Ex-general 'to seek White House'

Clark looks set to join a crowded field

The former general who led Nato forces during the Kosovo campaign has decided to run for US president, sources close to him say.

Retired General Wesley Clark, 58, is expected to announce on Wednesday that he will seek the Democratic nomination to run against George W Bush in 2004.

General Clark has no political experience, but his military background could make him a formidable candidate anyway, some experts say.

He would join an already crowded field - nine Democrats are so far seeking their party's nomination.

One of them, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, officially launched his campaign on Tuesday.

Senator Edwards promised to "put our economy and our government back in line with our values" as he made his announcement.

The first-term senator - a former lawyer with little political experience - is trailing more popular candidates including former governor Howard Dean and Senator John Kerry.

Supporters

General Clark shares Dr Dean's opposition to the US-led war in Iraq and Senator Kerry's distinguished record of service in Vietnam.

Profile: Wesley Clark

Supporters have been urging him for months to run.

His staff said on Tuesday that he would announce his decision in his home town of Little Rock, Arkansas on Wednesday.

He refused to say what his decision would be.

Even if he decides against, he is likely to be considered as a vice-presidential running mate.

Analysts say that if the former general decides to run, an even higher-profile candidate could toss her hat into the ring - Senator Hillary Clinton.

She has consistently denied that she plans to seek the White House in 2004 but her denials have failed to quash rumours of her interest.

She might calculate that a successful Clark run in 2004 would make it impossible for her to run in 2008, forcing her to join the fray now.

Scholar and soldier

Like former US President Bill Clinton, Wesley Clark grew up in Little Rock, 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 already 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.

The campaign was a success, but it was not trouble free.

I'm not going to start the Third World War for you Reported response to an order from General Clark

General Clark's plea for Apache helicopters to be deployed was a source of friction with the Pentagon, and there was a celebrated dispute with the British commander General Sir Mike Jackson.

He ordered General Jackson to stop Russian troops from taking Pristina airport as combat came to a close.

"I'm not going to start the Third World War for you," the British commander is reported to have replied.

Nonetheless, he was in March 2000 given an honorary knighthood by the UK in recognition of his "boundless energy" during the bombing of Yugoslavia.

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.

He also acted as a commentator on military affairs for CNN.

He would therefore be in a good position to fight a campaign dominated by the Iraq question - particularly if instability grows there and vindicates his opposition to ousting Saddam Hussein.