Carter blasts Blair, calls Bush admin “worst in history”
Its true that when an establishment figure actually tells the truth in plain terms, minus the anodyne-speak of overly smooth politicians (and outright lies), they perhaps receive slightly more credit than they deserve.
It is somewhat akin to the husband in a traditional role couple being lauded and praise heaped upon him simply if he does the dishes.
So if it appears that the kudos are being liberally handed out here (Jimmy Carter on Palestine, Ron Paul on US policy generally, sans his acceptance of the blowback thesis as it pertains specifically to 911), please keep this in mind. It doesn’t mean an uncritical or wholesale acceptance of everything they might say.
But giving credit where its due, even if its not quite there (as any educator knows) also serves to encourage rather than discourage the person’s efforts. So there is a place for the critics of Carter’s book who quite rightly argue that it doesn’t go far enough, for example, and that there is in fact worse-than apartheid policies practised by Israel, or that Carter’s own foreign and domestic policy was far from perfect. Equally, however, there is a place for acknowledging and encouraging the glass-as-half-full and recognising the results of these efforts.
Well, this is all a somewhat rambling preamble to a short (3 minute) audio clip from Jimmy Carter in which he speaks plainly about his view of Blair’s abominable, subservient role in complicity with the Bush administration neocons in the invasion of Iraq.
Carter, interviewed on Radio 4’s Today programme, calls Blair’s support for Bush “abominable, blind and subservient”. In a completely unwarranted and unnecessary invasion of Iraq, Carter continues, Blair’s support lent credibility to the Bush neocons war. “I think that 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.”
Yes, indeed-y. It comes now as Blair’s successor Brown pledges to pull most (though not all) British troops out of Iraq in a bid to re-gain some of the disaffected Labour voters. If we can’t see him on trial for war crimes, let’s at least hope we see the end of public life for Lord Blair, that “vicious little man” as Robert Fisk has called him, and that he doesn’t go on to an international role (his name has been tossed around to succeed Wolfowitz at the World Bank, by convention a role usually taken up by an American). Stocktake of the Iraq war criminals: Asner (Spain) out. Blair out. Bush, 610 days to go. Howard (Australian PM) to face polls soon, and he is not looking crash hot in his own seat, where I work. Yes, the neocons on Capitol Hill are still around, albeit facing greater scrutiny and hopefully wielding less influence.
Hi Ann!
I hate to post links to my blog on others, so I will email the link to you. Carter has no moral authority whereby to issue such statements–especially when his administration was the preamble to much of the political unrest in this world. People forget though, over time…
I posted a quick collection of Carter Admin failures. Almost every situation we find ourselves in today can be linked to the failures of his administration. We can even thank him for the policy of “pre-emptive strike” that was used with Iraq. President Carter may have lived his life post presidency doing pennance, but it doesn’t erase his heinous record or give him the moral authority to rail against others.
A pitiful, bitter little man.
Regards,
-Jack
Hi Jack,
I appreciate your perspective. I think it’s certainly true that past Presidents records are whitewashed and forgotten or glossed over, and incredibly distorted hagiographies issued after their terms and after they pass on. I will read your links with interest, and hope to learn more about Carter’s Presidential record.
regards
Ann
Stephen Zunes, Carter’s Less Known Legacy
No one ever white washed the history of Carter’s presidency. When Reagan took over the Iranians immediately acquiesced to release the hostages, making Carter the peacemaker look like an ineffectual president. And making Reagan look like the knight in shining armor. Everyone in this barbarous country wanted to nuke Iran after the hostages were released. They had no idea why Iranians had cause to reject U.S. manipulations.
Carter tried to deal morally with Iran and understood that his predecessors in the 1950s inflicted the injustices that came back to haunt his presidency in the 1970s.