Free Republic

In 1977, Jimmy Carter withdrew U.S. support for the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The Shah's regime engaged in the torture of it's (Communist) enemies, a practice which Carter vehemently opposed. However, that regime was the strongest ally of both the U.S. and Israel in the region, and although brutal, was certainly no more so than any number of far more fanatical, anti-American and anti-Semitic governments in the Middle East. Carter also ordered the CIA to cease funding to Iran's Mullahs, who had basically been accepting money in exchange for inhibiting anti-western sentiment in the region. Shortly afterward, the...

Everybody’s playing the blame game these days. The current target is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who seems to be standing in for President Bush – the man who his enemies say is responsible for everything that’s gone wrong since the Biblical flood. (“Bush lied about the need to build an ark.”) South of our borders we have a nut job running oil-rich Venezuela and threatening to do all kinds of nasty things to us. In North Korea we have another nut job building nukes and rattling sabers, and in Iran there’s still another whacked-out leader threatening to blow Israel off...

Source:Evidence Jimmy Carter Abandoned the ShahA recent article has provided some provocative information regarding former President Jimmy Carter and the Shah. While I had heard or read short articles regarding what is revealed here, the new piece by Alan Peters was an eye opener, and explained so much that I had suspected. I must admit, I used to be a Jimmy Carter supporter. I voted for him to be re-elected. I cringe when people always refer to the Hostage Rescue Attempt as "Ill Fated", "Catastrophic", "Jimmy Carter's Diaster", when Carter is to be commended for at least actually going through...

Truth be told, it was principally the Republican party in the United States that saw the value of Mohammad Reza as an ally and treated him with warmth, respect, and friendship. Prominent Republican President Ronald Reagan, who held office from 1980 to 1988, spoke favorably of the Shah, calling him "a stalwart ally" and criticizing Jimmy Carter's attitudes towards him. Another Republican President, the well-known Richard Nixon, who sat from 1969 until 1974, openly praised the Shah. Hosting the Shah at a dinner at the White House, Nixon referenced a visit he had made to Iran in the aftermath of...

Jimmy Carter Blames Failed Iran Rescue Effort for Defeat to ReaganPublished September 18, 2010 Associated Press Former President Jimmy Carter felt his efforts to rescue U.S. diplomats held hostage by Iran should have worked but were thwarted by a "strange series of mishaps," and the mission's failure played a major role in his 1980 re-election defeat, the Democrat writes in a new book assembled from diary entries. The Associated Press purchased a copy of the book, "White House Diary," on Friday, ahead of its release Monday. In it, he criticizes several presidents, including fellow Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama,...

Former President Jimmy Carter marked his 90th birthday Wednesday with a lengthy interview on CNBC Meets where he discussed his one term in office and the one thing he would have handled differently — the Iran Hostage Crisis. Carter suggested Operation Eagle Claw, a failed 1980 attempt to rescue the hostages taken by Iranian revolutionaries at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, could have been successful if he committed one more helicopter to the mission. "I think I would have been re-elected easily if I had been able to rescue our hostages from the Iranians," said Carter. "And everybody asks me...

Former President Jimmy Carter claimed Wednesday that he would have been re-elected and beaten Ronald Reagan in 1980 if had been more “manly” in his dealings with Iran. Interviewed by the show "CNBC Meets," Carter repeated his belief that the failed mission to free American hostages held in Tehran killed his chances, but then added that had he gone to war, America would have rewarded him with a second term in 1980. “I could've been re-elected if I'd taken military action against Iran, shown that I was strong and resolute and, um, manly and so forth,” said the former president,...

Former President Jimmy Carter had some interesting things to say about his 1980 defeat to Ronald Reagan; he could have won if he was more ‘manly,’ or something. Carter admitted that the Iranian hostage crisis, which lasted 444 days, heavily contributed to his defeat. But added that if he had gone to war with Iran, he would have been re-elected (via Washington Examiner): Former President Jimmy Carter claimed Wednesday that he would have been re-elected and beaten Ronald Reagan in 1980 if had been more “manly” in his dealings with Iran.Interviewed by the show “CNBC Meets,” Carter repeated his...

“I did not know it then – perhaps I did not want to know – but it is clear to me now that the Americans wanted me out. Clearly this is what the human rights advocates in the State Department wanted … What was I to make of the Administration’s sudden decision to call former Under Secretary of State George Ball to the White House as an adviser on Iran? Ball was among those Americans who wanted to abandon me and ultimately my country.” – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran These were the words uttered by the distraught...

Noted Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has a new book out, “Terror Tunnels: The Case for Israel’s Just War Against Hamas,” a collection of essays that forcefully defend Israel’s actions against Hamas, both from before the most recent fighting (Part I) and since (Part II). The book also includes a long debate (about 15 percent of the book) between Dershowitz and John Dugard, a sharp critic of Israel. Here’s an excerpt from Dershowitz’s conclusion to the book, which I think captures his argument well:

By supporting Hamas, President Jimmy Carter and Bishop Desmond Tutu are bringing about the death of more Palestinian civilians and Israeli soldiers alike, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz said. "It's not only the UN, it's President Jimmy Carter who has blood on his hands," Dershowitz told JD Hayworth on "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV Tuesday. "He's the one who advised [the late Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser] Arafat not to accept the two-state solution that would have resulted in a Palestinian state," he explained. "It's Bishop Tutu who supports Hamas, which has a charter calling for the murder of every...

It is perhaps in the nature of celebrities to champion causes they perceive to be popular. Celebrity bishops are no exception and Desmond Tutu’s support for Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill is not surprising but deeply disappointing.Dignity in Dying, the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society, has assembled over 50 actors, sportsmen, entertainers, authors and other celebrities to add weight to their campaign – similar people to those advertisers draft in to provide endorsement for consumer products.The implication is that we should follow these celebrities and embrace their preferences.And there is no doubt that so-called ‘assisted dying’ resonates strongly with the spirit...

Desmond Tutu has supported calls for a rethink on the Church of England’s stance on assisted dying claiming life should not be preserved “at any cost”. The retired Anglican archbishop said laws to stop people being allowed help to end their lives removed their “human right to dignity”. Tutu branded the treatment of Nelson Mandela, who was kept alive through a long and painful illness which saw him wheeled in and out of hospital and forced to take part in PR-driven photo shoots, an “affront to Madiba’s dignity”. He claimed he did not want his own life to be “prolonged...

Retired archbishop Desmond Tutu has said he is happy Nelson Mandela is dead—so he does not have to see what South Africa’s current leaders are doing to the country. Since Jacob Zuma became president, Tutu has become increasingly critical of the African National Congress (ANC), which has held power in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994—first under the leadership of Mandela. “I didn’t think there would be a disillusionment so soon,” he told South Africa’s Sunday Times, before adding: “I’m glad that Madiba is dead. I’m glad that most of these people are no longer alive to...

Desmond Tutu is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end apartheid in South Africa, and has long been a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which uses nonviolent means to challenge the Israeli occupation of Palestine and is the initiative being attacked by these bills. Tutu notes that these legislative initiatives are aimed “at punishing and intimidating those who speak their conscience and challenge the human rights violations endured by the Palestinian people.”

South Africa’s retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Sunday made an impassioned plea to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni not to sign into law a harsh Anti-Homosexuality Bill that calls for a life sentence for some same-sex relations. Tutu, a Nobel peace prize winner, said in a statement that Museveni a month ago had pledged not to allow the anti-gay legislation to become law in Uganda. But last week Museveni said he had reconsidered and would consult scientists on whether homosexuality is determined by genetics or by a person’s choice. Tutu said he is “disheartened” by Museveni’s new position because there is...

Another controversy hit South Africa’s long goodbye to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela on Saturday when his fellow anti-apartheid foe Desmond Tutu said he had not been accredited as a clergyman at the funeral by the government so would not attend. Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for the South African president Jacob Zuma, insisted that Tutu is on the guest list and that he hopes a solution will be found so Tutu attends. The 82-year-old retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town indicated he felt he had been snubbed by the current government, with which he has clashed several times in the past....

BURGLARS broke into the Cape Town home of South African peace icon Desmond Tutu when he was away speaking at Nelson Mandela's memorial. "I can confirm that there was a burglary last night," said Archbishop Tutu aide Roger Friedman. "We are not able to tell exactly what was stolen, the archbishop and his wife were not at home. The house was not pillaged." Archbishop Tutu had used the memorial to call on South Africans to follow Mandela's example. "I want to show the world we can come out here and celebrate the life of an icon." The timing of the...

Police in South Africa say retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s home was robbed while he was away to attend a memorial honoring Nelson Mandela. … The 82-year-old Tutu had his home robbed in August as he and his wife slept inside. Both were unhurt. …

No sincere follower of Jesus would ever wish hatred, violence or discrimination against anyone. But behaving in a way that honors God is not the same as declaring that God must somehow changed His mind on sin. Tutu is an ardent supporter of gay rights and said that he "would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven." "No," he said, "I would say sorry – I mean, I would much rather go to the other place. I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this." The former Archbishop may have been...