Carter Blasts Guantanamo Detention Camp

[norml]

Carter Blasts Guantanamo Detention Camp

Saturday July 30, 2005 5:31 PM


By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD

Associated Press Writer

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) - Former President Jimmy Carter on Saturday said the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the United States.

Speaking at the Baptist World Alliance's centenary conference in Birmingham, central England, Carter also criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq and said it was ``unnecessary and unjust.''

``I think what's going on in Guantanamo Bay and other places is a disgrace to the U.S.A.,'' he told a news conference. ``I wouldn't say it's the cause of terrorism, but it has given impetus and excuses to potential terrorists to lash out at our country and justify their despicable acts.''

Carter said, however, that terrorist acts could not be justified, and that while Guantanamo ``may be an aggravating factor ... it's not the basis of terrorism.''


snip


http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5178313,00.html

[TheFarseer]

1. excuse me if I'm a in a "screw you, Jimmy Carter" kind of mood

That jack-ball supported Cafta and might have led a few democrats to believe that voting for it was OK.

[norml]

3. Can't have everything, sometimes.

I'll give him credit for this.

Too bad about CAFTA though.

[SunDrop23]

21. I'm not happy with Carter right now either.

[WI_DEM]

9. yes screw the one statesman in the democratic party

to see this war for what it is and the conditions in Guantanamo. I guess he can't be 100% pure though--so screw him.

[jobycom]

22. Carter's a saint. When he disagrees with me on something

I usually decide he was right and I was wrong. Not that I disagreed with him on CAFTA.

[TruthIsAll]

36. Why is it, dems and media ho's only speak out in Europe

but are silent as a stone here?

[NeoConsSuck]

39. He has spoken out in america..

the problem is your media won't report it.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Carter is stating the obvious

well, its obvious to most people, except those in the Media and those who have drunk the Kool Aid.

[TahitiNut]

4. Jimmy Carter is, by far, the best ex-President this country has ever had.

If there's ever been a Presidential figure with a "moral compass" it's Jimmy -- who walks the walk rather than just spouting hypocrisy.

[MissWaverly]

5. This is a big step forward

A former president criticizing a current president, remember the big
dog keeps hanging out with Poppy, there has really not been that many
people to stand up and say this is outrageous.

[duhneece]

6. I agree

& I agree with Tahiti Nut that Jimmy Carter is the most moral former-president we've had.

[MissWaverly]

10. he was also a veteran who understood the military

he was also willing to assess the situation for himself, he was not
living in his own reality bubble, the repugs loathed him for the Iran
hostage crisis, well we can see how George's direct approach works so
well in the Middle East.

[hootinholler]

12. Have to agree...

Is here precedent for a former President to speak out about the wrongness of a sitting administration?

I can't remember one, but I'm ignorant.

-Hoot

[MissWaverly]

13. The Republican presidents always use patriotism as a shield

It's hard to objectively criticize someone while they're waving the
flag around. I don't recall any presidents criticizing the current
administration but the Republicans have been in power for 2/3 of my life, so that means that the current president would be a fellow party
members for much of that time. And we all know that Republicans put party loyalty first.

[hootinholler]

15. I don't mean recently,

I mean has there *ever* been a former President critical of a sitting Administration?

-Hoot

[MissWaverly]

17. see quotes below

Teddy Roosevelt criticizing Woodrow Wilson during WWI

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.
Kansas City Star (May 7, 1918)


Here's what Teddy would say about CAFTA, he understood it back in 1912.

We wish to control big business so as to secure among other things good wages for the wage-workers and reasonable prices for the consumers. Wherever in any business the prosperity of the businessman is obtained by lowering the wages of his workmen and charging an excessive price to the consumers we wish to interfere and stop such practices. We will not submit to that kind of prosperity any more than we will submit to prosperity obtained by swindling investors or getting unfair advantages over business rivals.
Source: We Stand At Armageddon, 1912

[wli]

18. link to full speech

We Stand at Armageddon.

You could recite this speech verbatim with 100% relevance to present-day affairs.

[MissWaverly]

20. thanks for the link

another favorite quote from that speech

We have permitted the growing up of a breed of politicians who, sometimes for improper political purposes, sometimes as a means of serving the great special interests of privilege which stand behind them, twist so-called representative institutions into a means of thwarting instead of expressing the deliberate and well thought-out judgment of the people as a whole. This cannot be permitted.

[Mythsaje]

28. I happen to like this line

What is needed is action directly the reverse of that thus confusedly indicated. We Progressives stand for the rights of the people. When these rights can best be secured by insistence upon States' rights, then we are for States' rights; when they call best be secured by insistence upon National rights, then we are for National rights.

[MissWaverly]

31. that's great too

did you notice how often he uses words that are more than 5 letters.

Here's what he said about conservation:

"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying the 'the game belongs to the people.' So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. ...Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method."
A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open, 1916

[Mythsaje]

40. You get the idea

that this guy really 'got' it.

[MissWaverly]

41. Yes, he did and he was for a referendum

He thought there should be a recall mechanism when an elected leader did
not represent the will of the people. It's very frustrating to only have a dialog about policy during the election year, then it becomes carved in stone, you may support candidate x but not on every issue, why is your vote seen as an endorsement of everything. He also said that
the elections needed to be simplified and made easier for the average voter to participate in and he believe in real punishment for those
who were involved in vote rigging.

[xxqqqzme]

19. hey Hoot -

:hi: Thinkin of coming to DC 4 the big doin's on 9/24.

Too bad more attention wasn't paid 2 Carter; his fossil fuel warnings and his energy independence plans.

Don't mess w/ Jimmy!

[mcscajun]

48. Yes, that would be Theodore Roosevelt

who openly criticized both President Taft and President Wilson.

One of my favorite quotes is from an editorial written during WWI, when he was in open disagreement with Wilson's policies:

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."

"Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star", 149
May 7, 1918

[hootinholler]

49. Timing is everything...

Since you guys have edcated me, this AM on 'The Prarie Home Companion" a few of his speeches were read.

I knew there should be other reasons than the environment to like Teddy.

-Hoot

[Algorem]

7. That was quick.He must've just heard about it.Has Clinton yet?

[MissWaverly]

11. I can see why a former president would stand back

and not try to run the presidency in his retirement, but the situation
has gotten beyond an average administration, it is now time to stand up
and speak the truth especially when these individuals have gutted the
checks and balances meant to preserve our democracy.

[jobycom]

23. It's a big step for a former president to contradict a sitting president

Bush, Reagan, Ford and Nixon were mostly silent on Clinton's policies, too. It's not just a matter of respect, it's a wise foreign policy. When world leaders see US presidents feuding, they think the government is weakened. It undermines all diplomatic efforts, and makes wild confrontations more likely. It's the same reason Congress doesn't usually feud over foreign issues.

I think the Republican impeachment farce was part of the reason Clinton had so many foreign affairs problems at the end of the 90s. When Clinton tried to threaten nations like Serbia and Iraq, the leaders just laughed at him, thinking he was too weak to do anything. I think that's also part of what happened with UBL and the Taliban. Clinton wanted to get UBL, as his actions prove, but the Taliban and even Pakistan knew that Clinton was feuding with Congress. They understood the whole "wag the dog" conundrum Clinton was in.

Carter has spoken out a few times against Bush's invasion, and now about Guantanamo. He's spoken about it before in more veiled ways. He's probably spoken about it directly, too, but our media tends to ignore anyone who criticizes Bush.

[Barkley]

8. Spoken like a true Noble Peace Prize Laureate!

Not only are places like Gitomo unnecessary, they increase the chances that our troops when captured will be tortured.

This torture policy is unhumane and indefensable

[Maccagirl]

14. But, Bernie Goldberg says that Mr. Carter

is one of the top 100 people "Screwing Up America". How dare we listen to a raging radical like Jimmy Carter!

:sarcasm: :rofl:

[Burried News]

16. For those we a strong stomach - thanks Jimmy.

Incentive Programs for interrogators:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/03/03_2005_Bazelon.html
"“So we came up with this technique we called ‘monstering.’ We said that if you put one interrogator in with one prisoner and scrupulously gave them the same water and food and bathroom breaks, the interrogation could go on as long as the interrogator could stand it. Of course, we were hoping that the interrogator would be fully rested, whereas the prisoner would have just come off the battlefield.”

Monstering wasn’t in the Army manual, and before he came to Bagram, Mackey wouldn’t have imagined improvising techniques that deviated from his training. But in Afghanistan, he increasingly felt compelled to produce intelligence that might help his fellow soldiers. “When I arrived, I would never have countenanced monstering,” he told me. “But we saw how little success we were having against a determined enemy. So we went to what we thought was the absolute edge.”"

[Rose Siding]

24. "aggrevating factor"- Well put, Jimmy

:loveya:

[wookie294]

25. Imagine if * was president in 1979

Iran would have turned into a quagmire with W in charge in 1979. President Carter's ability to think with his head, rather than his balls, prevented an Iranian quagmire back when the hostages were taken. Alot of moronic presidents would have sent the troops into that hornet's nest. Carter should be commended for how he handled the hostage crisis (except for Desert One).

[MissWaverly]

26. I do respect President Carter

and I think that you are right about the Middle East, I do not think
that we can win the war on terror with military might, it has to
be done diplomatically, something I think we can not do now.

[struggle4progress]

27. A really Christian President -- much hated by conservatives. eom

[DanCa]

29. Jimmy Carter is a TRUE Christian

Not like this warmongering gibbon that we have in the white wash house now.

[Fly by night]

30. I'd vote for Carter again for President in a fast heartbeat!

And he's probably around the same age now as Reagan was in office. Think of the possibilities -- a bright, moral, hardworking, sensitive, worldly and yet grounded President who is as respected worldwide as any living American (I would expect).

He makes Duh-bya look like a kindergartner stumbling through "My Pet Goat".

[Chicago Democrat]

32. CARTER FOR PRESIDENT!

I don't care how old he is!

[MissWaverly]

33. whoever is the candidate, let it be a man of people not lobbyists

I want someone who will do what he says he will do, someone who believes
in a reality based viewpoint, the UN, the constitution and has experience to do the job. Please, let it not be someone who has just
retired from professional sports or a star from a popular TV show.

[classysassy]

34. Carter's blast

really upset the hatemongers at LuciAn.com.All of the Limpbaugh and LuciAn slimeballs are foaming at the mouth.It does me good,to check out those slugs once or twice a month,just to remind me how far the dingbats,dittoheads and other Bush supporters sunk.

[classysassy]

35. that should read have sunk.

[cal04]

37. online polls

Do you agree with President Carter's comments about Iraq and Guantanamo Bay?

http://www.ksat.com/news/4790290/detail.html?rss=ant&psp=news

http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/news/4790290/detail.html

[Olney Blue]

38. Carter speaks with moral and intellectual authority....

sigh. I really miss that.

[jmatthan]

42. Thank you Jimmy Carter

For more

http://jmpolitics.blogspot.com

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[snot]

43. I'm a fan of J. Carter's, but too have been disappointed that

he hasn't had more to say lately. And I don't think it's just that the media's not covering it. He's got the Carter Foundation; if he wants to make a statement, it can at least be made available at their website.

He was on a commission with Ford re- election integrity in the U.S. since before the 2004 election, and he made a statement to the effect that, in some areas, our elections would not have met the standards that the Carter Foundation would apply in its work monitoring whether elections in other countries were fair, and that this was pretty pathetic given that we're not exactly third world. It was a nice statement.

But he didn't talk about the real dangers involved in electronic machines here; and recently, he resigned from the commission he was on with Ford, without any explanation or statement as far as I know. I'm still wondering what the heck is going on.

[Swamp Rat]

44. Geaux Jimmy Carter!!!

:kick:

[Pachamama]

46. Oi Swamp Rodent!

:hug:

[Pachamama]

45. Aah, a "real" Prez...why can't Clinton speak out like Carter?

Oh, I forgot...he's now a "Bush Son" of Babs... :puke:

[jazzjunkysue]

47. It's in my local paper: The Journal News Westchester County, NY

But it's not online. The good news is it's on page 3 with a huge title: "Carter Calls Guantanamo and embarrassment, and Iraq war unjust" Cassandra Vinograd, AP. So, maybe it'll get picked up, but, monday would be a bad day for that.

Way to go, Jimmy! He really is a christian, unlike the chimperor.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

50. Thanks for that, Jimmy Carter...

Too bad he supported CAFTA though.

[demobrit]

51. President Carter is a real statesman

There comes a time in history when a President can really be called Mr President even after retirement from this great office , President Carter is that man .
He has grown in stature over recent years and has been recognised in foreign circles as a great ambassador for your country.