Uncle Uncle or should I say "peanut peanut" LOL
OK - time to move on!
Brainhell: That was not my point. But your pretty close.
Greta,
In the other article you sited, Doug Powers makes some sweeping generalizations about how wimpy Carter is and how embarrassing and ineffective his efforts at conflict resolution have been. Then he takes issue with Carter’s statement that the Palestinian elections were “honest, completely fair, completely safe and without violence” because by his definition an election is a process and since the transfer of power is not complete how can he (i.e. Carter) possibly say that? OK, fair enough – but that’s semantics. Powers then makes fun of Carter’s statement that he hoped Hamas would “act responsibly.” I think Carter’s statement has less to do with a naďve view of the Palestinians than a belief that international pressure and domestic accountability may have some positive effect on Hamas. Powers also mentions Carter’s visit to Cuba in 2002 and his meeting with Castro as well as his op-ed in the Washington Post that criticized Florida’s electoral process. OK, so maybe the meeting with Castro wasn’t such a great idea – but stack that up against almost 25 years of monitoring elections, promoting human rights and global peace and it seems rather insignificant.
Greta,
Rogue Jew has a pretty extreme view of the former President:
“[Carter] is calling upon the U.S. government to fund further Terror attacks upon innocent Israelis…”
In the article that Rogue Jew sites, however, Carter stressed that his main concern was to avert the suffering of the Palestinian people, which he said could lead to a new cycle of violence.
“Jimmy Carter wants the people of the U.S. and E.U. to fund the extermination of the Jewish people. Was this not tried once before?”
So now he is comparing Carter to Hitler? That’s a bit of a stretch.
“I don't think that I am going too far in saying that I feel that Jimmy Carter is a closet anti-Semite and that he secretly hopes that Israel being a free and independent democracy will be doomed as are his wishes for his home country of the United States.”
I was hoping for some reasonable analysis on former President Carter, but all I got from Rogue Jew was an exaggerated rant.
3P,
I'm agreeing with you that there is no point in trying for peace. That's your point, right? Those silly Democrats!
Brainhell: Before the "peace accords" there were less murders than there were after the peace accords. Does that sound like a successful peace deal to you?
and this one http://mensnewsdaily.com/blog/ro...-states-
to.html
Silke - this is better said than I could say about Carter http://worldnetdaily.com/news/
ar...RTICLE_ID=48565
Greta,
> Sorry Silke - Carter doesn't cut it for me with any world politics.
What has Carter done that you object to?
> Is bad democracy better than no democracy. Or would it be better if we encouraged democracy but with values that would benefit the world?
Not necessarily, at least according to the current administration (and the prior one). For example, take Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – as long as they are willing partners in the GWT we seem perfectly content with their governments (not exactly models of democracy).
BTW - US citizens who engage in world politics should really watch their p's & q's - esp. if they are former Presidents. How about US citizens working for Al Jazeera? Bill Clinton speaking out about the war in Iraq to Arab students while a stone's throw away from US soldiers? Sorry Silke - Carter doesn't cut it for me with any world politics.
Maybe Ted Kennedy and John Kerry could go over there and give them a hand (just to lighten things up)!
By our own federal law, we can't support Hamas, as they are a terrorist organization.
The EU and Condi Rice and others today laid out very specific guidelines for Hamas to follow if they want to continue receive internation aid.
As for Brainhell's comment. While Camp David was a success, The Oslo accords were basically disregarded by the palestinians within just a few years.
Reading these insightful comments is much more exciting than helping my daughter study for her test. Thanks for commentary to munch on! Cheers.
beth,
> Brainhell - why do you support a terrrorist group...?
When you frame things that way, you're bound to be in the right. Keep it up, and keep your self-assurance.
3P,
> all those peace deals [...] were a terrible failure...
Had I known that they were not perfect, I would never have mentioned them. Those Democratic presidents sure are bad for getting Eqypt and Jordan to establish relations with Israel. You are right: The killing continues, so those peace deals are to be laughed at. Bush's support for the elections that brought Hamas to power are exempt from this analysis.
Greta,
> Should former Presidents have their hand in world affairs when their Presidency has ended?
They're citizens too. They have every right, unless you want to pass a law.
Greta,
From what I can tell, Carter was part of an international observer team who wanted to make sure the elections were fair and honest. Maybe I’m missing something here but how is that a bad thing? Granted, the outcome with respect to Hamas was not exactly what we would have wanted but that’s not up to us.
Questions
1. Is bad democracy better than no democracy. Or would it be better if we encouraged democracy but with values that would benefit the world>
2. Should former Presidents have their hand in world affairs when their Presidency has ended?
Silke - are you saying that Carter is doing something positive for this process?
I don’t think it’s as simple as…Carter supports Hamas (and therefore the terrorists) and Bush supports Israel. Former President Carter supports the democratic process, which – by the way – so does President Bush. It’s not very surprising that after ten years of incompetent and corrupt rule by Fatah that the Palestinians would choose Hamas. But regardless of whether this election was about internal or external politics there’s only so much the U.S. can do to help the peace process. I would argue the more we get involved directly the worse things get. The United States will always be Israel’s ally and we have every right to refuse to support a Palestinian government lead by a party that advocates the destruction of Israel. Real peace will only be achieved once both sides take responsibility for their actions and consciously choose to end the perpetual cycle of violence. I hope that happens in my lifetime.
Brainhell: Firstly, all those peace deals (like Camp David and Oslo) were a terrible failure. All they did was emboldened the terrorist which caused more terror and more death. During peace, buses aren't supposed to be blown up, nor are 9 month old babies supposed to be sniped in the head! The Democratic administrations that helped bring this about are somewhat responsible. Secondly, this isn't exclusively a Jewish issue, the Palestinians want all Americans dead. Listen to their sermons in their mosques, watch their TV shows, look at their demonstrations led by Hamas, which majority of Palestinians support. They cheered 9/11 while we mourned. They anxiously await our destruction! history has shown us that if we dont act now we will find ourselves in a big mess. Hitler wasn't only a Jewish problem, he wanted to obliterate the US and its citizens. Appeasement doesn't work. The only way we, as civilans, can help, is by voting Republican.
I just commented and then saw brainhell's comment.
If I understand things correctly, Carter, the uber-liberal, is supporting Hamas Terrorist (who have killed thousands in Israel and have a sworn Martyr Oath to destroy Israel and push all Jews into the sea). Bush, on the other hand, will not turn his back on Israel. Will Not.
I have been appalled at some of the comments on my site regarding the Palestinians.
These 'progressives' who are so 'accepting and tolerant' voice hate-filled tyraids for the Palestinians and completely minimize the harm they have done to Israel while railing about how horrible Israel has been to Palestine. The perspectives are completely skewed.
Then they deny they are anti-semites.
This is a very dangerous time - and the progress support of anti-semitism is appalling, divisive and extremely dangerous.
Brainhell - why do you support a terrrorist group that would kill you as easily as they would slaughter a pig?
I am not Jewish - but I was raised in the Southern Judeo/ Christian tradition. That we are forever inter-linked because our culture was born out of the Jewish culture. We worship the same God (I have no idea if that makes any sense - but it does to me).
I have wondered why anyone who is Jewish would stay with the uber-liberal stance as it is right now. The people they are supporting (ie: socialist tyrants like Chavez and Castrol), especially the Palestinians and other Muslims who have SWORN to destroy Israel and any Jew - ANY.
I don't get it ... I don't understand why anyone would support that - much less someone Jewish. Do they think they don't mean them?
I don't think you have to look any further than Nick Berg to get a clue that that sort of liberal-let-me-show-them-that-Jews-love-them way of thinking doesn't work.
Just my opinion. 
I don't have the good fortune to have been born Jewish but your silly idea that Repubs are better than Dems at supporting Israel is silly. Camp David and Oslo as well as um that other one all happened during Democratic administrations. Bush will not do a thing to help defend Israel, he'll only make things more dangerous.
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