Wesley Clark to speak as part of 9-11 program on campus

September 6, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Wesley K. Clark, a four-star general and former NATO supreme allied commander, will speak at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 in the O’Connell Center at the University of Florida.

Clark’s visit is free and open to the public and his appearance is sponsored by ACCENT Speaker’s Bureau. His speech is part of ACCENT’s Sept. 11, 2001, Memorial Series and is titled, “An Evening with General Wesley Clark.” The doors will open at 7 p.m. A brief press conference will take place in the Martial Arts room of the O’Connell Center at 7:15 p.m. Proper press credentials are required and all journalists may enter though Gate 1.

Clark retired as one of the nation’s most highly decorated military officers since Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. His leadership experience has taken him from Vietnam to Latin America and ultimately to the position of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, where he lead a unified force to victory in NATO’s first major combat action. Clark commanded all NATO forces to success in the Kosovo conflict, saving 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing without a single Allied casualty.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, it has become clear that the lessons of Kosovo are directly applicable to the war against terrorism and the nations that sponsor it. In Sept. 2003, Clark, with thousands of supporters and the urging from the national Democratic leadership, he entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. He ran a campaign that, according to The New York Times, “Changed not only the election but also elections to come.” With a strong showing and exceptional fund raising, Clark, who left the race in February, now commands national attention as a voice for positive change, solid policy agendas and principled leadership.

For persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations, please contact (352) 392-1663 ext. 302 or (352) 392-3567 (TDD). E-mail accommodate @sg.ufl.edu or contact the Florida Relay System at 1-800-955-8771 at least 72 hours prior to the event. Real Time Transcription will be provided. For more information, call ACCENT at (352) 392-1665 ext. 306 or the information line ext. 411, visit the Web site http://www.sg.ufl.edu/accent/ or e-mail ACCENT at accent@sg.ufl.edu.