Posted on 05/26/2008 9:18:47 AM PDT by mak5
Former US President Jimmy Carter urged Washington to establish friendly ties with Tehran, reiterating the need for his country to resume trade relations with Iran, which he described as a "rational" nation.
Speaking at the Hay Festival yesterday, Carter also suggested the US should provide nuclear power technology and fuel to Iran as a show of goodwill.
"What happens if, in three years' time, Iran has a nuclear weapon," Carter asked. "I'm not sure that is going to happen, but if it does, what do we do? They are rational people like all of us in this room. Do they want to commit suicide? I would guess not. So what we have to do is talk with them now and say to them we want to be their friends," the former US president said.
"The United States must let Iran know that we want to give them fuel and everything they need for a non-military nuclear program. Twenty-five years ago we cut off trading with Iran. We've got to resume trading to show Iran we are friends."
Carter also criticized President George Bush, saying it was a "serious mistake and terrible departure" from the actions of previous US presidents not to engage with countries with which they differed.
"The president of the administration in Washington is the first one to have ever done this and I think we close off ourselves from any sort of rational accommodation of the views of other parties in order to reach out on major goals," said Carter, in a further interview with Sky Arts, to be broadcast today.
a)got booted out of Iran
The US had always supported the Shah with money and other things, because he was our friend in the middle east.
b)how Carter helped it happen
He pulled all money and military support from the Shah
c)what is a shah and how was he a good guy. That title sounds like royalty, some sort of elitest. Hardly an elected kind of thing although I understand that rulers born to the job can be Americas friend.
For the middle east he was a benevolent ruler. Women were treated as equals. They wore western dress and could drive. Yes, there were some who didn't like him. (Think the Osama Bin laden types). The Iranian people lived in a modern country. All that ended when the Ayotollah took over. The beheading began. Women were arrested for how they dressed and had to start wearing the head covering to survive.
The real question here, is why was the Shah treated in such a way by Carter, who now wants to talk to the current ruler, who keeps his people isolated and living a very deprived lifestyle. Women are treated worse than slaves were once treated in the US by Jimmah's ancestors.
“They are rational people like all of us in this room.”
I did not know that Jimmy Carter camps out at a well in Qom waiting for the 12th Iman to climb out of it.
True, although I fear B Hussein Obama will give him a run for the money if (GOD forbid) he gets in.
You really shouldn't miss this one........it's pure Twilight Zone.
Well I wish I could point to a place where we didn't replace one dictator with another, but having a hard time remembering one. You have to be crazy to think Africa is better off now than in 1950.
“Day 10,585 of America held hostage.”
Ted Koppel owes his career to the bad judgment of Jimmy Carter. And Carter still hasn’t figured out who the bad guys are.
Lefties love the guy, you know.
You mean when Carter refused to support and protect and aided the overthrow of the Shaw and allowed Islamofascism to get a strangle hold on the entire Middle East? Those kind of ties?
Jimmuh, you couldn’t even farm peanuts worth a damn and your brother’s beer tasted like what comes out of the back end of a skunk. Keep your advice to yourself where it belongs.
I wonder if Carter understands that Amadinejad was the one that made a fool of him with the storming of the US Embassy in 1979 and the taking of hostages for 444 days.....and he’s still making Carter look like a fool in 2008!
I would agree that most likely everyone in the room where he spoke was a rational person, just not Mr. Carter.
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Lately the Democrat party has paid homage to Mr.Carter as one of their elder statesmen. Honoring him.
Mr. Carter was an terrible president who by the time he left office we as a nation had our collective tails between our legs.
In one day on Ronald Reagan in as president we sighed a sigh of relief and felt better.
Why is Carters reputation being upgraded to an elder statesman? He is a deplorable unAmerican person.
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Thanks. Amazing, Jimmah must be smoking the hay.
Proving once again what a crappy president he was and what moron he is.
Carter, is the one responsible for allowing Iran and her OPEC oil to be seized by 7th century minded Islamic fanatics. He has no shame.
LOL, either that or he's finishing up the last of brother Billy's finest.
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