Dear General Clark,
It is with great sadness I write this. During the build up to the invasion of Iraq you were one of the voices of reason as you spoke out against that colossal blunder that has resulted in another lost generation of men and women who were lied to by their government and millions of Iraq’s citizens who are dead, maimed, impoverished and/or displaced. It is a tragedy beyond comprehension. You know this as well as I do.
When you announced you were entering the 2004 presidential race it was as if a prayer was answered. In fact that was what Kris Kristofferson, a fellow Rhodes Scholar and veteran, said in his endorsement:
"Just when the world is being dragged into the death spiral of an unending cycle of violence by a vision-less, cold blooded collection of think-tank warriors goose-stepping their way into the new millennium with a stunning lack of respect for human rights, the environment, or international law, along comes a man with the proven credentials of intelligence, integrity, and courage singularly equipped by his spirit and experience to lead us out of this mess. Don't listen to what the lying liars say about him; listen to what he says. Wesley Clark is a prayer answered. Peace."
Peace. What a magic word. You had seen war and you have negotiated a peace, a potent combination in a candidate at that time. Was there really a man running for president that understood the ultimate answer to finally ending what George Washington called “…this plague (war) to mankind…”? I joined your campaign with enthusiasm. Although medically retired, I did what I could on the grass roots level. At any diner or coffee shop my Clark 04 button would start a conversation (many instigated by me). Ears were bent. I attended meet ups, house parties, joined the Clark Community Network blog, and even produced a multi-media CD with copies of your speeches, policy papers, videos and pictures to be used by volunteers to spread the word. They could order it on line and I donated anything above what it cost to your campaign. I was just another “Clarkie” participating in national politics for the first time because you inspired us. Your “100 Year Vision” was more than an inspiration; it was a brilliant blueprint to drag us out of the morass of corporatism, militarism and institutional lying that the Bush administration had turned into a fine art.
And now you have joined the dark side as host of the “reality” show “Stars Earn Stripes”. I added quotation marks around reality because it is not reality; it is just another cheap attempt by the entertainment industry to make a quick buck off of the short attention span of the viewing public.
I hope by now you have received the letter from the Noble Peace Prize laureates. I have met Jody Williams who shared the 1997 prize with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. In fact because I am a member of Veterans For Peace which was part of the campaign, I like to think I have a small part of that Noble Peace Prize. Jody is the real deal, a tireless advocate to rid the world of these insidious killers. That the United States has not signed the treaty to ban land mines is a travesty.
As a Viet Nam veteran, I have lived all of my adult life with the U.S. engaged in one conflict or another, covertly or overtly. It wears me down. We now know that more veterans have committed suicide than have been killed in our latest wars. Yet the continued glorification of war and the “warrior” never ends. There is no glory in war. The men and women who serve on our behalf have been lead to believe that they are “fighting for our freedoms”. As Harry Truman said; “Horse manure”. They are engaged in the racket that General Smedley Butler so bluntly described after his retirement;
WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
And now you are aiding and abetting this racket by hosting “Stars Earn Stripes”.
Our troops and our nation deserve better than this from you.
Grant E. Remington
RA 18960500
US Army 1967-70
1st platoon, 334th Attack Helicopter Company
Bien Hoa RVN
1968-69