A flailing President and a failed Presidency best sums up the tenure of Jimmy Carter in the White House. A one term President who's naiveity was surpassed only by his intellectual bewilderment. A Don Quixote mentality without the heart to do battle.

BIRMINGHAM, England — Former President Jimmy Carter said Saturday 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.

Carter also criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq as "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 at the Baptist World Alliance's centenary conference in Birmingham, England.

"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."

Critics of President Bush's administration have long accused the U.S. government of unjustly detaining terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on the southeastern tip of Cuba. Hundreds of men have been held indefinitely at the prison, without charge or access to lawyers.

"What has happened at Guantanamo Bay ... does not represent the will of the American people," Carter said. "I'm embarrassed about it, I think its wrong. I think it does give terrorists an unwarranted excuse to use the despicable means to hurt innocent people."

Companion OpiniPundit

Posted by: Traderrob at 04:49 PM | Comments (29) | Add Comment
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1 As Presidents go, Carter made a great civilian.

Posted by: Jim at July 30, 2005 05:23 PM (ponKd)

2 Yeah and what's worse I actually voted for him. The last Democrat I ever voted for. Two terms of Carter and the country may have never recovered. In some small way owe the Mullahs thanks

Posted by: bill at July 30, 2005 05:52 PM (QJhZY)

3 Jimmy Carter convinced me to switch from being a Democrat to Republican. The ineptness of his administration was devastating to this country.

Posted by: Gary Aminoff at July 30, 2005 07:56 PM (mU+Tt)

4 So, your theory is the Iraq war is justified because you don't like Jimmy Carter? Makes perfect nonsense as most people who aren't looking at the facts do. It's called atack the attacker to make your point. What your point is I don't know other than Jimmy Carter, in your belief, was a horrible President so he must be wrong. Bush, who isn't even our elected president, is justified because he said so. Which also makes no sense. Hopefully the people that really care about America will wake up and see what's happened to them before it's too late. Hopefully they won't continue to attack someone, who by the way on a Nobel Peace Prize, who just might be right but they don't agree with. We are even though. I don't like George Bush. I like humanitarians instead of whatever you want to call what we have in the White House now.

Posted by: Shae Whiggens at July 30, 2005 08:23 PM (h7g5W)

5 Carter is trying to tell all of you something, it pays to listen!

Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 30, 2005 09:19 PM (ScqM8)

6 The most crooked President in the history of America. He sold me on his plan to do away with the IRS and install an 12% flat tax. I only voted for this crook once. But it was the worst lapse of judgement in my life. What a scoundrel!

Posted by: Rod Stanton at July 30, 2005 09:21 PM (Z6yVb)

7 Shae, your paragraph contains so many idiotic statements, they aren't even worthy of taking the time to attack individually. Carter was an inept President. He, himself, characterized the economy under his own adminstration as being in a 'malaise'. Even most democrats think he was a bad President. And maybe you're too busy organizing your next PETA rally, but the election was on all the TV channels last November and Bush was, indeed, elected to the office of President with a record vote total of over 63 million and more than 50% of the popular vote - which Clinton didn't accomplish in either of his elections. So, get over it already. By the way, the Nobel Prize is awarded by the same type of Euros that are in the UN. It's pretty well-known that Carter has never met a dictator he didn't like. I guess since you don't keep up on current events such as US elections, I'll go out on a limb and guess that you weren't aware that any time a third-world dictator wants his election 'certified', Carter is already on speed-dial. Unbelievable. The audacity to compare Carter to any of our good Presidents is beyond comprehension. Any discussion of Carter should only be whether he is just the worst modern day President or the worst of all-time. I'm going remind you again. Bush won the election. You're opinion of him is in the minority. Get used to that losing feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Posted by: slug at July 30, 2005 09:43 PM (IKLwc)

8 Peanut Jim is the only president ever to have a new word coined just to describe the condition of the economy during his watch; stagflation, a combination of stagnated growth and runaway, triple digit inflation. He also presided over the ruin of the CIA and the military. He is also a traitor, as he went to Russia in 1984 to try to convince our enemies to help defeat Regan. He is a lowlife piece of shit who should be hanged and publicly exhibited for the amusement of the crows as an example.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at July 30, 2005 09:53 PM (0yYS2)

9 Carter doesn't just jack his jaws, he works. He wasn't a very good president, but that doesn't mean whatever he says should be automatically ridiculed and discounted. A lot of people actually agree with him about cuba, on both the right and left.

Posted by: Adam at July 30, 2005 10:44 PM (5DbtM)

10 Carter feels we should do the same thing now that he did back when he was Pres when the hostages were taken...nothing, but sit back and whine and beg....spineless bastard....go back to the peanut farm and take care of youre drunken brother, Billy....maybe he should go to Iraq and build houses there for the Iraqi people and do something constructive for the war effort instead of trying to knock it all down

Posted by: THANOS35 at July 30, 2005 11:04 PM (9gFP6)

11 Carter is a perfect example of the liberal leftist religious whack job. These are the same people who have led the divestment campaign against Israel by the Anglican Church. One wonders whether any of these people have ever read any history, much less the Bible that they claim allegiance to. They seek to blame the US for every problem in the World. You will never hear them condemn the terrorists or the thugs. Carter has also done irreparable harm to democracy throughout the World as he goes around and supposedly oversees elections to make sure they are fair. He has never seem a dictator he didn't like.(Castro, Mugabe, etc.) The real problem is that he lends legitimacy to these thugs. The fact that he is able to do these things shows how fragile democracy is in the World. He should not be tolerated by either his fellow Democrats or the Bush Administration.

Posted by: jesusland joe at July 30, 2005 11:19 PM (DDXXI)

12 Jhimmi Carter, who so holds the office of the President in such contempt he travels the world and undermines it, is a fine contemporary example of the Midrash adage: “He who becomes compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.” He is one of those grand humanitarians who loves The People and despises individuals.

Posted by: Darleen at July 31, 2005 02:06 AM (FgfaV)

13 So the "Jawa Report" takes a lesson from Karl Rove's playbook, I see. It's the one titled, "Dealing with upleasant facts." Let's see what Rove has to say about that... "Whenever the message is not what we're trying to force on the American people, attack the messenger. Worked great on Wilson." Too bad for you guys that Carter, in this instance, is spot-on correct. There is no justification for the Iraq War. No WMD, no nukes, no Saddam-al-qaida connection. Nothing. No reason for us to be there. And he's absolutely right on Gitmo. Since it's only possible to support the Bush administration through an act of religious faith that requires one to eschew all evidence in favor of glib talking points, try this one: American's don't torture people. Repeat until it takes hold.

Posted by: The Raven at July 31, 2005 07:14 AM (2pA4p)

14 "So the "Jawa Report" takes a lesson from Karl Rove's playbook, I see. It's the one titled, "Dealing with upleasant facts." Let's see what Rove has to say about that..." This commmentary does not neccessarily represent the opinion Jawa Report or Rusty. The good Dr. has been kind enough to let me guest blog on his site. The opinions expressed our mine. You'll have to ask Rusty what his opinions are on the subject.

Posted by: traderrob at July 31, 2005 08:41 AM (3al54)

15 Raven, but evidently Americans do slander people without evidence. Examples being Carter, and yourself.

Posted by: SPQR at July 31, 2005 08:42 AM (xauGB)

16 Why DoesnÂ’t Former President Jimmy Carter go to Iraq? And build houses could it be racism does he not love the Piece Loving Arabs. I am sure he would have a lot to talk about with old Saddam. Saddam Hussein must be feeling mighty lonely puttering around his garden writing his poetry tearing the wings off of flyÂ’s and thinking now you are just like me Mr. fly as a tear runs down his cheek. Lonely days waiting for his meals to be served that delicious US Army chow that thirty million starving African would gladly give their right arm to be eating to. Support the Jimmy Carter challenge send him to Iraq to build houses. Please contact the Habitat for Humanity And tell them Iraq needs their help send Jimmy carter to Iraq to build houses. http://www.habitat.org/ publicinfo@habitat.org.

Posted by: Zebrab5 at July 31, 2005 09:20 AM (DoxEP)

17 Utterly irrelevant, killing the messenger, thereby ignoring the message. Let's talk about what former President Carter was reported to have said: 1. Guantanamo abuses are an embarassment that give terrorists an excuse to attack the US. You find the abuses at Guantanamo one of the great achievements of the Bush administration? Do you deny they feed anti-American propaganda efforts? Carter, of course, is absolutely right. 2. The Iraq war was unnecessary and unjust. There were no wmd's the only immediately imminent threat; the rest - the cakewalk, the flowers and kisses - is just neocon speculation which has no basis in consensual reality. Furthermore, Saddam had nothing to do with al Qaeda terrorism. Once again, Carter is right; the Bush/Iraq war was unnecessary. As for being unjust, which sound a little odd, let's not forget the full story of Fallujah has yet to be told publicly. Independent observers compared what happened there to Dresden. Diss the messenger all you want. But sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with the message. And Carter's absolutely right.

Posted by: tristero at July 31, 2005 11:46 AM (eCSS7)

18 This whole diary is an exercise in third-grade revisionist history. Containing Carter's presidency into beaten-to-death cliches his critics pinned on him long ago. Let's not forget that he was the original dark-horse populist Christian from the south who served in the Navy as a nuclear expert and was well grounded as the guy next door who you could trust for straight answers. He was the guy who honestly tried to grapple with the looming energy crisis and the danger to National Security our dependance on foreign oil is. He was guilty of being too far ahead of his time when most americans longed for a simple black and white delusion the Reagan presidency offered. Us against the World. We fell for it and continue to pay like village idiots who can't muster up enough sophistication to know even where Iraq is located on a map. Yeah, he was a "traitor and piece of shit"?! What does that say about your complete inability to lend any reasonable light on his service to our country? This President may not have been politically succesful enough to justify the laurels of who we judge to be great based on "effectiveness". But those metrics are elusive as far as history is concerned. He well may go down as the Greatest President in terms of honesty, evenhandedness, judgement, and perseverence. Too many people even today have to much respect for this man to accept the comments here as anything but flat out hysterical and bogus.

Posted by: edsdet at July 31, 2005 12:54 PM (ymlbU)

19 My reply is way to long ... just go here for it. http://jonathanandwanda.blogspot.com/2005/07/sadam-terror-ties-for-dummies.html

Posted by: Jonathan at July 31, 2005 01:07 PM (M7kiy)

20 What Guantanamo abuses are you people talking about? The only abuse I see is what our soldiers have to take from these thugs they are guarding down there. Of course, the propaganda put out by Carter, a useful idiot if there ever was one, has definitely given the jihadis all the ammunition they need to promote their cause. Al-Jeezera and all the other Arab propaganda outlets promote the jihad agenda by the hour. CNN and other US outlets give aid and comfort to jihad tv by reporting minor abuses as if it is torture. They then turn around and glorify these thugs who are chopping people's heads off. Day after day, hour after hour, the jihad TV networks report the alleged abuse of Arabs and Muslims, but never report the terror, murder, and general mayhem committed by these people in Iraq, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Phillipines, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Britain, Denmark, and many other places in the World. Religion of Peace my ass. You useful idiots on the left have an agenda also. You really hate the US and want it to fail. That's ok with me, you just ought to have the guts to say it.

Posted by: jesusland joe at July 31, 2005 01:09 PM (DDXXI)

21 Jimmy Carter is the original hugs not guns President. The list of his failures looks like a French History lesson. His experiences in the Navy predate his experiences from the time he found God and was saved. WW2 Jimmy was more likely to nuke someone than the religous sellout who became president. He failed to become Gov of Georgia, until he began lying to the blacks in the south about his anti-racism beliefs. He used the blacks in Georgia to gain office, and then drove the state into debt to create the new Georgia order. Fortunately, we all recovered, and are now on a true path that has achieved equality. He is blind and unworthy of a place in the worlld forum. The fact he was able to broker the peace between Isreal and Egypt only shows how desperately the two countries wanted it to begin with. He shames us in Georgia with his back stabbing rhetoric, and will only truley serve his country best wne he meets his maker.

Posted by: Kstumpf at July 31, 2005 03:18 PM (1hq2l)

22 Mr. Carter, what foreign policy injustice of your Administration was responsible for the seizing of Americans in Tehran in 1979?

Posted by: Gordon at July 31, 2005 03:34 PM (dEFhD)

23 Pete Fischer has an execellent commentary, here is a snippet http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/fisher/050731 But what terrorists love are Liberals who side with them against their own nation and call for talks and peace. Because they know it gives them more time to plan, more time to amass weapons of destruction, and more time to catch them off guard. After all, the last time we had a spineless president; it gave the terrorist world 444 days to gain face in their own dark world for having bought the USA shame by kidnapping our citizens. Take your little grudge and use that anger to do something constructive, but leave the protection of this nation to those who have the will and the backbone to do just that. We have little patience for criticism from someone who failed to live up to his own oath of office. It is not action that incites these monsters, it is the inaction that emboldens them to continue striking while they hope and pray another Liberal will get into office and "talk" long enough for them to become stronger for their next strike.

Posted by: traderrob at July 31, 2005 04:04 PM (3al54)

24 Exactly. The peoples and culture of that region respect backbone. Cowardess acts (or non-actions) as were done under the Clinton administration are what led to them being emboldened to act as they have towards the US over the past years ... beginning with the first trade center bombing when Clinton did nothing about it.

Posted by: Jonathan at July 31, 2005 04:27 PM (M7kiy)

25 So, Bush attacking the wrong country and stirring up a hornest nest is better than what Clinton did? Are those troops dying in Iraq 'protecting and serving' the Constitution? No president is perfect (especially Carter). They are all flawed and all served by petty, ambitious, backstabbing bastards. Some of you need to remember this in your current hero worship.

Posted by: Adam at July 31, 2005 04:55 PM (5DbtM)

26 Adam, wake up! I'm not worshiping Bush or any other president. What I see is a group of people(Islamists, jihadis, Islamofacists, fundamentalists,etc.) who want to take us back to the Dark Ages(literally). There are only a few leaders in the world(Bush, Blair, and the chap in Australia) who are willing to take these people on. Bush is hardly perfect, but I honestly believe he is trying to turn the tide in the Middle East to democracy. It is the only chance we have to avert a catastrophe. I do not believe that the Arabs and Muslims will ever love us, but that is not what I wish for them. I want them to have the same chance that I have to raise a family, work hard and be rewarded for it, and to have a decent, safe place to live in. When they have this, I believe they will be too busy with the business of life to be suicide bombers and terrorists. What I do know is that the civilized world cannot afford to lose this fight in Iraq. Whether you agree on how we got there, the results of defeat would be too terrible to contemplate. Suffice it to say that the modern world would not be as we know it today.

Posted by: jesusland joe at July 31, 2005 05:22 PM (DDXXI)

27 Carter should stick to doing what he does best--nailing wood together.

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at August 01, 2005 09:12 AM (x+5JB)

28 Here is my 2 cents. The only reason Jimmy was elected President was due to timing and political party. The Democrats were destined to win the 1976 election due to the facts that the American people were fed up with the Republicans, (aka Watergate) who were a bunch of crooks (then and now). Now I do feel that Mr. Jimmy was one of the worst Presidents because not only did he give away the Panama canal, but he gave away our pride also. He made the United States look like a fool. As for the war in Iraq being legal or not, it is obviously legal. The U.S. Congress officially declared war on Iraq. (Unlike Korea or Vietnam.) Now was the war just? Yes, even forgetting about WMD and terrorist, Saddam refused to abide by the UN decisions forced upon him at the end of the first Gulf War. Those are the reason why this is a just war. As for Mr George W. being a traitor? No, I donÂ’t feel he is a traitor. He had the ok from the Congress to start the war. He has the right as CNC to order troops around. Now,I do feel he was an idiot for jumping the gun, and not waiting for all of our troops to be in positions before he started. But he at least did not give away our pride as Mr. Jimmy. Now do I like Mr. George W.? Far from it. I believe Cheney and him to be some of the biggest crooks in office. You can see them blatantly stealing from the US people. But I would have to say, if I had a choice between who I would want in office between Jimmy and Bush, I would have to go Bush.

Posted by: Butch at August 01, 2005 09:15 AM (Gqhi9)

29 Yeah. I saw a whole batch of Fishers stuff on the site you gave, http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/fisher We need more people like him in this country. Voices like that need to be heard on tv. Be a blast to watch him banter with Hannity or Rush, huh?

Posted by: runovercamels at August 18, 2005 08:37 AM (6krEN)

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