Former President Carter: Elder Statesman or Ambassador of Senility

For an 83 year old, former President Jimmy Carter has been extremely busy. Recently, Mr. Carter got the attention of the media while attending the Hay Festival in Wales.

Israel Has The Bomb:

During an interview with the BBC, Mr. Carter stated openly that Israel was in possession of a nuclear arsenal:

Former President Carter Reveals Israel's Arsenal

The reality that Israel had nuclear weapons is no secret. However, Israel has maintained a policy of not disclosing its weapons inventory to the world (much like the US, or for that matter, most nations). The United States agreed to honor the Israel policy regarding this matter. The fact that Mr. Carter referenced an exact quantity has many people concerned. Was Mr. Carter speaking from a place of privileged knowledge, or was he throwing out a random number? Does Mr. Carter, as a former President, have an obligation to keep such information to himself?


President Bush: War Criminal

Reporter Edward M. Gomez, while reporting on the Hay conference, attended a speech given by Mr. Carter, which he detailed in an “opinion piece” titled – “Will the next president dare to say this?”

Wishful Thinking of the Absurd

“……… neither of the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois or Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, has offered specific policy proposals that would address, with a sense of urgency, George W. Bush's failed, costly, aimless wars and shut them down - fast. Meanwhile, the Bush clone and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, has shown himself to be a big supporter of the taxpayer-abusing military-industrial complex against whose pernicious influence his Republican forbear, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, once presciently warned. To date, McCain has not emphasized any need to quickly withdraw American troops from Bush's wars.

Now imagine if one of the current crop of U.S. presidential candidates were to offer the following remarks sometime soon out on the campaign trail. Imagine Obama, Clinton or McCain saying: "When I'm the president of the United States,...[m]y country will never again torture a prisoner. When I'm the president of the United States, we will never again attack another country unless our security is directly threatened. When I'm the president of the United States, human rights will be the foundation of our foreign policy." Imagine Obama, Clinton or McCain continuing to speak "in that vein, with ringing declarations on global warming, a promise to honor international agreements and to bring 'security and peace to Israel and all its neighbors and treat them all on an equal basis.'" That probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. Is it?”

Mr. Gomez, statement such as these are why Mr. Carter is known as “former President Carter.” Mr. Carter’s also alluded to President Bush’s life after the Presidency:

“A Guardian news article about Carter's Hay Festival appearance notes that, in his chat with Sands, he "left an intriguing hint that George [W.] Bush might even face prosecution on war-crimes charges once he [leaves] office. When pressed by Philippe Sands...on Bush's recent admission that he had authorized interrogation procedures widely seen as amounting to torture, Carter replied that he was sure Bush would be able to live a peaceful, 'productive life - in our country'" after he leaves the White House. Sands later said that he had "understood that [remark] to be 'clear confirmation' that[,] while Bush would face no challenge in his own country, 'what happened outside the country was another matter entirely.'"

What is Carter babbling about? War crimes? Traveling beyond the borders of the United States? Like that senior citizen driving down the road with their left turn-signal on the whole way, Mr. Carter has no clue what is going on around him! So would someone please shut him up, and get him the hell out of Europe!