Posted on 12/01/2003 11:56:56 AM PST by white trash redneck
Former US President Jimmy Carter unleashed a fierce attack against the Israeli and American governments in his speech at the Geneva Initiative's ceremony in Switzerland.
Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, blamed US President George W. Bush for anti-American sentiment and worldwide terror.
"Bush's inordinate support for Israel allows the Palestinians to suffer," Carter said. "This is a source of anti-American sentiment in the world and encourages terror."
Carter said Israel's settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the security fence are the main obstacles to peace. He called repeatedly for the return of Palestinian refugees to the territories, beyond what is called for in the Geneva Initiative.
"Settlements prevent the return of the refugees who led their homes after the 1948 and 1967 wars," Carter said. "No matter what leaders the Palestinians may choose, Israel must choose between peace and settlements."
Carter said the main flaw of the US-brokered road map is its step-by-step approach, which he said has allowed Israel to stop its advance by building "an enormous barrier wall" and with "the colonialization of Gaza."
"The people support a peace settlement, but political leaders are the obstacle to peace," Carter said.
Carter said that not a single word of the peace he negotiated between Israel and Egypt has been violated. He said that peace prevailed after the Oslo Accord was signed in 1993, but the peace was extinguished by suicide bombers and house demolitions.
The former president also called for the implementation of the Saudi Initiative, which called on the Arab world to recognize Israel in return for Israel accepting into its borders the flood of 4 million Palestinians who claim to be refugees.
Other speakers in the ceremony included Nobel laureates Lech Walesa of Poland and John Hume of Northern Ireland.
Palestinian General Zuheir Manasra defended both Palestinian uprisings as legitimate struggles for Palestinian independence.
"The Palestinian fight is a fight for peace," Manasra said.
Both Palestinian and Israeli speakers criticized the government of Israel. Neither criticized the Palestinian leadership.
Lord Michael Levy read a letter from British Prime Minister Tony Blair endorsing the initiative and calling for an Israeli and Palestinian return to the negotiating table.
"This initiative gives a chance to what might be achievable with goodwill on both sides," Blair wrote. "The debate stimulated by this initiative is important. A better understanding of the nature of a possible settlement can remind people why the difficult steps in the road map are worth taking."
Now go home.
The most difficult issue, that no one wants to talk about, is the fate of the Palestinians who lived within what was already Israel before the Six Day War. They still dream of returning to their homes in "Israel proper" and may never be satisfied with an agreement which expects them to live in the West Bank or Gaza, whether or not any Jewish settlements are there.
If the Palestinians want to blame an American leader for their present plight, rather than their own present and past leadership, they would do better to blame Truman, Johnson, Carter, or Clinton, not Bush, who inherited an insoluble mess.
Apparently in Carter's view, the suicide bomb murderers are simply expressing their Peaceful will for a Peaceful settlement of the situation, according to the dictates of their religion of Peace. So, how could the actions of such Peace-loving people possibly be considered to be an obstacle to Peace?
It was a reaction against Watergate. His election was a fluke.
Why don't x-Dem presidents just shut up and go away?
It is not the Israelis who are the obstacles.
Carter should shut his mouth and go back to building houses for the poor. But I suppose pounding nails is a bit too complicated for him.
The magazine asks Carter about the former Vermont governor's chances of winning the 2004 Presidential race: “He seems to be doing quite well. He came down to Georgia when he was just planning the campaign and talked to me and my wife about the basic tactics of ’76. On occasion, he has called me to give me a report on his campaign or to ask a question.”
From one loser to another.
The magazine asks Carter about the former Vermont governor's chances of winning the 2004 Presidential race: “He seems to be doing quite well. He came down to Georgia when he was just planning the campaign and talked to me and my wife about the basic tactics of ’76. On occasion, he has called me to give me a report on his campaign or to ask a question.”
From one loser to another.
Can't recall the name of the Act that authorizes it.
-Eric
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