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Jerald L. Parsoneault
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 144
Location: Sacramento
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 Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:46 pm Post subject: Jimmy Carter Doesn't Get It |
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Read this on Drudge. . . .
| Quote: | | President Carter expressed to the White House a desire to attend the Pope's funeral," an official said. |
Carter undermined the President every chance he got and then expects the honor of joining President Bush's delegation. What could he possibly be thinking?
Also, two Pope's died during Carter's presidency and he didn't have the political courage to attend either funeral. Why include him now and take the chance he will spout off again?
Nalt |
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GM Strong
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 1579
Location: Penna
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:41 am Post subject: |
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Jimmuh should just stay home and reflect. He was a disaster and needs to keep to himself. His legacy is not tied to JP II in any way.
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8th Army Korea 68-69 |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=7991
| Quote: | Washington Prowler
Jimmy Carter Who?
By The Prowler
Published 4/6/2005 1:09:28 AM
More details are emerging about the White House's decision -- really President Bush's personal decision -- not to include former President Jimmy Carter in the official U.S. delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
According to White House sources, Carter's representatives, apparently from the former president's Carter Center, reached out to the White House over the weekend and offered to lead the U.S. delegation should the President or other senior Bush administration officials not be able to attend.
"There was no misunderstanding. It wasn't Carter who made the actual call, but the message was pure Carter gumption," says a White House source. "We were getting lots of calls from lots of people looking to get on this delegation. I would say over the weekend alone we got more than 100 requests, maybe more."
Carter went public on Tuesday with his dissatisfaction at not being invited, after the White House announced that the official delegation would be made up of the current and two prior sitting Presidents, and Secretary of State Rice.
The U.S. Embassy at the Vatican has also been inundated with requests for assistance to attend the funeral on Friday. According to a State Department source, Carter's people have called there as well.
Carter did meet with Pope John Paul II, and hosted the pontiff in Washington, D.C. in 1979. Carter claimed a kinship with the Catholic priest, though it isn't clear that the Vatican thought so highly of Carter's diplomatic skills, particularly after he left office. Carter was often the wrong side of the political fence when it came to elections and policies in Latin America, where John Paul II devoted a great deal of time in the 1980s stamping out the Marxist "Liberation Theology" movement. At one point in 1979, the Vatican sought assistance from the Carter Administration State Department to limit the travels of U.S. Maryknoll missionaries to Central American countries, where they were teaching and preaching Liberation Theology alongside like-minded Latin American priests.
"The other thing that people forget is that Carter has treated President Bush very badly. He has openly criticized the President in a manner that President Clinton has not," says a Bush administration source. "He has traveled around the world bad-mouthing this president and this country's policies. I would be surprised if a single person gave a thought to including him in the delegation." |
GOOD FOR DUBYA!!!
Its about time someone slapped down this supercilious man.
He probably thinks he should be overseeing the election of the
new Pope. Can't trust those Cardinals, don'tcha know!
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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PhantomSgt
Vice Admiral
Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 972
Location: GUAM, USA
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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Finally this less than adequate former Chief Executive has been put in his place. He can now travel on in quiet obscurity until his final day on Earth and then rot in Hades.
_________________
Retired AF E-8
Independent that leans right of center. |
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RogerRabbit
Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 05 Sep 2004
Posts: 748
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | GOOD FOR DUBYA!!!
Its about time someone slapped down this supercilious man.
He probably thinks he should be overseeing the election of the
new Pope. Can't trust those Cardinals, don'tcha know! |
I second this motion.
Dubya is not a vindictive man so apparently the peanut farmer really got under his skin. I did nt expect this but sure am glad to see it
_________________
"Si vis pacem, para bellum" |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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Seems maybe it was his own decision not to go..
http://newsmax.com
| Quote: | Tuesday, April 5, 2005 4:47 p.m. EDT
Carter 'Willing' to Forego Pope's Funeral
Former Presidents Bush and Clinton will accompany President Bush to the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the White House said Tuesday. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will also be part of the small official U.S. delegation, but former Presidents Carter and Ford will not.
President Bush and his wife, Laura, will lead the group representing the United States at the funeral on Friday, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
McClellan said the White House "reached out" to Carter, but he would not explain why Carter was not going along.
A spokesman at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Jon Moore, said Carter — relishing the memories of two visits as president with the pontiff — had told the White House he wanted to go to the funeral. Upon learning that the Vatican was limiting the U.S. delegation to five people and that "there were also others who were eager to attend," Carter was "quite willing" to withdraw his request, Moore said.
"He and his wife Rosalynn are very pleased with the official delegation," Moore said of Carter.
Former President Ford, who lives in California, is 91 and no longer travels extensively.
Bush talked about the pope at both his public appearances Tuesday, during a Social Security speech in Parkersburg, W.Va., and later after a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
"What a great man," Bush said. "It will be my honor to represent our country at a ceremony marking a remarkable life — a person who stood for freedom and human dignity."
Clinton spokesman Jim Kennedy said the former president's doctors had given him clearance to fly to Rome. Clinton had surgery a month ago in New York to deal with a rare complication from a heart bypass operation six months earlier. His doctors originally told him he would need four to six weeks at home, but he traveled by train to Washington last week to collect an award for his work on AIDS.
Bush is leaving Washington for Rome on Wednesday, and was to spend Thursday meeting with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The president planned to leave Italy immediately after the funeral to spend the weekend at his ranch in Texas.
Bush will be the first sitting president to attend a pope's funeral. The pontiff died on Saturday, ending more than a quarter-century as leader of the Catholic Church.
Bush met with the pope three times during his presidency. The pontiff was quick to tell Bush about his deep disagreement with the war in Iraq, the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops and Bush's support for the death penalty. During their final meeting last June, Bush presented the pope with the Medal of Freedom and the pope responded by reading a statement that said he had "grave concern" about events in Iraq.
© 2005 Associated Press. |
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Navy_Navy_Navy
Admin
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Bush met with the pope three times during his presidency. The pontiff was quick to tell Bush about his deep disagreement with the war in Iraq, the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops and Bush's support for the death penalty. During their final meeting last June, Bush presented the pope with the Medal of Freedom and the pope responded by reading a statement that said he had "grave concern" about events in Iraq. |
If this isn't typical AP, I don't know what is.  Look at the emphasized phrasing - the President presented the Pope with the MoF and the Pope smacked him down with rebuke over the Iraq war.
They go out of their way to stress the Holy Father's disagreements with the President.
But, what do they fail to comment on?
Hmmmmm..... the Pope was just as quick to support and agree with the President's stand on abortion, right to life, Terri Schiavo, Communist regimes, democracy vs. tyrants, freedom of religion, the beheadings of human beings at the hands of Islamo-fascisti, etc, etc, etc ....
If the AP gets any more transparent, they're going to have to change their name.
"Associated With Leftists Press" is much more appropriate to their editorial slant on the "news."
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother
Last edited by Navy_Navy_Navy on Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:06 am Post subject: |
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The AP and the Carter Center attempting a little "face-saving" for Jimmuh.
| Quote: | A spokesman at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Jon Moore, said Carter — relishing the memories of two visits as president with the pontiff — had told the White House he wanted to go to the funeral. Upon learning that the Vatican was limiting the U.S. delegation to five people and that "there were also others who were eager to attend," Carter was "quite willing" to withdraw his request, Moore said.
"He and his wife Rosalynn are very pleased with the official delegation," Moore said of Carter. |
Jimmy just wanted to go to the funeral, and was 'quite willing' to withdraw his request.
From the American Spectator
| Quote: | According to White House sources, Carter's representatives, apparently from the former president's Carter Center, reached out to the White House over the weekend and offered to lead the U.S. delegation should the President or other senior Bush administration officials not be able to attend.
"There was no misunderstanding. It wasn't Carter who made the actual call, but the message was pure Carter gumption," says a White House source.~snip~
Carter went public on Tuesday with his dissatisfaction at not being invited, after the White House announced that the official delegation would be made up of the current and two prior sitting Presidents, and Secretary of State Rice.
The U.S. Embassy at the Vatican has also been inundated with requests for assistance to attend the funeral on Friday. According to a State Department source, Carter's people have called there as well. |
According to the Spectator's WH sources, Carter offered to LEAD
the delegation, and when told no he asks the the Vatican and the State
Dept. to intervene. After more no's, he goes public with his whining.
THIS GUY IS SO ARROGANT AND FULL OF HIMSELF, I can't stand him!!!
I trust the Spectator's account of what really happened. Jimmuh got the door slammed in his face!
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:56 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | two Pope's died during Carter's presidency and he didn't have the political courage to attend either funeral. |
He was too busy, giving away the Panama Canal, granting amnesty to deserters, plotting the overthrow of the Shah,
kissing Noreiga's B***, and reporting his visions of UFOs
yet another version the invite - or not-
this version on Drudge yesterday, implies he wanted to take Rosayln, and there was NO room
| Quote: | BUSH PASSED OVER CARTER IN POPE FUNERAL PICK
President Bush selected his father and Bill Clinton over Jimmy Carter for the official delegation attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the Carter Center claimed Late Tuesday.
"President Carter expressed to the White House a desire to attend the Pope's funeral," an official said.
Carter "was informed that the official delegation would be limited to just five people, and there were also others who were eager to attend."
"The Carters always relish the memories of Pope John Paul II being a delightful personal guest at the White House in 1979, on a pope's only visit to our nation's capital city. Subsequently, they visited with His Holiness in the Vatican."
One senior GOP official said that Carter wanted to take his wife Rosalynn along, but was informed that would be impossible. It was unclear if Clinton asked to take along his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. |
_________________
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one of..... We The People |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:48 am Post subject: |
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[quote="kate"] | Quote: | He was too busy, giving away the Panama Canal, granting amnesty to deserters, plotting the overthrow of the Shah,
kissing Noreiga's B***, and reporting his visions of UFOs
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My all time favorite is the cuban criminal population |
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tony54
PO2
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 369
Location: cleveland, ohio
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:52 am Post subject: |
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Slick Willie is almost as power hungry as PIAPS.
I always wondered why he was hanging around with the Bushes so much lately.
He knows he can't be POTUS again, he also knows that if he helps PIAPS become POTUS she will put him in a closet.
I know he wants to be Secretary General of the UN, and he knows Cofi's days are numbered.
What better way to be come Secretary General of the UN than to kiss up to GW and his dad? |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:59 am Post subject: |
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thanks to Gm Strong reminding me of this -I posted this in another thread, but it must be remembered if Jimmuh makes a stink-
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/04/politics/main685337.shtml
| Quote: | | Mr. Bush will be the first sitting president to attend a pope's funeral. In 1978, when two popes died, President Jimmy Carter sent his wife Rosalyn and his mother Mrs. Lillian Carter to lead the delegations |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:07 am Post subject: |
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I came across this article that exposes the REAL Jimmy Carter.
How did this disgusting, shallow man ever become POTUS??
http://www.jfednepa.org/mark%20silverberg/jimmycarter.html
| Quote: | Jimmy Carter: The Untold Story
By Mark Silverberg
The decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award former President Jimmy Carter the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002 requires some serious review. The Committee stated that it was honoring the former president "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." But history tells a different story - that of a political neophyte president who, when it came to conducting domestic and foreign affairs, was way out of his depth.
According to Michael Schoenfeld of Commentary, who reviewed Carter's book Living Faith, "to this day he (Carter) still doesn't know how much he doesn't know." In his four short years in office, things went from bad to worse to terrible. Inflation doubled; short-term interest rates hit a high of 21%. But the soaring misery index was the least, however, of what went wrong. From Lancegate to Billygate, the tone of the presidency fell to depths unheard of since the Harding administration.
His record as President illustrates the folly of pursuing a policy of understanding in a world replete with dictators and despots. He lectured Americans on the foolishness of their "fear of communism"............ and the Soviets responded by invading Afghanistan. He tried to appease the mullahs in Iran, and they responded by holding dozens of Americans hostage, releasing them the moment Ronald Reagan was inaugurated.
In his book, Carter proudly recalls how he formulated policy by sitting in the Oval Office studying "a big globe," endeavoring to see the world "through Soviet eyes". There, across the ocean, was the "beleaguered" Leonid Brezhnev, trapped "in a closed society, surrounded by frozen seas, powerfully armed enemies, and doubtful allies." A primary Carter consideration when negotiating with the Soviet dictator was trying (as he puts it) "to alleviate (Brezhnev's) concerns." Saddam Hussein and every other tyrant of the 20th century would have been thrilled had a U.S. President shown such an "understanding."
In one session, where Carter questioned the Soviets' record on human rights, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko turned the tables and delivered a lecture on the Soviet Union's free medical care, zero unemployment and absence of homelessness. "I couldn't argue," Mr. Carter admits. "We each had a definition of human rights and differences like this must be recognized and understood." Really? Ever read The Gulag Archipelago?
Carter was fully aware that human-rights abuses were more prevalent in the Soviet bloc than in authoritarian third-world countries. But he avoided criticism of Communist abuses because he was afraid of offending the Kremlin. As he wrote in his personal diary: "It's important that he [Brezhnev] understand the commitment I have is to human rights....and that it is not an antagonistic attitude of mine toward the Soviet Union." What Carter failed to see - and perhaps still has not recognized - is that it was the very nature of the Soviet dictatorship that was the problem. If America is committed to human rights, then its policies should reflect antagonism towards those dictatorships that abuse them to remain in power.
Carter's reputation was that of melting in the presence of Communist dictators. As the "human rights president," Carter noted that Yugoslavia's Marshall Tito was "a man who believed in human rights." Carter saluted the dictator as "a great and courageous leader" who had led his people and protected their freedom." He reserved similar remarks for Romania's (now deposed Communist) dictator Nicholai Ceaucescu.
In December 1977, Polish Communist boss Edward Giereck was ushered into the Oval Office. According to the White House transcript of the meeting, he told Gierek, "Our concept of human rights is preserved (ie: safe) in Poland. Carter actually "expressed appreciation for Poland's support for the Helsinki Agreement and its commitment to human rights." He offered no criticism of the Polish Communist government's human-rights record - despite the fact that, one month earlier, the Polish secret police had attacked thousands of workers protesting food price increases. Four people were killed in the melee; hundreds of others were arrested and savagely beaten in prison.
It gets worse. As Jay Nordlinger notes in the National Review Online (October, 2002), "Carter has long enjoyed a reputation as a Middle East sage, owing, of course, to his role in the original Camp David accords. That reputation, however, rests on shaky grounds." Nordlinger points out that Sadat and Begin had their deal worked out before ever approaching Washington. Why did they contact the White House? Prof. Bernard Lewis of Princeton University put it succinctly: “Well, obviously, they needed someone to pay the bill, and who but the United States could fulfill that function?”
No one quite realizes just how passionately anti-Israel Carter was. William Safire has reported that Cyrus Vance acknowledged that, if Carter had had a second term, he would have "sold Israel down the river." In fact, in The Unfinished Presidency, Douglas Brinkley, Carter's biographer and analyst writes, “There was no world leader Jimmy Carter was more eager to know than Yassir Arafat.” The former president “felt certain affinities with the Palestinian: a tendency toward hyperactivity and a workaholic disposition with unremitting sixteen-hour days, seven days a week, decade after decade.” The brutality, the corruption and the human rights abuses to which Arafat and his PLO subjected the Palestinian people were, at best peripheral, and at worst, the fault of the Israelis.
At their first meeting - in 1990 - Carter boasted of his toughness toward Israel, assuring Arafat at one point, “. . . you should not be concerned that I am biased. I am much more harsh with the Israelis.” Arafat, for his part, railed against the Reagan administration. Rosalynn Carter, taking notes for her husband, interjected, “You don’t have to convince us!” Brinkley records that this “elicited gales of laughter all round.” Carter himself, according to Brinkley, “agreed that the Reagan administration was not renowned as promise keepers." Interesting comment, especially to Yassir Arafat.
According to Peter Schweizer in the October issue of the National Review, there is also irony in the Nobel Committee's championing Carter for his commitment to democratic principles. While the ex-president has laudably worked for free and open elections in the developing world, he has also sought foreign influence in American elections to defeat his political enemies.
On repeated occasions during his Presidency, according to numerous Soviet accounts, Carter encouraged Moscow to influence American politics for his benefit or for the detriment of his enemies. Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin recounts in his memoirs how, in the waning days of the 1980 campaign, the Carter White House dispatched Armand Hammer to the Soviet embassy. Explaining to the Soviet Ambassador that Carter was "clearly alarmed" at the prospect of losing to Reagan, Hammer asked for help: Could the Kremlin expand Jewish emigration to bolster Carter's standing in the polls? "Carter won't forget that service if he is elected," Hammer told Dobrynin.
According to Georgii Kornienko, first deputy foreign minister at the time, something similar took place in 1976, when Carter sent Averell Harriman to Moscow. Harriman sought to assure the Soviets that Carter would be "easier to deal with" than Ford, clearly inviting Moscow to do what it could through public diplomacy to help his campaign.
Even when he was out of office, Carter still tried bitterly to encourage Moscow to do damage to his enemies during an election. As Dobrynin recounts, in January 1984, the former president dropped by his residence for a private meeting. Carter was concerned about Reagan's defense build-up and went on to explain that Moscow would be better off with someone else in the White House. If Reagan won, he warned, "There would not be a single agreement on arms control, especially on nuclear arms, as long as Reagan remained in power."
Is it any wonder that this man's presidency ended in a spectacular foreign policy fiasco?
Which brings us to Carter's life after his Presidency.
Jonah Goldberg, in his May, 2002 article in the National Review, notes that while the first President Bush was trying to orchestrate an international coalition to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, Carter wrote a letter to the U.N. Security Council - including Mitterrand’s France and Communist China - asking its members to stymie Bush's efforts.
He told Haitian dictator Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, he was "ashamed of what my country has done to your country." Carter himself has conducted talks with men like Syria's Hafez al-Assad, and North Korea's Kim II Sung both of whom, he writes, "have at times been misunderstood, ridiculed, and totally condemned by the American public." Part of the reason is "their names are foreign, not Anglo-Saxon," he observes.
He endorsed Yasser Arafat's sham election and grumbled about the legitimate vote that ousted Sandinista Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.
Unbelievably, Carter even volunteered to be Arafat's speechwriter
and go-fer, crafting palatable messages for Arafat's Western audiences and convincing the Saudis to continue funding Arafat after the Palestinians sided with Iraq against the United States.
Bet you haven't read that anywhere.
As we see from Living Faith, Carter has consistently conducted a sustained public-relations campaign to repair his tattered reputation. One component has entailed the public performance of true charitable works through Habitat for Humanity - reporters and TV cameras in tow - building homes for the poor and the oppressed, in the American barrios and also in communist Nicaragua, with Sandinista leaders by his side.
A more significant part of his PR campaign has revolved around the Carter Center, set up to promote international understanding. Arabs are heavy-duty funders of the Carter Center, and they get a lot for their money. The philosophy of the Center, according to Carter himself is to "encourage the use of dialogue to resolve disputes - which runs against the American grain......We tend to see conflicts in terms of friend-enemy, angel-devil, and this is one of the major impediments to world peace."
So what conclusions are we to draw?
Sometimes it is necessary to fight a war in order to win peace. But this was never part of the Carter Plan. "Build bridges of understanding" with the communist dictators of yesterday or the Saddam Husseins of today only makes a mockery of the American democratic system and threatens the civilized world. Evil exists. Reagan recognized it; and now Bush II recognizes it. To negotiate with Evil is a mistake under any circumstances.
How a great country came to be led by someone like Jimmy Carter is a historical puzzle that is likely to remain unsolved. One thing is certain - the Nobel Peace Prize Committee disgraced itself when it rewarded Jimmy Carter for his misplaced moral righteousness while its chairman denounced the President of the United States for taking a stand that will actually promote a more peaceful world. |
Carter's misplaced righteousness and coddling of "misunderstood" evil dictators to achieve peace is lunacy.
Give me a 'cowboy' President (derogatory term used by the Europeans)who knows you have to
put a boot in the a$$ of evil tyrants!!!
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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Another example that JIMMY CARTER DOESN'T GET IT.
I remembered there was a time early in Clinton's presidency when
Carter went off on his own to make a deal without any authority of
the U.S. Government. I finally found it.
CARTER MADE THE DEAL WITH NORTH KOREA!! Clueless Carter agreed to pay $4 billion to our enemy to build Nuclear weapons!!
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/printjg20021018.shtml
| Quote: | October 18, 2002
Jonah Goldberg
Carter gets his prize and N. Korea develops nukes
Of all the reactions to North Korea's admission that it has been secretly defying its promise not to develop nuclear weapons -- shock, fear, etc. -- the one most in order is some good old-fashioned finger-pointing.
Let's start with the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. On Oct. 11, the Nobel committee announced it would award its Peace Prize to Jimmy Carter. It was really an un-Peace Prize for George W. Bush, whom the Nobel crowd believes is a foolish warmongering meanie.
"In a situation currently marked by threats of the use of power," intoned the Nobel press release, "Carter has stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international cooperation based on international law, respect for human rights and economic development." Translation: Bush should be more like Carter.
Well, one of the conflict-resolutions that supposedly put Jimmy over the top for winning the prize (over the more-deserving Afghan president, Hamid Karzai) was the one between the United States and North Korea in the early 1990s. When Bill Clinton and Kim Il Sung were squaring off over Pyongyang's nuke program, Carter jetted off to the world's last Stalinist nation to compliment the mass-murdering North Korean dictator as a "vigorous and intelligent" man. He declared of a government that has imposed famines on millions: "I don't see that they are an outlaw nation."
And it was brother Jimmy who had the bright idea of lavishing the North Koreans with aid in exchange for their "cross-our-hearts-and-hope-to-die" promise that they would stop pursuing nuclear weapons technology. Of course, many argue it was Carter's mollycoddling of the North Koreans during his presidency that encouraged them to start their nuclear program to begin with. But hey, that's heavy water under the bridge.
When Carter went to North Korea to strike a deal, he didn't have the support or authority of the U.S. government to agree to anything. That didn't stop him from announcing on television that he'd made a deal. And the fact that the Clinton administration was out of the loop didn't stop Al Gore from persuading Bill Clinton to leap on the proposal, even though it basically surrendered every major American demand, starting with our insistence that North Korea completely and immediately stop its nuclear weapon program.
The final agreement, which Clinton dubbed "a very good deal indeed," called for the United States to provide the North Koreans with $4 billion worth of light-water reactors and $100 million in oil in exchange for a promise to be good. and an assurance that inspectors would be allowed to poke around at some indeterminate point down the road.
At the time, Kang Sok Ju, the chief North Korean negotiator, bragged that "the complete elimination of the existing nuclear program will only come when we have the light-water reactor in our hands." In other words you pay first, we stop later.
The problem with this deal, which prompted The New York Times to declare, "Diplomacy with North Korea has scored a resounding triumph," is the problem with all such deals: It was based on the assumption that evil men willing to murder their own people would never presume to lie to someone like Jimmy Carter. Just as so many thought Hitler wouldn't deceive Chamberlain. The founding Soviet dictator, V.I. Lenin, called the pliant liberals of the West "useful idiots," and the label still has resonance today. |
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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The Balloon Artist
PO3
Joined: 25 Aug 2004
Posts: 262
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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I'm a little late checking in,
Jimmy go pound nails and shut up!!
_________________
What about John Kerry's four months in Vietnam qualify him to be president?
Al Gore was there for five. |
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