Carter's goal in life is to be loved abroad and hated at home. Just a continuation of his disaster of a presidency which Americans remember all too well. I have to say, one of the lowest points in recent history was the abduction of the American hostages in Iran and buffoon Jimmy Carter's utter unwillingness and fear to do a G-damn thing about it for a year and a half. I'm sure even then he was worried about what the world "might think" if US special forces troops stormed Tehran. If Democrats hated having Reagan come into power, they only have themselves to blame for annointing Carter as their "leader."
I can only assume that you're too young to remember the actual circumstances of the American hostages in Iran. However, even if you were 100% correct about that disaster, that has no bearing whatsoever on the points the former president and Nobel Prize winner has made in his editorial.
Pizza, seriously, read a friggin' book for once in your life. You clearly have NO idea what you are talking about.
Just wondering - why stop, or start with Iraq? Iran has oil, is pursuing nuclear weapons and other WMD, actively and publically encourages terrorist groups, and has directly "attacked" US citizens overseas. And could easily give one of their weapons to one of the many terrorist groups they support and harbor - who could set that off here in the USA. Can someone explain to me why Iraq is worse than Iran?
I hope you don't make pizza with the same skills with which you spout off retarded, uninformed opinion. Lastort, I think that the point about the goodwill around the world after 9/11 is key: Hopw did we go from the world's most empathetic victim to the world's biggest victimizer? Bush, and the people around him, don't talk WITH anyone; they talk TO or AT them, not because they don't know better, but because they think they CAN...and people like Pizza-pie head embrace this approach because they think that if they and Rumsfeld were in the same room, they'd all "kick it," not knowing...Rumsfeld hates them too. Let those who continue to live their citizenship in ways that move America towards more fully fulfilling its creed move powerfully against this small camp of hateful, power-grubbing opportunists...
> I'm sure even then he was worried about what > the world "might think" if US special forces troops > stormed Tehran. You might try looking up something called Operation Eagle Claw. Here is a link: http://www.specwarnet.com/miscinfo/eagleclaw.htm And as bad as the catastrophy was, from my reading of the actual battle plan it would have been far worse had it actually gone ahead.
Mike, if you and probably Superdave are planning on showing up and romanticizing Jimmy Carter as a misunderstood foreign policy genius, you'll show how far out on a Democratic Party limb you are. Actually, I don't think even Superdave, when he's defending Jimmy Carter, says much in praise of his foreign policy. The fact that Jimmy "Agreed Framework" Carter, the American most responsible for the North Korean A-bomb, thinks this war is a foolish idea is one more arrow in Bush's quiver, as far as I'm concerned. And, yes, his reflexive anti-militarism as president is relevant to our analysis of what he says. He needs to go find an election to monitor and stop trying to play geopolitics with the big boys.
Carter should be impeached retroactively. If there ever was a President that could have used Viagara.
1. Camp David. 2. Grain embargo -> Solidarnosc -> end of the Soviet bloc. (Well, a key contributing factor, anyway, as it provided a framework for fighting the Soviet system.) Of course, Ronald Reagan wanted to win elections more than he wanted to fight communism, so he campaigned no a promise to end the embargo, and then he did it. I wonder if the Berlin Wall might have fallen earlier, if Reagan wasn't such a com-symp.
Try to wrap your head around what liberals would be saying about Bush if our economy now was as bad as when fellow christian brother Jimmy was in office. "Hey, honey, it's noon, let's go to the bank and get a 18.75% home mortgage." "Okay. But, we have to get gas first, so let's call for a 5 o'clock appointment." Life was simpler then, huh?
Will you guys please learn something about the Agreed Framework before you go spouting off that it is the reason NK has the ability to produce nuclear weapons? You can say the Agreed Framework was not comprehensive or was incomplete, but to say it is the reasone NK has an atomic bomb is utter nonsense.
Despite the fact that oil prices went up for Carter, and down for Reagan, economic growth was better under Carter than Reagan. Even a s***** Democrat grows the economy better than the Zeus of the Republican party.
A conservative's book on politics. "Everything I needed to know about politics I learned from Rush Limbaugh." I take the cheap shot because I'm really getting tired of the hawks' ignorance. TWUB, Colin, come back. I'll be nice.
Don't assume anything. I lived through and quite vividly remember the late 70s. To go with the inflation and high crime rates at home, we had to deal with radical Islam in Iran and the crime they perpetrated on US citizens there. Carter sat on his hands afraid to do a damn thing while the hostages were paraded around for tv cameras. The US & Carter were laughingstocks. Not a particularly proud American moment. And his history does have bearing on what he writes about today. Carter thinks the UN is the ultimate arbiter in world affairs and he's flat out WRONG. Reagan didn't believe it, Bush I didn't believe it, Clinton didn't believe it and neither does GWB. Now WHO'S out of step?
> Carter sat on his hands afraid to do a damn thing > while the hostages were paraded around for tv > cameras. Do you have me on "ignore" or something? Carter did try to do something - an ill-advised rescue attempt that (maybe fortunatly) failed due to mechanical problems. After that, he could not do anything because the hostages were dispersed. What do you want him to do?
Courtesy of the Onion January 21, 1981 HOSTAGES RELEASED Reagan Urges American People Not to Put Two and Two Together
Why do you care what the rest of the world thought about the US then? You don't seem to care too much right now. The international embarrasment caused by the Iranian hostage crisis is nothing compared to the international embarrasment being caused today by the current administration in its single-minded quest for war. As Mr. Carter so eloquently stated in closing his editorial: I believe every word written there. Perhaps you were embarrassed to be an American during the Carter Administration. I've only recenlty become embarrassed to be an American, right now during the Bush Administration. I feel no pride at what our president is doing. Rather, I feel only shame.
You're right. An American president should be able to arrange a covert weapon sale in exchange for hostages. I did it twice (that I can remember). Paying a ransom to terrorists is the true measure of leadership. Carter was a disgrace. Sincerely, Ronald Wilson Reagan P.S. - see my excerpt from a speech I gave when I discovered that we were selling drugs to raise cash to arm Iran so that we could get hostages in Lebanon freed. I was pissed that Poindexter and Weinberger got caught, but fortunately, I was able to claim executive stupidity. ------------------ "First, let me say I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities. As disappointed as I may be in some who served me, I'm still the one who must answer to the American people for this behavior. And as personally distasteful as I find secret bank accounts and diverted funds - well, as the Navy would say, this happened on my watch. Let's start with the part that is the most controversial. A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not As the Tower board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages. This runs counter to my own beliefs, to administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind. There are reasons why it happened, but no excuses. It was a mistake. I undertook the original Iran initiative in order to develop relations with those who might assume leadership in a post-Khomeini government. It's clear from the Board's report, however, that I let my personal concern for the hostages spill over into the geo- political strategy of reaching out to Iran. I asked so many questions about the hostages' welfare that I didn't ask enough about the specifics of the total Iran plan. "
Carterpalooza! Friend to dictators everywhere: http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback-nordlinger121002.asp