Former NATO commander Wesley Clark is hitting the airwaves for Hillary Clinton, who he endorsed earlier this year. In a new TV ad airing in Iowa, the ex-presidential candidate says “I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 24 years. I know she has what it takes to end the war in Iraq, avert war with Iran, and restore our country’s standing in the world.”

Iran is a major issue in Iowa, where Hillary is still asked about her months-old vote calling on President Bush to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Her critics have accused her of aiding and abetting the president’s “rush to war” with Iran; she says the resolution promotes more aggressive diplomacy.

Since the National Intelligence Estimate revealed that Iran dismantled its nuclear weapons program in 2003, her rivals have turned up the heat on her vote. This ad, though planned before the NIE was released, could help on that front.

The RNC, meanwhile, points out that Clark once advised a candidate for the House to vote for the Iraq resolution in 2002, saying “it is only fitting Hillary Clinton would run an ad with someone that has a stance on Iraq as inconsistent as her own.” Spokesman Danny Diaz also points out that Clark may not have much sway in Iowa — he skipped the caucuses when he ran for president in 2004.