Jimmy Carter Wages Peace, George Bush Wages War

Jimmy Carter was awarded a Nobel Prize

Jimmy Carter can not boast of a successful career as a president. There used to be the opinion that he never realized himself as a president. It seems that he has been more successful after he left the White House. The Nobel Prize this year is one of those achievements. Yet, this prize was basically backdated: it was awarded to Carter for his achievements during his presidency.

One of Carter’s achievements in this respect is the conclusion of the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin signed the well-known peace treaty between the two countries in Camp David. The American president did not allow the two leaders leave the territory of the USA for 13 days, until they concluded the peace treaty in September of 1978.

Carter’s activities as president were rather contradictory. This could be seen even at Camp David: the world hoped that the treaty between Israel and Egypt would help to settle the Palestinian problem, but this was not to be. Nothing happened after the Nobel Prize was awarded to three other participants of the Middle East peace process. Who knows how many prizes they will give away until there is peace in the Middle East?

In addition to the Middle East, Carter was very interested in human rights in the Soviet Union. He was tried to force the Soviet leadership make some concessions regarding human rights. At the same time, he worked with the Soviet Union on the START-2 treaty regarding the limitation of strategic nuclear arms. Carter believed that there should be more weapons reduced than was stipulated in the document.

Furthermore, Carter agreed to increase the defense budget in order for the Senate approve the document. This was another of Carter’s contradictions: he actually stood for the reduction of defense spending.

The Soviet Union had its own point of view on the policy of relaxation: it gave Carter an Afghan surprise. Carter started rendering help to Mujahideens, the USA stopped selling grains to the Soviet Union, and American athletes were not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980.

Sixty attendants of the US embassy in Tehran were captured in November of 1979. They had to spend 444 days under arrest; they returned to the United States only on the day of the inauguration of the new president (Ronald Reagan). People were becoming more and more upset with Jimmy Carter. His policy became a good example for others. Carter illustrated how a president is not supposed to act under the conditions of a serious crisis. Ronald Reagan used that to his advantage. He asked Carter on television whether it was normal for terrorists to treat the USA as a third world country. Then Reagan asked Americans if their lives had improved over the four years of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Americans said no, and they elected Reagan.

Jimmy Carter moved out of the White House and started struggling for peace in the whole world. The ex-president founded the Carter Center (the center will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year). The center’s motto is as follows: “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope.” This is Jimmy Carter’s program.

France Presse news agency said that the Carter Center sends observers for elections in various countries, invites feuding factions to negotiate, and promotes democracy and economic cooperation in the whole world. Like before, Carter’s basic concern is the human rights issue. In addition to that, the Carter Center deals with medical education and struggles with tropical diseases. The Center’s budget makes up $27 million a year – private donations, basically. A Nobel Prize will add another million dollars to that sum.

A Nobel Prize was awarded to Jimmy Carter on a contradictory basis as well. The prize was given to Jimmy Carter to acknowledge his achievements and reproach the incumbent president. Carter wages peace, while Bush wages war. Former American presidents never criticize the policy of their successors. However, the Nobel committee has repeatedly criticized Bush's war plans.

Sergey Borisov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov