Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States of America following Gerald Ford and preceding Ronald Reagan. He was a Democrat who served from 1977-1981, after being the Governor of Georgia. He is widely considered by conservatives to be among the worst presidents in history. His incompetence in office helped lead to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the triumph of the modern conservative movement. His presidency featured stagflation, energy crisis, the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, support for the Equal Rights Amendment and, worst of all, the taking of American citizens as hostages by Iran. Carter personally opposed abortion but only recently, more than 25 years after his presidency, expressed his opposition in public.
Carter did secure a lasting peace between Egypt and Israel in 1979, but at the expense of providing many billions of dollars in new American foreign aid annually simply to obtain agreement to that deal.
Carter has been active in foreign affairs after his presidency, breaking a tradition for ex-presidents to stay out of politics. His continued work mediating international disputes, organizing election observations, and working with organizations on disease and hunger were cited when he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. In his Nobel lecture, Carter declared his support for "international law":
Our president, Woodrow Wilson, was honored here for promoting the League of Nations, whose two basic concepts were profoundly important: "collective security" and "self-determination." Now they are embedded in international law. Violations of these premises during the last half-century have been tragic failures, as was vividly demonstrated when the Soviet Union attempted to conquer Afghanistan and when Iraq invaded Kuwait. [1]
This was peculiar in that up until very recently Europeans have been reluctant to view conflicts outside of Europe as being a concern of NATO.
References
- ↑ Text of Carter's Nobel Lecture Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, 2002.