Barry is SURE in good company...
Posted on 11/16/2009 12:54:51 PM PST by Baladas
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (Nov. 16) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Monday that he had no regrets about his handling of the Iran hostage crisis more than 30 years ago, saying he didn't attack the country as his advisers proposed because thousands of people would have died.
Islamic militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, and seized its occupants. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days.
Carter acknowledged that his failure to bring the hostages home — including a botched rescue mission in which eight U.S. servicemen died — led to his election defeat to President Ronald Reagan in 1980. The hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981, just minutes after Reagan was sworn in as the new president.
"I don't have any doubt that was the main factor in my defeat," Carter told reporters in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, where he was helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity. "Obviously, if I had rescued the hostages or they had not been taken, I would have been re-elected."
Carter said one proposed option was a military strike on Iran, but he chose to stick with negotiations to prevent bloodshed and bring the hostages home safely.
"My main advisers insisted that I should attack Iran," he said. "I could have destroyed Iran with my weaponry. But I felt in the process it was likely the hostages' lives would be lost, and I didn't want to kill 20,000 Iranians. So I didn't attack."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
I really liked the man. He was kind to people who didn't "matter", he tried to do the right thing, and he was devoted to his wife.
You could do a lot worse.
Carter had no regrets about handling the hostages and I had no regrets voting for Reagan.
In your dreams, Jimmah!!!
But you showed em didn't you. You let the embassy staff suffer until you left office. Good for you. Something to be proud of. /NOT
Defending the indefensible. Something for which the demrats have a long and sordid history.
Obviously, if I had rescued the hostages or they had not been taken, I would have been re-elected.”
******
Defending his liberalism that led to economic disaster.
His brother billy is smarter. imho
Obviously?!?!
Perhaps your failure to grasp reality is THE reason you were not re-elected?
“I don’t have any doubt that was the main factor in my defeat,” Carter told reporters in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, where he was helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity. “Obviously, if I had rescued the hostages or they had not been taken, I would have been re-elected.”
Absolutely delusional. His entire administration was a train wreck from the word go. The economic situation under his gross incompetence was far and away the deciding factor of his defeat. Add to that his ridiculously dire speeches which served the purpose of disheartening the entire population. You felt like putting a gun in your mouth after one of his gloom and doom speeches.
As someone who graduated high school in 1980, I’ll NEVER forget the situation back then under his incompetence. I gladly pulled the lever for Ronald Reagan when I first registered to vote. His radio spots throughout the late 70’s were an inspiration and a stark contrast to Carter the Doomsayer.
When will obamas “malaise speech” happen?
Jimmy Carter couldn’t find a clue with both hands if he was sitting on one-!
Why not go ahead and defend giving away the Panama Canal while you’re at it?
And while you’re at it, try to defend how the ChiComs now control ports at both end of the canal, thanks to your giving it away.
Barry is SURE in good company...
He had to exhaust all diplomatic options before he would attempt a military intervention....no matter how much he was warned about the sandstorm season. He freaking waited until beginning fringes of that season to launch Operation Eagle Claw, the badly botched rescue attempt.
Eight soldiers lost their lives and the hostages were buried even deeper after that. As long as I live, I will never forget my dad waking me up that morning to watch the coverage. He knew I would be voting for the first time in 1980 and he made damn sure that I helped vote that fool out of office.
Like another poster here said, I will shed no tears when he finally kicks the bucket. At least we won’t have listen to this marginal politician pretend to be more than he ever was ever again.
OHHHhhh YEAH,
The R.A.B.B.I.T. !
BWAHAHAHAHAHA
Carter’s real Legacy!
Have you noticed who is Potus Now?
EXCUSE ME??!!?? "YOUR" weaponry??!?!?
What an ass. And just as clueless, 30 years on.
You're right... it had to do with his sorry policies which led to long gas lines, collapse of real estate markets.....AND the hostage crisis.
That election was my first time to vote... and no one had to ask me twice to pull the lever for Reagan.
I remember getting to the gas station at midnight, sleeping in the car. Our first home, 18% interest.
It is true that we don’t know what the consequences of an attack on Iran would have been. Perhaps the hostages would have been killed and yes, that would have been tragic. But at the same time, do you suppose that we would be bedeviled by all these islamic terror attacks today if we had showed strength and punished the first such incident?
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