In a public lecture on Monday, Gen. Wesley Clark expressed to an audience of 150 members of the UCLA community his view that the war in Iraq has legal basis but lacks legitimacy.
The event took place as part of Clark’s post as a senior fellow at the UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations.
Clark, who held the rank of supreme allied commander of NATO and negotiated peace in Kosovo in the 1990s, emphasized the need to use elements of just-war theory when molding American foreign policy. The theory allows for the use of force only as a last resort, for the right intentions, and with a high probability of success.
Elements of the just-war theory such as proportionality, avoidance of civilian casualties, and goals of the maintenance of peace are lacking in the Iraq war, making it illegitimate, he said at the lecture, which took place in the law school.
Clark, who campaigned for the Democratic nomination to run for the presidency in 2004, also questioned the aims of the Iraq war, saying the goal of long-term regional positioning does not constitute just or legitimate war.
His comments came less than two weeks after President Bush called for an increase of American troops by more than 20,000.
“In the long run, the most realistic way to protect the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative … by advancing liberty across a troubled region,” Bush told the nation in a speech about the war.
But Clark said while it is unclear whether a troop surge will have an effect on the military situation in Iraq, the fundamental premise of the surge was wrong in its response to the problems in the region.
“It is premised on the idea that insecurity (is the problem), whereas violence is bred by political opportunism,” he said.
Clark said while the war did not violate any law, the lack of legitimacy was a “war-losing failure.”
“After 2002, we began undercutting our own legitimacy in Iraq,” Clark said, referring to Bush’s goals of establishing democracy and accomplishing broader geo-strategic issues, all of which go against the original aims.
“There are limits to what pure force can accomplish,” he said. “Nations accomplish their purposes by changing people’s minds.”
Instead of such force, Clark recommended the U.S. re-establish legitimacy through diplomatic means and attained strategic consent in the area.
Clark assured the audience that his intentions for the lecture were made not “as someone who ran for office,” but in a nonpartisan fashion.
Clark took questions and addressed American relations with Iran at the conclusion of the lecture.
“Keep the threat of Iran in perspective,” he said, reminding the audience of the huge advantage the United States holds over Iran, and recommending opening communication with the country.
Clark is on campus about once a month, and has been part of the planning for a conference to be held at UCLA in early March, said Kal Raustiala, the newly instated director of the Burkle Center.
The conference is titled “Nuclear Weapons in a New Century” and includes speakers such as former Secretary of Defense William Perry, Chancellor Emeritus Albert Carnesale, and Clark himself, said Deanna Nash, director of events for the UCLA College.