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CARTER AND THE PALASTINIANS
Jimmy Carter, as a former President, is in the unique position when told by the Jewish lobby to jump, not to be required politically to say “how high”. This is healthy for the US National interest, as well as that of Israel, although there are obviously those who strongly disagree. That disagreement is an important factor to begin the process of a healthy dialog.
President Carter's interview on PBS revealed the inner workings of our State Department as another uncoordinated segment of our federal government. The Israelis who are the top recipients of foreign aid from the US (with Egypt a close second), may be shooting themselves in the foot by snubbing Carter.
It may be that the Israelis see an advantage for Israel in delaying a settlement with Hamas. It gives Israel more time to build housing in the West Bank. It is also handy to have unfriendly neighbors to focus public attention upon as a diversion from too much scrutiny of the shortcomings of the Olmert government.
It took a lot of grit on the part of President Carter to achieve success in the Camp David Accords. Those who think they can successfully manipulate Jimmy Carter may wish they were a little more circumspect.
Americans may have been disappointed by how the Carter Administration handled the hostage crisis, but as a people we don't take kindly to those who think they can snub a former US President.
That goes in spades for the leadership at Foggy Bottom. President Carter's one term in office still afforded him with ample inside knowledge of the workings of the Department of State. The American public is fortunate to have someone with Jimmy Carter's stature to lead the way in an arena filled with secret agendas.
Prime Minister Olmert and his parliamentary leaders could do well to heed the words of Admiral Yamamoto after the Pearl Harbor bombing; “We may have awakened a sleeping giant.” The American people, whose tax dollars are propping up the Israeli economy are deserving of a sincere effort on the part of the Israeli government to make the painful concessions which will resolve the conflict.
The remarks by former Secretary of State George Schultz and the present Undersecretary of State John Negroponte, criticizing President Carter's meetings with Hamas are a clear indication of the extent to which our nation is divided. Instead of utilizing the immense talents of President Carter in a constructive manner, the present and former Foggy Bottom experts, brandishing their political party identification, can only find fault with the former President from the other major party.
Our “house divided” is showing some serious signs of collapse. It's time for the American electorate to place Independent legislators in office to emphasize the point that we are not a nation divided into Democrats and Republicans but stand united as Americans.
Richard Todd Snoqualmie WA 5/03/08
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