Worst Ex President of US Ever Exceeds Expectations

[eisely]

As readers may know, Jimmy Carter visited North Korea again this week. Tough to keep up between Royal weddings and releases of presidential birth certificates, to say nothing of first ever press conference by any Chairman of the Federal Reserve...but I digress.

 

Carter invited himself to North Korea again. Hard to know what he expected to achieve. Even the North Koreans didn't want him to visit, as Carter was snubbed by Kim Jong Il. Anyway, Carter now blames the US for food shortages in North Korea and declares that we, as a country, are committing a human rights violation by not feeding the people of North Korea. Every time I think this man cannot embarrass himself any further, he fools me (exceeds expectations). See link below.

 

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53868.html

[CalicoPenn]

Yeah - I get a different read from this (and checked into the genesis of the trip a bit further).

 

First, you have governments and the UN falling all over themselves backwards and forwards denying that they have anything to do with this trip. All of them claim that it's a "private" trip and they weren't even thinking of talking to the folks on the trip about it (in addition to Carter, there was also former presidents of Finland, Norway and Ireland along). I call that attempting to sow the seeds of plausible deniability. My hunch (and it's only a hunch - but the hunch is based on historical precedents) is that the US State Department and/or the UN approached Carter to make an unofficial "personal" visit to gauge the current "temperature" in North Korea.

 

Second, although Kim Jong Il didn't meet with this group, there was still a message sent to them that was more than just "Hi welcome to North Korea, why are you here and leave me alone". Governments don't generally send messages that are diplomatic in nature to private citizens making "personal" visits.

 

Third - I see nothing in the article that has Carter blaming the US for food shortages in North Korea. I don't consider suggesting to the US that withholding food aid to a country that has food shortages for political reasons is wrong is blaming the US for the food shortages. Instead, I see it as blaming, and perhaps shaming, the US for withholding food aid to a people that are suffering because of food shortages because of political disagreements with the leaders of the country. Frankly, I think Carter's statement should have been stronger - standing back and letting people who are suffering from food shortages starve because we don't like the dictator who has them under his thumb is an affront to humanity in general. Apparently the State Department has listened to Carter on this because a few reports state that the State Department is trying to figure out a work-around of Kim Jong Il to get food aid to the people of North Korea.

 

I'd say Jimmy Carter has been a darn fine Ex-President - one of our best.

[Eagle92]

In regards to food shortages in NK, if memory serves we, as well as many other nations, were in fact supplying food to help. However it was discovered that the food was being sent to the NK army, and that folks were still starving as the food was NOT being distributed to the people. That's why we and other stopped the program. That and NK failed in keeping other committments, i.e. not seeking nuclear weapons.

[BadenP]

eisley

 

While you are welcome to your opinion about Carter nothing in the facts you present support that opinion. I'd say Calico and Eagle have pretty much put your hate thread out of commission.

[perdidochas]

While his reputation as best/worst Ex-President is up to people's individual taste (I agree with the OP, but understand that others don't have my same views), I question if Calico read the same article that was linked.

 

Below is a quote from the article about food shortage in North Korea:

 

Carter also used his trip to North Korea to observe the countrys food rationing system. That the United States and South Korea have chosen to deliberately withhold food aid to the North Korean people because of political or military issues not related is really indeed a human rights violation, he said.

 

 

[eisely]

My view of Carter is based on much more than just his conduct towards North Korea. I admit that my language is snarky, but I do not accept the characterization of it as a "hate thread."

 

The sufferings of the people of North Korea are solely the fault of the government of North Korea and no else is responsible. If it were truly feasible to work around the North Korean government and get aid directly to the people then that would be a different matter. Unfortunately the North Korean government makes that impossible.

 

Keep in mind Carter said the United States was guilty of a "human rights violation," as quoted in the linked story. Perhaps he did not really say that, but given his track record, I accord the benefit of the doubt to the news source.

 

Who benefits from such an accusation? The starving people of North Korea? The South Koreans? The United States? The beneficiary of the accusation is the dictatorial regime of North Korea. Carter's language is not only detrimental to the US and offensive to ordinary Americans, it actually impedes peaceful resolution of outstanding issues because it encourages the North Korean regime.

 

Have a nice day.

[CalicoPenn]

Perdidochas,

 

I did indeed read the linked to article (which lead me to try to learn even more).

 

What I was commenting on was this specific quote from eisely:

 

"Anyway, Carter now blames the US for food shortages in North Korea"

 

I just don't see that. I see him taking the US to task for not doing enough to end the suffering because of the food shortages, but I don't see him blaming the US for causing the food shortages. And yes, I read eisely's quote as meaning that Carter was blaming the US for causing North Korea's food shortages.

 

 

[BadenP]

eisley

There are only two ways a regime like NK is defeated first in a war where the leadership is taken out permanently or the people themselves revolt and overthrow the regime. Our mistake in Korea was the establishment of the DMZ and calling the war over leaving a country split in two solely for political reasons. If we had removed all our troops at the end of the war the country would have eventually reunited and KimJong could have never ceased control in the first place. Now we have an unwinable mess and part of a country prospering while the north is suffering in dire poverty and a barrier and two armies keeping the country split. About the only thing that would help now is a massive black ops mission to take out Jong and all his cronies, wipe out all their missles and weaponry, and letting the country heal old wounds and reunite.

 

The UN and the USA both failed in their mission in Korea and failed the people of Korea. We almost did the same thing again in Vietnam, but we were forced out, and look at that country today prosperous and a top tourist destination.

[SR540Beaver]

Say what you will about Carter's politics, he is one of the finest Christian men to ever occupy the White House. His work with Habitat for Humanity alone puts most of us to shame.

[Shilue]

I agree with Beaver.

 

Carter may have been a lousy President, but he's a good man.

[Eagle92]

The mess we are in today in regards to the Korean Peninsula involves several factors going back over 50 years. I'm probably missing a few, it's been 7 years since I did research on the topic, but here it goes.

 

1) Sec State, was it Acheson, screwed up by not mentioning Korea in his speech about America's sphere of of influence. This opened the idea of an invasion by the NKs and ChiComs, with Uncle Joe's blessing (we now know via Soviet archives that Mao and Kim il Sung made a personal visit to Stalin in Moscow to discuss an invasion and get his approval although with the caveat that he would not involve combat troops).

 

2) War, later Defense, Deartment did not want to arm the South Koreans fearing they would try to invade the north. This was in spite of intel saying the NKs were arming themselves with the latest Soviet arms.

 

3) MacArthur did not train his command to a proper state of readiness. Grant you that there was a massive demand for reducing the post WWII military, but the Marines maintained combat readiness better than the army, and they faced the biggest budget cuts of the military branches.

 

4)I'll admit MacArthur's choice of Inchon for an amphibious landing is pure genius, but he had to use the Marines to do it. BUT MacArthur screw up royally by focusing on a symbolic target, Seoul, rather than having the Marine's cut off the NK's escape route to the north and provide the anvil to Walker's 8th Army hammer. He had the ability to do that and he wasted it trying to recapture Seoul.

 

5) MacArthur divided his forces, ignored intel,and made other mistakes someone from War College would know is idiocy.

[packsaddle]

I'm trying to remember a time that Carter (or Ford for that matter) lied to the people. Anyone?

[Eagle92]

In reading the article this comment hit me:

 

Carter said Thursday at a press conference in Seoul that North Korean officials had expressed deep regret for the loss of life from two military attacks against South Korean targets in late 2010. But they did not apologize and suggested that they wouldnt, the former president said.

 

My question is this, why would you send food to a country that has committed an open act of war? Even the Russians stopped their trains to Germany, their #1 trading partner, once it was confirmed that the Nazis invaded the USSR.

[BrentAllen]

One thing you can say about Carter - he never met a dictator he didn't like.

[SSScout]

The food shortage in NK is certainly not caused by the US and nothing in the article accuses the US of causing the food shortage. If Carter mentions that the US could do more to alleviate the stavation, I do not see that as his BLAMING the US for the problem he is encouraging the US to try and ameliorate, by any means.

Pack brings up a very good point. And as for friend Brent, it might be good to make a list of US aadministrations that did NOT play footsy with a dictator when it seemed to be in the "nation's interest", regardless of that nation's people's interest.

4 years ago, some rabbits were sold to NK for a breeding program. Hasenpfeffer is gooood.... but it is alleged that the big bunnies never got the chance to do the bunny thing. Read below.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1615350.ece

The NK leadership makes it hard to blame anyone but...