Posted on 09/28/2006 8:49:11 AM PDT by OldCorps
Former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday major policy changes are needed because the Iraq war has divided the nation "almost as much as Vietnam."
"So there's no doubt that our country is in much more danger now from terrorism than it would have been if we would have done what we should have done and stayed in Afghanistan," he said on the campaign trail with his son, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Carter.
The former president said the Bush administration made a "terrible mistake" by invading Iraq and diverting troops from Afghanistan.
Jack Carter criticized his opponent, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., for supporting the Iraq war. Both Carters also said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should go.
"I think he's one of the worst secretaries of defense we've ever had," the former president said of Rumsfeld. "Almost every decision he has made has aggravated his military subordinates and has also proved to be a mistake."
Carter's presidency was a joke. He can be safely ignored.
...from one of the worst presidents. (he should know).
Since when has "divided the nation" ever meant the kooky left wing 17% is alienated.
There is no 50/50 split.
Carter is lying, again.
Why don't I remember polls being taken every 15 minutes when Jimmuh was in office?
"agrivating the subordinates"
Carter means the cold war do nothing military that was dependent of paper pushing rather than enemy killing.
also notice how he drives home the civilian leader as a commander in chief rather than the president.
Remember during the carter years they actually wanted to divide the presidency up into multiple parts. Essentially a Prime Minister President, A Congressional President, and a Military/foreign affairs president.
Carter was too small for the job.
The infrastructure in Afghanistan would not sustain a large US troop commitment without a major expenditure in air bases, etc. The decision was to keep a 'light footprint' for this & other reasons. The Russians shoved a fairly large size force into the country & accomplished very little. They might have put even more troops into Afghanistan, but the road nets & security of same prevented them from doing so.
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