected…as though the terrorism were simply coming from these states," Clark wrote.

He also questioned the so-called threats posed by the Iran-backed Hizbullah and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which, he said, is aided and supported by Syria, concluding that "neither Hizbullah nor Hamas were targeting Americans."

Clark blamed as the prime source for terrorism the "repressive policies, poverty, corruption and radical ideology" of U.S. allies in the region, naming them explicitly as Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

"And what about the real sources of terrorists-U.S. allies in the region like Egypt, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia? Wasn’t it the repressive policies of the first, and the corruption and poverty of the second, that were generating many of the angry young men who became terrorists?" He asked.

"And what of the radical ideology and direct funding spewing from Saudi Arabia?

"The way to beat terrorists was to take away their popular support. Target their leaders individually, demonstrate their powerlessness, roll up the organizations from the bottom," he added.

U.N. Support

The former NATO commander further disapproved of the U.S. unilateral action in the so-called global war on terror, noting that it should put greater effort into broader preventive measures by seeking U.N. and NATO support.

"And if we wanted to go after states supporting terrorism, why not first go to the United Nations, present the evidence against Al Qaeda, set up a tribunal for prosecuting international terrorism?

"What about our NATO allies, whose cities were being used as staging bases and planning headquarters? He wondered.

In paying no heed to the international law, he concluded, the United States would "dissipate the huge outpouring of goodwill and sympathy it had received in September 2001 by going it largely alone."

* Who Is Clark?

Like former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Wesley Clark grew up in Arkansas and went on to become a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, where he took a Master's Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

But he had set his heart on a military career. He graduated top of his class at the West Point military academy, and won a Purple Heart in Vietnam after his infantry unit came under fire.

He worked his way up to the top of the chain of command, and led NATO forces in the alliance's first-ever war, in Kosovo in 1999.

Since leaving the military in May 2000, Wesley Clark has set up a strategy consultancy and joined an investment bank based in his home town.

On September 17, Clark announced his decision to seek the Democratic nomination to run against George W. Bush before supporters in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Just days after entering the presidential race, Clark has jumped to head of the class, according to a new poll that puts him ahead of the nine other Democratic contenders and within a few points of Bush.

The national survey by Newsweek shows Clark winning the support of 14 percent of registered Democrats, outpolling former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who came in second with 12 percent.

Clark has received so far $750,000 in donations to his campaign for the U.S. presidency in the first five days since he entered the race.