President of the U.S., 1977-1981; Former Democratic Governor (GA)
Israel's 14 Road Map reservations eliminate its contents
Obama declared, "the Quartet [US, EU, Russia, UN) has made it clear that Hamas must meet clear conditions: recognize Israel's right to exist; renounce violence; and abide by past agreements." Unmentioned is the inconvenient fact that the US and
Israel firmly reject all three conditions for themselves. In international isolation, they bar a two-state settlement, thus rejecting Palestinian national rights. They of course do not renounce violence. And they reject the Quartet's central proposal,
the "Road Map." Israel formally accepted it, but with fourteen reservations that effectively eliminate its contents (tacitly backed by the US). It is the great merit of Jimmy
Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" to have brought these facts to public attention for the first time--and in the mainstream, the only time, it appears. But even this was quickly effaced.
1976: first support of Ireland in Democratic platform
With Jimmy Carter we found common purpose in Northern Ireland. "The troubles," as they were known in Northern Ireland, remained off the US' diplomatic radar until the late 1960s. In 1972, I cosponsored a resolution calling for withdrawal of the
British troops from Northern Ireland and establishing a united Ireland.
In 1976, I worked to address the issue of Northern Ireland for the first time in the Democratic platform. Although I did not have a strong personal relationship with
Jimmy Carter, we were able to work with his staff, with his knowledge, to include the following language: "The voice of the United States should be heard in Northern
Ireland against violence and terror, against the discrimination, repression and deprivation which brought about that civil strife, and for the efforts of the parties toward a peaceful resolution of the future of Northern Ireland."
President Carter was a difficult man to convince--of anything. One reason for this was that he did not really listen. He loved to give the APPEARANCE of listening. He made a point, for example, of bringing eminent people to the White House for colloquies
in the summertime.
You would mill around, and you'd go through the buffet line. And then for the next three hours Jimmy Carter would conduct a seminar: on Africa, for instance. He would let you know that he knew every country in Africa and the name
of every president of every country in Africa. He could count on about a third of the Senate in the room every time, and about thirty members of the House.
I will not deny that it was well worth attending these events. They were informational--you coul
say they were nothing if NOT informational. But they were personal tours de force, and every one of my colleagues recognized them as such, designed to impress us that the president knew so much about the minutiae.
The US has alienated its allies, dismayed its friends, and inadvertently gratified its enemies by proclaiming a confused & disturbing strategy of preemptive war. In the meantime, the Middle East peace process has come to a screeching halt. For the first
time since Israel became a nation, all former presidents, Democratic and Republican, have attempted to secure a comprehensive peace for Israel with hope and justice for the Palestinians. The achievements of Camp David and the more recent progress made by
Clinton are in peril. Instead, violence has gripped the Holy Land, with the region increasingly swept by anti-American passions. This must change. Elsewhere, North Korea’s nuclear menace, a threat far more real and immediate than any posed by Saddam
Hussein, has been allowed to advance unheeded, with potentially ominous consequences for peace & stability in Northeast Asia. These are some of the prices of our government has paid for this radical departure from the basic American principles and values
Unilateral acts and demands isolated the US from the world
Unilateral acts and demands have isolated the US from the very nations we need to join us in combating terrorism. Let us not forget that the Soviets lost the Cold War because we combined the exercise of power with adherence to basic principles, based on
sustained bipartisan support. We understood the positive link between the defense of our own freedom and the promotion of human rights. But recent policies have cost our nation its reputation as the world’s most admired champion of freedom and justice.
Source: Primetime speech to the Democratic National Convention
, Jul 28, 2004
We cannot lead the world if our leaders mislead
We cannot enhance our own security if we place in jeopardy what is most precious to us, namely the centrality of human rights in our daily lives & in global affairs. We cannot maintain our historic self-confidence as a people if we generate public panic.
We cannot do our duty as citizens and patriots if we pursue an agenda that polarizes and divides our country. We cannot be true to ourselves if we mistreat others. And finally, in the world at large, we cannot lead if our leaders mislead.
Source: Primetime speech to the Democratic National Convention
, Jul 28, 2004
1994: Negotiated last-minute deal to avoid Haiti invasion
On Sept.16, in a last-minute attempt to avoid an invasion, I sent Pres.Carter, Colin Powell, & Sam Nunn to Haiti to try to persuade Gen.Cedras and his supporters in the military and parliament to peacefully accept Aristide's return and Cedras's departure
from the country.
For different reasons, they all disagreed with my determination to use force to restore Aristide. Though the Carter Center had monitored Aristide's overwhelming election victory, Pres.Carter had developed a relationship with Cedras
and was skeptical of Aristide's commitment to democracy. Powell thought only the military and the police could govern Haiti, and that they would never work with Aristide.
As the deadline for our attack approached, President Carter called me pleading
for more time to persuade Cedras to leave. Carter desperately wanted to avoid a forced invasion. So did I.
Cedras promised to cooperate and to leave power by Oct.15, as soon as the general amnesty law required by the UN agreement was passed.
1980: Broke promise of no more refugees to Fort Chaffee
Jimmy Carter's Presidency was beset by problems. Some of those troubles spilled over into Arkansas in spring 1980, when hundreds of detained Cuban refugees--mostly inmates from prisons and mental hospitals whom Castro released to the US in the infamous
Mariel boat lift--were sent to a "resettlement camp" at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. In late May, the refugees rioted and hundreds broke out of the fort.
Bill sent state troopers. Bill wanted federal assistance to contain the detainees, but the White House
message seemed to be: "Don't complain, just handle the mess we gave you." Bill had done just that, but there was a big political price to pay for supporting his President.
After the June riots, President Carter had promised Bill that no more Cubans
would be sent to Arkansas. In August, the White House broke that promise, closing sites in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and sending more refugees to Fort Chaffee. That reversal further undermined support for Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in Arkansas.
Establish human rights as a tenet of American policy
In foreign affairs, Carter undertook to establish human rights as a tenet of American policy. His frequent criticism of nations that violated basic human rights and his pleas in behalf of Soviet dissidents angered the Soviet government,
setting limits on the numbers of Soviet and U. S. nuclear-weapons systems. In spite of his vigorous campaign, however, the treaty was not ratified by the Senate and eventually was placed in limbo by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
That invasion also resulted in Carter’s insistence on an American boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
Source: Grolier’s Encyclopedia, “The Presidency”
, Dec 25, 2000
1994: Dealt with Haiti's Cedras to assist Clinton's solution
Clinton's handling of Haiti involved many policy reversals that culminated with the Carter mission. Some claimed that the development of a "crisis" in Haiti was Clinton's own doing. One GOP critic said the "mess in Haiti was caused by
Clinton running off at the mouth during the last election, by criticizing in an irresponsible manner President Bush's handling of the situation." While that statement has a partisan ring to it, the fact is that prior to Carter's dealing with Cedras,
Clinton did not have Democratic support for an invasion of Haiti.
There certainly are those who will claim that Clinton's approach to Haiti eventually worked, since Cedras was ousted and Aristide returned to power.
But political observers were not particularly impressed with the manner in which Clinton and Carter arrived at the agreement with Cedras. [Despite the criticism], Clinton would have considered Haiti a foreign policy victory.
Carter 1977: Focus on human rights; give back Panama Canal
The public in 1977 was clearly against the “loss” of the Panama Canal. Carter decided to spend the goodwill of his political honeymoon on a serious campaign to change America’s attitude toward the Third World in general. This campaign would include
Andrew Young’s many trips to Africa, and a human rights policy that softened America’s traditional sponsorship of right-wing dictators. Removing America’s own colonial outpost in Panama was a necessary preliminary to such a program.
Source: Reagan’s America, by Garry Wills, p. 334
, Jul 2, 1987
Treat Arab oil embargo like declaring economic war
If the Arab countries ever declare an embargo on oil I would consider that not a military but an economic declaration of war, and I would respond instantly.
I would not ship that Arab country anything--no weapons, no spare parts for weapons, no oil-drilling rigs, no oil pipe, no nothing.
Source: The Second Carter-Ford Presidential Debate
, Oct 6, 1976
US needs to regain respect in UN and with our allies
We're no longer respected in a showdown vote in the United Nations or in any other international council we're lucky to get 20 percent of the other nations to vote with us. Our allies feel that we've neglected them. Under this administration we've had
an inclination to keep separate the European countries, thinking that if they are separate, then we can dominate them and proceed with our secret, Lone Ranger-type diplomatic efforts.
Source: The Second Carter-Ford Presidential Debate
, Oct 6, 1976
Supports complete moratorium on nuclear weapon testing
I advocated in a speech at the UN that we move immediately as a nation to declare a complete moratorium on the testing of all nuclear devices, both weapons and peaceful devices; that we not ship any more atomic fuel to a country that refuses to comply
with strict controls over the waste which can be reprocessed into explosives. I've also advocated that we stop the sale by Germany and France of processing plants for Pakistan and Brazil.
Source: The Second Carter-Ford Presidential Debate
, Oct 6, 1976
Established relations with China; cut ties to Taiwan
Carter inaugurated full diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1979, thus cutting formal U. S. ties with the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan.
Conservative forces severely criticized the treaties as a “sellout” of vital American interests.
Source: Grolier’s Encyclopedia, “The Presidency”
, Dec 25, 2000
Click here for definitions & background information on Foreign Policy.
