Open mouth, insert foot- Carter does it again

There is something seriously wrong with James Earl Carter, Jr. There has to be. Jimmy just can't keep his mouth shut. (Though it looks like he's doing a pretty good job in this photo.) You would think as an ex-President he would have a deeper understanding of the whole notion of protocol and diplomacy, but it's obvious he hasn't a clue.

So, this time, Carter told the Democrat-Arkansas Gazette that President Bush's international relations is the "worst in history". In addition to bashing Bush's environmental policies he criticized the administration's faith-based initiative funding, calling it "quite disturbing." He also had the gall to criticize Tony Blair, when asked by BBC radio what he thought of Blair's support of Bush, saying it was "Abominable. Loyal. Blind. Apparently subservient. And I think the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world." Carter also faulted Bush

"for having "zero peace talks" in Israel," adding that the current "administration "abandoned or directly refuted" every negotiated nuclear arms agreement....by other Presidents."

Perhaps he feels compelled to criticize Bush because he doesn't want to go down as "the" worst President in U.S. history, as so many already maintain. In fact, some have pegged him as "the worst" ex-President ever. Or maybe he's just stupid, or thinks we're stupid. As if claiming someone else is "the worst" will somehow make it so. Regardless of what you think of GW Bush, he's by no means worse than former Prez Jimmah Carter. In fact many of the major tragedies of the world today, can be directly linked to Carter's Presidency. Besides the onus of having the resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism commence on his watch, let's take a look at a few instances of Carter's brilliance in foreign policy, both during and after his Presidency.

A few from CommonDreams.org:

President Carter, who came to office in early 1977, not long after Indonesia invaded and annexed the tiny island nation of East Timor, increased military aid to the Indonesian dictatorship by 80%. This equipment including OV-10 Bronco counter-insurgency aircraft that was crucial in the rounding up of much of the country’s civilian population into concentration camps. Most of the 200,000 East Timorese deaths as a result of Indonesia’s occupation took place during the Carter Administration, in large part as a result of this military aid.

Carter also dramatically increased military aid to the Moroccan government of King Hassan II, whose forces invaded its southern neighbor, the desert nation of Western Sahara, barely a year before the former Georgia governor assumed office. Carter fought Congress to restore military aid to Turkey that had been suspended after their armed forces seized the northern third of the Republic of Cyprus in 1974. Carter promised that the resumption of aid would give Turkey the flexibility to withdraw. Turkish occupation forces remain there to this day.

Under President Carter, the United States vetoed consecutive UN Security Council resolutions to impose sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. Ignoring calls from the democratic South African opposition to impose such pressure, Carter took the line of American corporate interests by claiming U.S. investments – including such items as computers and trucks for the South African police and military – somehow supported the cause of racial justice and majority rule. (Barely five years after Carter left office, the United States imposed sanctions against South Africa by huge bipartisan Congressional majorities and no longer vetoed similar UN efforts.)

Carter sent military aid to the Islamic fundamentalist mujahadeen to fight the leftist government in Afghanistan in the full knowledge that it could prompt a Soviet invasion. According to his National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, it was hoped that by forcing the Soviets into such a counter-insurgency war would weaken America’s superpower rival. This decision, however, not only destroyed much of Afghanistan, but the entire world is feeling the ramifications to this day.

As president, Carter opposed Palestinian statehood, refused to even meet with Palestinian leaders, and dramatically increased military aid to the right-wing Israeli government of Menachem Begin. When Israel violated an annex to the Camp David Accords by resuming construction of illegal settlements on the occupied West Bank, Carter refused to enforce the treaty despite being its guarantor. Carter also dramatically increased military aid to the increasingly repressive Egyptian regime of Anwar Sadat.

Carter was also a strong supporter of Philippine dictator Fernando Marcos, Pakistani General Zia al Huq, Saudi King Faud and many other dictators. He blocked human rights legislation initiated by then-Congressman Tom Harkin and others. He increased U.S. military spending, militarized the Indian Ocean, and withdrew the SALT II Treaty from the Senate before they even took a vote.

From SFGate.com:

When it comes to the belligerence of North Korea, Carter's past involvement has done considerable damage. In the early 1990s, Carter traveled to North Korea on another of his "peacekeeping missions" and brokered a deal with dictator Kim Il Sung. He did so without the blessing of the Clinton administration, although, at the behest of then-Vice President Al Gore, President Clinton later agreed to adopt Carter's deal. The United States ended up providing aid, oil and, incredibly, material for building light-water nuclear reactors to the North Koreans in exchange for their abandoning their nuclear weapons program. The problem is they didn't abandon their nuclear weapons program; they just said they did. And in 2002, they admitted as much. Still, to this day, Carter claims that his approach was a success and that it was President Bush's inclusion of North Korea in the famous "axis of evil" speech that led to current leader Kim Jong Il's hostility toward America.

The fruits of Carter's history with Iran are even more rotten. Carter's abandonment of the shah in 1977-78 helped lead to the Islamic revolution (and the murder or imprisonment of many of the Iranian leftists who had supported overthrowing the shah), the emboldening of the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan and the rise of radical Islam worldwide. His botched approach to the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 inspired Islamic terrorists all over the world, culminating in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Besides the dictators mentioned above, Carter has cozied up to a bevy of others from Cuba's Fidel Castro to Venezuela's charmer, Hugo Chavez.

Now, let's take a look at the Misery Index, an economic indicator (created by economist Arthur Okun) to assess the nation's economic health. It's the unemployment rate plus the inflation rate. Obviously, the higher the rate, the worse the economy. There also seems to be a correlation between increased crime and a higher Misery Index. So, take a guess, was it higher during Carter or Bush's administration (2001-2005)?

Bush had a 7.98% M.I. average during his first term, and as of April 2007, it was 7.07%! Carter, on the other hand, had the highest M.I. average of all Presidents since Truman, with a whopping 16.27%. More than double Bush's average! So it looks like there was more economic misery under Carter's rule, than Bush's.

And all this venom came spewing out of Jimbo's mouth during a promotional junket for a new audiobook series, "Leading a Worthy Life: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter." Um, Jimmy, I think you could learn a few things from your own book!