OpEdNews » Jimmy Carter: Human Rights Godsend Will Criticize Even His Own USA

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Tag(s): Bush Torturer-in-Chief; Torture; Torture; Torture; Torture AntiTorture Legislation
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October 11, 2007 at 21:12:46

Jimmy Carter: Human Rights Godsend Will Criticize Even His Own USA

by John E. Carey Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Yesterday, in interviews on CNN and the BBC, former President of the United States Jimmy Carter said the U.S. tortures prisoners. He said President Bush has made up his own definition for torture that include head slapping and water boarding. And he unleashed a broadside against Vice President Cheney.

It is hard to fault a former president, any former president, especially one with the sterling record of good works like Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Foundation.

Yet former President of the United States Jimmy Carter has made many controversial remarks and is clearly unafraid of attacking his own country’s policies on the world stage – acts considered taboo for almost two centuries. There once was an unwritten rule that American leaders should discuss their differences at home and then stand united when traveling overseas or facing world opinion.

No longer.

President Carter also said on National Public Radio that he had no problem dealing with the maker of genocide in Darfur, Sudan’ President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir. When the NPR moderator asked President Carter if Bashir might be “using him,” Mr. Carter said he would be used if that helped alleviate the suffering of the people of Darfur.

We don’t always agree with the 83 year old former president, but no man stands taller in human rights than Jimmy Carter.

And don’t overlook the fact that President Carter is making many of these interviews happen because he is selling his book just now.

Jimmy Carter on the BBC:
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=i&q=jimmy+carter&go.x=38&go.y=10

Jimmy Carter Condemns Sudan for Darfur:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071004/ap_on_re_
af/darfur_20

Peace and Freedom thought: For me, a big chunk of me agrees with Dennis Miller who says Gitmo is like Vegas. What happens in Gitmo: stays in Gitmo. We are in a war…..

http://peace-and-freedom.blogspot.com/

John E. Carey is the former president of International Defense Consultants, Inc.

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6 comments

Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as o...

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Rob KallRob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as o...

to see more of bio, click on member name

War?

We're not in a war. We're occupying Iraq.

Bush and Cheney are in a "Folie a Deux" fantasy that they are at war. They are destroying America, killing our troops by the thousands and Iraqis by the hundreds of thousands. But it's not a war. It's paranoia and fear.

We need more senior statesmen and retired Generals Speaking out about the "war," which is really an occupation of a country engaged in a civil war, about the war crimes perpetrated by Bush, Cheney and their administration...

It is patriotic to speak out when your nation is led by criminals who break the law, the violate basic laws of humanity, and it is correct to speak in other nations and their media when the media at home fail to do their job to hold the administration up to full scrutiny and coverage.

by Rob Kall (807 articles, 3921 quicklinks, 332 diaries, 1702 comments) on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 9:20:05 PM

A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

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Jan BaumgartnerA native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

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Incredible!

To think that any American should stifle their opinions during any time, especially during an illegal occupation, is nothing short of absurd, if not frightening.

Perhaps if a statesman who embraced honesty, compassion and led with a strong moral and ethical foundation, say someone like Jimmy Carter, were in the White House today, we might not be in the mess we're in.

To suggest that silence = patriotism is very un-American indeed.

by Jan Baumgartner (52 articles, 136 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 249 comments) on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 10:32:55 PM

houston liberal, professional, self employed, believe that liberal means social justice, economic fairness, and human rights trump economic concerns.
Houston Radicalhouston liberal, professional, self employed, believe that liberal means social justice, economic fairness, and human rights trump economic concerns.

carter is right

1st. we are not in a war, we are illegal occupiers of another country. The government there was toppled 4 years ago. The invasion of Iraq was illegal, check the Constitution, Article 6, paragraph 2, the part on treaties. The UN Chater is such a treaty (I know that a lot of righties hate the UN, but too bad). International law is part of the Charter and in fact was written by the US. The cornerstone of international law is the Nuremburg Principles which say that the number one worst crime on the planet is an unprovoked invasion.

2nd, Carter wasn't attacking the US, he was stating facts of what thje Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld cabal have done. The Nazis were hung not for genocide, but for their illegal invasion. Read Supreme Court Justice Jackson's words!

3rd, I'd bet that Mr. Carey didn't have any problem criticizing Clinton. Was probably one of the many righties who were calling to withdraw from Sudan one day after Blackhawk down. "Cut and run" is what they said.

by Houston Radical (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 82 comments) on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 2:12:23 AM

A writer is a rogue goose. All other gees fly in a flock formation; every goose knows his place and time for honking. The rogue goose is undisciplined. He leaves the formation indiscriminately to have a look at it from aside. He roams back and forth, takes a peep at the leader, honks a little bit from behind, distracts everyone and writes on what he sees. Time passes and as he wants to return back to his place he discovers someone else there. Thus he either has to wait until they land for rest...

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Mark SashineA writer is a rogue goose. All other gees fly in a flock formation; every goose knows his place and time for honking. The rogue goose is undisciplined. He leaves the formation indiscriminately to have a look at it from aside. He roams back and forth, takes a peep at the leader, honks a little bit from behind, distracts everyone and writes on what he sees. Time passes and as he wants to return back to his place he discovers someone else there. Thus he either has to wait until they land for rest...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Mr Carey is losing himself

Here comes a statement first praising Carter ( no matter how through the teeth) and then ,' Gitmo is Las Vegas'. It certainly looks like Mr. Carey is losing himself and needs help. Dennis Miller, of course, had lost himself long ago.

This is not ad hominem. As I have said before any nation which 'discusses' torture in any way other than pure negative statement of horror is not a nation but a mob. That last little remark of Mr. Carey's shows much more than all his previous articles combined. It shows that the mob mentality is alive and well not only in the drunken morons of the types of Miller but also in the seemingly 'educated' heads of people like Carey.

I was not just delighted to hear Carter saying what he said but immensely relieved that it happened. Of course, the proper way to say it was to say that Bush was a sick moron. But Carter is too polite for that. I am not that polite:anyone who in any way commits or endorses a torture of another person no matter in what form and no matter under what pretense is not human and belongs to the asylum.

End of the story.

by Mark Sashine (51 articles, 19 quicklinks, 244 diaries, 3453 comments) on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 8:39:41 AM

Is a 34 year retired educator with a Masters Degree in Counseling - a free-lance writer with articles in Spanish and English Guideposts, Mothering, Oklahoma Observer, Oklahoma Gazette, Westview, Oklahoma Reader, The Lookout, Christian Standard ... . The author has the largest number of published "letters" in the history of Time magazine and NEA Today. Just had an LTTE in NEWSWEEK in December, 2007. Dale W. Hill is married with 5 children, 4 grand-children, one foster child, and 4 foster grandchi...

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Dale HillIs a 34 year retired educator with a Masters Degree in Counseling - a free-lance writer with articles in Spanish and English Guideposts, Mothering, Oklahoma Observer, Oklahoma Gazette, Westview, Oklahoma Reader, The Lookout, Christian Standard ... . The author has the largest number of published "letters" in the history of Time magazine and NEA Today. Just had an LTTE in NEWSWEEK in December, 2007. Dale W. Hill is married with 5 children, 4 grand-children, one foster child, and 4 foster grandchi...

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Only 4 comments?

I can't believe that we have only had 4 comments on this one. I just slammed a kinfolk for sending spam my way about Hillary. BILL CLINTON LEAVES TRUTH OUT (who would have thunk it?)

“I don’t give a goddamn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.”

“Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.”

“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!” Quoted

Only 4 comments. Whose kidding who?

by Dale Hill (58 articles, 0 quicklinks, 101 diaries, 347 comments) on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 4:22:20 PM

Jim Freeman's op-ed pieces and commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, International Herald-Tribune, CNN, The New York Review, The Jon Stewart Daily Show and a number of magazines.
Jim FreemanJim Freeman's op-ed pieces and commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, International Herald-Tribune, CNN, The New York Review, The Jon Stewart Daily Show and a number of magazines.

CARTER'S OBLIGATION TO CRITICIZE

"There once was an unwritten rule that American leaders should discuss their differences at home and then stand united when traveling overseas or facing world opinion."

That sounds to me like a comment from someone who hasn't been overseas. Stand united with whom? Dick Cheney on his way to Iran? George Bush torturing his perceived enemy and absolving himself from the law with signing statements?

The salvation of what is left of this fine nation rests with those who will stand and tell the truths, when others cower behind a perception of patriotism.

He is no patriot who remains silent while his country is destroyed.

by Jim Freeman (108 articles, 51 quicklinks, 221 diaries, 382 comments) on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 10:27:10 AM