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Ramsey Clark

William Ramsey Clark
66th United States Attorney General
In office March 10, 1967 – January 20, 1969
President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Nicholas Katzenbach
Succeeded by	John N. Mitchell
Born	December 18, 1927 (1927-12-18) (age 81) Dallas, Texas, United States
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Texas-Austin University of Chicago
Military service
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1945-1946

William Ramsey Clark (born December 18, 1927) is a lawyer and former United States Attorney General.

He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as the 66th United States Attorney General

under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He is a left-wing activist and has been known for his continuing advocacy

for civil and human rights political causes. He is also known for his role as defense attorney in the trials of

Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein. He was a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award and the Peace Abbey

Courage of Conscience Award.

 Early life and career

Clark was born in Dallas, Texas, to Mary Jane Ramsey and Tom C. Clark,^[1] who was also a United States

Attorney General and a justice of the Supreme Court. Clark served in the United States Marine Corps in 1945

and 1946, then earned a B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1949, an M.A. and a J.D. from the

University of Chicago in 1950.

He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1950, and to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1956.

From 1951 to 1961, Clark was an associate and partner in the law firm of Clark, Reed and Clark.

 Kennedy and Johnson Administrations

Clark served in the Department of Justice as the Assistant Attorney General of the Lands Division from 1961 to

1965, and as Deputy Attorney General from 1965 to 1967.

In 1967, President Johnson nominated him to be Attorney General of the United States, he was confirmed by

congress and took the oath of office March 2,. There is speculation that Johnson made the appointment on the

expectation that Clark's father, Associate Justice Tom C. Clark, would resign from the Supreme Court to avoid a

conflict of interest. Johnson wanted a vacancy to be created on the Court so he could appoint Thurgood Marshall,

the first African American justice. The elder Clark resigned from the Supreme Court on June 12, 1967, creating

the vacancy Johnson desired.

Clark served as Attorney General until Johnson's term as President ended on January 20, 1969.

Clark played an important role in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. During his years at the Justice

Department, he

• supervised the federal presence at Ole Miss during the week following the admission of James Meredith;
• surveyed all school districts in the South desegregating under court order (1963);
• supervised federal enforcement of the court order protecting the march from Selma to Montgomery; and
• headed the Presidential task force to Watts following the riots.
• supervised the drafting and executive role in passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of
• 1968.

As Attorney General during part of the Vietnam War, Clark oversaw the prosecution of the Boston Five for “conspiracy

to aid and abet draft resistance.” Four of the five were convicted, including pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and Yale

chaplain William Sloane Coffin Jr.

In addition to his government work, during this period Clark was also director of the American Judicature Society

(in 1963) and national president of the Federal Bar Association in 1964–65.

 International activism

Following his term as Attorney General he worked as a law professor and was active in the anti–Vietnam-War

movement. He visited North Vietnam in 1972 as a protest against the bombing of Hanoi. He was also associated

with the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before resigning to run for political office.

In 1974 he was the Democratic Party's candidate for the United States Senate from New York, losing to Jacob Javits.

In 1976, Clark again sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, but was a distant third in the primary

behind Daniel Patrick Moynihan, (the winner), and Congresswoman Bella Abzug.

Attorney General Clark & President Lyndon B. Johnson.

More recently, Clark has become controversial for his political views and publications. While mildly denouncing

the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. in 2001, he has also strongly opposed any

retaliation against Afghanistan as well as against Al-Qaeda^{[citation needed]}. He has been a strong opponent of the

 War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and the rest of the world from the very beginning, as well as expressing doubt

that Al-Qaeda was behind he attacks and openly suggesting that the U.S. goverment was the real culprit who planned

and carried out the 9/11 attacks to justify going to war against Afghanistan, as well as Iraq.

In 1991, Clark accused the administration of President George H. W. Bush and "others to be named" of "crimes

against peace, war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" for its conduct of the Gulf War against Iraq and the

ensuing sanctions;^[2] in 1996, he added the charges of genocide and the "use of a weapon of mass destruction".^[3]

Similarly, after the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ramsey charged and "tried" NATO

on 19 counts and issued calls for its dissolution.^[4]Clark drew criticism for defending some of the worst dictators of

the last 25 years, such as Saddam Hussein, Radovan Karadzic and Bernard Coard.^[5] He has called for war crimes

against American, British, and other world leaders for human rights abuses, while ignoring and even justifying the

murders and war crimes his clients have committed.

Clark is affiliated with VoteToImpeach, an organization advocating the impeachment of George W. Bush. For the

past eight years, Clark had fought, unsuccessfully, to bring President George W. Bush to stand trial for impeachment.

He has been an opponent of both 1991 and 2003 Persian Gulf War conflicts. "Impeachment is the most important issue

facing Constitutional government in the United States. Impeachment will determine whether the American people will

hold the Bush administration accountable for its High Crimes and Misdemeanors".^[6] Clark is the founder of the

International Action Center. It holds significant overlapping membership with the Workers' World Party.^[7] Clark

and the IAC helped found the protest organization A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).^[8]

Ramsey Clark has been criticized by both opponents and supporters for some of the people he agreed to defend;

this criticism has been exacerbated by some statements Clark has made in defense of his clients.^[9]

In 2004 Clark joined a panel of about 20 prominent Arab and one other non-Arab lawyer to defend Saddam Hussein

in his trial before the Iraqi Special Tribunal.^[10] Clark appeared before the Iraqi Special Tribunal in late November

2005 arguing "that it failed to respect basic human rights and was illegal because it was formed as a consequence of

the United States' illegal war of aggression against the people of Iraq."^[11] Clark said that unless the trial was seen

as "absolutely fair", it would "divide rather than reconcile Iraq".^[12] Christopher Hitchens claimed that Clark was

admitting Hussein's guilt when Clark reportedly stated in a 2005 BBC interview: "He [Saddam] had this huge war

going on, and you have to act firmly when you have an assassination attempt".^[13]

Ramsey Clark visited Nandigram in India in November 2007 and expressed his solidarity to the poor peasants of the area who were tortured by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Clark was not alone in criticizing the Iraqi Special Tribunal's trial of Saddam Hussein, which drew intense

criticism from international human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch called Saddam's trial a

"missed opportunity" and a "deeply flawed trial"^[14],[15] and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

found the trial to be unfair and to violate basic international human rights law.^[16] Among the irregularities

cited by HRW, were that proceedings were marked by frequent outbursts by both judges and defendants, that

three defense lawyers were murdered, that the original chief judge was replaced, that important documents

were not given to defense lawyers in advance, that paperwork was lost, and that the judges made asides that
pre-judged Saddam Hussein.^[17] One of those outburst occurred when Clark was ejected from the trial after

passing the judge a memorandum stating that the trial was making "a mockery of justice". The Chief Judge Raouf

Abdul Rahman shouted at Clark, "No, you are the mockery... get him out, out".^[18]

On March 18, 2006, Clark attended the funeral of Slobodan Milošević. He declared: "History will prove

Milošević was right. Charges are just that: charges. The trial did not have facts." He compared the trials of

Slobodan Milošević and Saddam Hussein by stating: "both trials are marred with injustice, both are flawed."

He also condoned and justified the rule of Saddam Hussein and the administration of Slobodan Milosevic,

describing Slobodan Milošević and Saddam Hussein as "both commanders who were courageous enough to fight

more powerful countries."^[19]

On September 1, 2007, in New York, Clark, age 79, called for detained Filipino Jose Maria Sison’s release and

pledged assistance by joining the latter’s legal defense team headed by Jan Fermon. Clark doubted Dutch

authorities’ validity and competency, since the murder charges originated in the Philippines and had already

been dismissed by the country's Supreme Court.^[20]

Echoing Al-Qaeda propaganda, Clark has also described the War on Terrorism as a war against Islam.[3]

In November 2007, Clark visited Nandigram in India^[21][22] where conflict between state government forces and

villagers resulted in the death of at least 14 villagers.^[23][24]

Former Attorney General and peace and social justice activist for his commitment to civil rights, his opposition

to war and military spending and his dedication to providing legal representation to the peace movement,

particularly, his efforts to free Leonard Peltier. He was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience on

October 15, 1992. ^[25]

In August, 2006, Clark spoke at an International Islamic Conference for Peace and Awareness in Baltimore,

Maryland, which critics and his opponents described as a "propaganda" conference involving the holocaust denial

group Institute for Historical Review in alliance with Islamic extremists. Clark's address focused on the wars in

Afghanistan and Iraq. [4].

Notable clients

As a lawyer, he has also provided legal counsel and advice to several notable figures, including:

• Nazi concentration camp commandant Karl Linnas
• Nazi War criminal Jack Reimer, charged in the killings of Jews in Warsaw.
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Advisory Board during late 1970s and early 1980s
• Branch Davidian leader David Koresh
• FMLN activist Jennifer Casolo
• Antiwar activist Father Philip Berrigan and the Harrisburg Seven
• Political figure Lyndon Larouche
• American Indian prisoner Leonard Peltier
• Attended the Crimes of America conference in Tehran in 1980
• Liberian political figure Charles G. Taylor during his 1985 fight against extradition from the United States to Liberia
• Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a leader in the Rwandan genocide
• Palestinian Liberation Organization leaders in a lawsuit brought by the family of Leon Klinghoffer.
• Camilo Mejia, a US soldier who deserted his post in March 2004 in protest against the US war against Iraq.
• Defense attorney for three killers of Officer Bruce Prothero, Baltimore County (Maryland) Police Department.
• Radovan Karadžić, accused Yugoslav war criminal.
• Slobodan Milošević, former president of Yugoslavia, accused war criminal
• Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq and convicted war criminal
• Lori Berenson, an American convicted of support of the MRTA guerrilla in Peru
• Joe "Mad Dog" Sullivan, a contract killer.

Notes

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ramsey Clark

• Biography from the Department of Justice website.
• International Action Center Founded by Ramsey Clark.
• International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milošević Where Ramsey Clark signed the petition.
• "Neighborhood Bully: Ramsey Clark on American Militarism, interview by Derrick Jensen. Online posting.
• The Sun (no date).
• "Opinion: Ramsey Clark's bloody resume," by Michelle Malkin. Online posting. Townhall January 24, 2002.
• "Profile: Ramsey Clark: A Voice of Reason." Online posting. Al-Ahram Weekly 2003.
• "Ramsey Clark to defend Saddam." Online posting. Aljazeera December 29, 2004. July 1, 2006.
• How Ramsey Clark Championed Baltic Nazi War Criminals
• "Ramsey Clark, the War Criminal's Best Friend," by Ian Williams. Online posting. Salon.com June 21, 1999.
• Transcript of "Meet the Press" October 9, 2005. Includes a "Meet the Press Minute" about Ramsey Clark ,
• Clark's father, former US Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark, former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, and
• former US Supreme Court Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall. Online posting. October 9, 2005. October 13, 2005.
• Transcript of Ramsey Clark's Oral History Interview, by Harri Baker. Online posting. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. October 30, 1968. April 3, 2005. (Pdf files.)
• Ramsey Clark footnotes Includes interview with Ramsey Clark.
• "Why I'm Willing To Defend Hussein", a January 24,2005 LA Times commentary by Clark
• "The Mysterious Ramsey Clark", 1999, The Shadow
• "John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account" includes mention of North Vietnamese reaction to Ramsey Clark's
• visit during the Vietnam War. 2008, US News & World Report

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[show] v • d • e Cabinet of President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)   Vice President None (1963-1965) • Hubert Humphrey (1965-1969)   Secretary of State Dean Rusk (1963-1969)   Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon (1963-1965) • Henry H. Fowler (1965-1968) • Joseph W. Barr (1968-1969)   Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (1963-1968) • Clark Clifford (1968-1969)   Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (1963-1964) • Nicholas Katzenbach (1965-1966) • Ramsey Clark (1967-1969)   Postmaster General John A. Gronouski (1963-1965) • Lawrence O'Brien (1965-1968) • W. Marvin Watson (1968-1969)   Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall (1963-1969)   Secretary of the Agriculture Orville Freeman (1963-1969)   Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges (1963-1965) • John Thomas Connor (1965-1967) • Alexander Buel Trowbridge (1967-1968) • C. R. Smith (1968-1969)   Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz (1963-1969)   Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze (1962-1965) • John William Gardner (1965-1968) • Wilbur Joseph Cohen (1968-1969)   Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Robert Clifton Weaver (1963-1968) • Robert Coldwell Wood (1969)   Secretary of Transportation Alan Stephenson Boyd (1967-1969)

Name:  Ali Abdussalam Treki

Date & Place of Birth:         1938, Misrata / Libya

Social Status:                        Married, with 4 children.

DIPLOMAS:                            **Masters Degree in History from the Faculty of

                                                   Literature, Garyounes University, Benghazi, Libya.

                                                   **Ph.D in History from Toulouse University, France.

MEDALS OF HONOR:          Decorated with the Great Al-Fateh Medal (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya),

                                                 in addition to 26 other medals from numerous countries.

RELEVANT FUNCTIONS:

25/8/1970:         Plenipotentiary Minister (Minister of External Affairs and Unity).

19/9/1970:         Director of Political Affaires Department.

1972-1974:        Director of African-Asian Affaires Department.

1974-1976:        Deputy Secretary of Political Affaires Department, Ministry of

     Foreign Affaires

1976-1979:         Secretary of Foreign Affaires, (Minister).

1979-1981:         Secretary of Foreign Affaires, (Minister).

1981-1982:         Secretary of Foreign Affaires, (Minister). 

1982-1984:         Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the     

                              United Nations.                     

1984-1986:         Secretary of the People’s Bureau for Foreign Liaison (Minister). 

1986-1991:         Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the

     United Nations.

1991-1994:         Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the

                              League of Arab States.

1995-1999:          Secretary (Ambassador) of the People’s Bureau in France.

3/1999-2/2000:     Deputy Secretary for African Affaires.

2/2000-6/2003:     Secretary of the General People’s Committee for African Unity

                                (Minister).

13/9/2003-Present: Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Libyan

                                 Arab  Jamahiriya to the United Nations, New York.