'Just World News' with Helena Cobban: Jimmy and ME

'Just World News' with Helena Cobban Info, analysis, discussion-- to build a more just world
« Recruiting for the Enemy \| JWN front page \| Obama on Iraq: before and after » Jimmy and ME Posted by Don Bacon December 8, 2008 1:17 PM EST \| Link Filed in Israel 2003-08 , Middle East , Palestine 2003-05 , Peacebuilding from Forward.com Former president Jimmy Carter is back with new advice for resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The former president is scheduled to publish a new book on the issue — slated for release on January 20, coinciding with the inauguration of Barack Obama. The title for Carter’s new book, “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work,” seemingly suggests a more optimistic tone than that of his previous book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” “I was going to call it, ‘Yes, We Can.’ My wife talked me out of it,” Carter said in jest, during a December 3 discussion in Atlanta. No details were provided on the content of Carter’s new book, but based on recent remarks by the author, it is clear that his approach toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has not changed. According to an Associated Press report, the former president pointed, in the December 3 discussion, to the “persecution of Palestinians” and lack of American active involvement in the Middle East as the main sources for instability in the Muslim world. A couple of reviews of his last book: Jimmy Carter has highlighted uncomfortable issues for American Jews (I am also one) to address. It was an important step forward that a well respected personality such as Carter wrote this book. Israel's 'realpolitik' towards the Palestinians is morally unsupportable. Terror has many tactics; it can come from government policies & tanks as well as suicide bombers. My view is that it is time for American Jews to take the 'blue' pill, wake up and see the reality as it is, not what they wanted or were told it is. It's not a comfortable process to put into question assumptions that were taught since childhood. But blind devotion to a state is dangerous. --andreas838 The book explains how the more "secular" Israeli nation under the Labor party till the mid-90's believed in "land for peace", while the Likud (and affiliated right wing quasi-religious) party has ignored all the promises the nation of Israel has made since the treaty with Egypt in 1979 (the book includes the text of all the UN resolutions, as well as the Oslo and other peace accords that the recent Israeli governments signed. The book also elaborates on how ALL the arab countries (Iran is NOT an arab country) have laid the basic framework for living in peace with Israel, but the latter is yet to act on the treaties it has agreed on.--World Citizen "Media King" Any thoughts? ---- Don Bacon is a retired army officer who founded the Smedley Butler Society several years ago because, as General Butler wrote, war is a racket. « Recruiting for the Enemy \| JWN front page \| Obama on Iraq: before and after » Comments Comment from... Abdelhafid Dib, at December 8, 2008 02:40 PM: I wish much success for President Jimmy Carter's peace plan for resolving Palestinian-Israeli issue. I do believe,as a world figure,the President could play a great role in reducing the tensions of the conflict. Hafid Comment from... mikep, at December 8, 2008 03:47 PM: I've never understood why Jimmy Carter seems so concerned about human rights in other countries, but apparently couldn't care less about the infinitely worse situation in his own country. He criticizes Israel for being "apartheid," yet his own American South has been infinitely more apartheid than Israel ever has been, and still is. (And of course, the real apartheid in the Middle East is the division between men and women under sharia, but he couldn't care less about that.) But he doesn't seem concerned with that at all. Hasn't expressed any concern over the racism displayed by Katrina in New Orleans (just like other white southerners, such as the Clintons and Gore). He couldn't care less about the millions in US prisons being regularly beaten, tortured, abused and forced into working as corporate slave labor. (I assume because most of them are people of color, and he is a white southerner). But Palestinians who are openly engaged in attacks on civilians get his support and even his encouragement!!! He's concerned about voting violations in other countries, but not one word on the massive and repeated violations in his own country, even in his own state. And naturally he can't be bothered to openly stand up against the US's endless and illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places. No, that would be taking a genuine position on an ethical and moral matter. Palestinians deserve human rights, but Iraqis and Afghanis are just garbage in his mind. He has no problem with Iraqi women being raped by American soldiers. And on and on. Sorry, but I'm kind of tired of his hypocrisy, and of his efforts to distract attention from the massive human rights violations in his own country, clearly aimed at supporting the white supremacist corporate machine. Especially from someone who engaged in illegal wars and human rights violations when he was president. He has become an embarrassment to the American people. Comment from... D. Mathews, at December 8, 2008 04:49 PM: mikep: Massive human rights violations in his own country? Perhaps. But it doesn't detract from the fact that the US is massively subsidizing human rights violations in Palestine. Comment from... Donald, at December 10, 2008 04:35 PM: Your defense of Israel's policies is a weird note in that rant, mikep. I happen to think Carter was a hypocrite on human rights as President--Chomsky shows this quite well. It goes with the territory. Obama will probably stink too. But you could criticize Carter fairly or unfairly (he does quite a lot, actually, as an ex-President and was opposed to the Iraq War)without whitewashing Israel's record. Desmond Tutu himself thinks Israel's policies are as bad as those of apartheid South Africa and I give more weight to his opinion than to those of some ranting blog commenter. Comment from... Shirin, at December 12, 2008 02:12 AM: Donald, mikep's raison d'etre in the context of this comment section is to whitewash Israel's and Zionism's record. Of course, he's not nearly as sophisticated at it as most of the other Israel apologists and out and out hasbaristas who like to post comments here, but he does his best. And how anyone can pretend that the human rights situation in the United States is worse than Israel's abysmal record of ethnic cleansing, murder, state terrorism, and oppression, well....what can you say?	Recent Posts on JWN • My IPS piece on dimming peace prospects (1) • Rahm Emanuel's disturbing view of US role (26) • Obama's peacemaking pledge-- to the world (35) • Obama: Peace in US interest (5) • Discussing Palestine, Israel, Iraq on Bloggingheads (0) • Long knives, Washington, Afghanistan, part 2 (7) • Long knives out in Washington over Afghanistan (3) • Amal Saad-Ghorayeb responds (10) • NATO and Lebanon (16) • IPS piece on Obama-Netanyahu tussle over priorities (0) • Gaza police and noncombatant immunity (46) • Gaza, the Obama administration, and the present (4) • Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, "benchmarks" (2) • Barak: Iran not existential threat (0) • Garlasco, suspended with full pay (15) • Me, speaking Sept 24 at Middle East Institute (3) • Goldstone Commission reports on Gaza-war war-crimes (23) • Another blunt No from Netanyahu (30) • Ramadan t.v. offerings, 2009 (2) • I-P: Borders first-- and fast? (4) • A testimony the world needs to hear (2) • Garlasco, part 3 (32) • Malley on refugees, settlers, etc (7) • In 2009, as 2001: US needs Iran, Russia (3) • IPS piece on the rights war over Gaza (3) • Garlasco, part 2 (20) • Continuing bad news for US/NATO in Afghanistan (4) • Marc Garlasco's little "hobby" (71) • Trashing one-staters with Hussein Ibish (12) • 500 new settlement homes in Jerusalem... (12) • When election results are disputed: Afghanistan, etc (6) • B'tselem's figures on Gaza assault toll (8) • American power has limits? Who knew? (13) • Israel's assault on Gaza: The final toll (1) • Hamas-related negotiations moving forward? (1) • Sweden, and the Israel-linked organs story (18) • Qtube-- what a resource! (2) • Cook and Elam on Israel's organ-removal problems (48) • "The White House regrets... " (48) • Lessons from the Soviet experience in Afghanistan (9) • IPS analysis of Iraq and related regional tensions (1) • Visser goes 2.0 (8) • More on Norway's targeted divestment (14) • Pat Lang on the dangerous, continued rise of 'COIN'-mania (8) • Bravo, Norway! (6) • An exiled Palestinian visits "home" (20) • Israel releases nine of 32 Hamas legislators (2) • Why Blair wants Dahlan to retake Gaza? (0) • Afghanistan debate: The missing international ingredient (9) • State-building: Palestine (3)

Jimmy and ME

Posted by Don Bacon
December 8, 2008 1:17 PM EST | Link
Filed in Israel 2003-08 , Middle East , Palestine 2003-05 , Peacebuilding

from Forward.com
Former president Jimmy Carter is back with new advice for resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The former president is scheduled to publish a new book on the issue — slated for release on January 20, coinciding with the inauguration of Barack Obama.

The title for Carter’s new book, “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work,” seemingly suggests a more optimistic tone than that of his previous book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

“I was going to call it, ‘Yes, We Can.’ My wife talked me out of it,” Carter said in jest, during a December 3 discussion in Atlanta.

No details were provided on the content of Carter’s new book, but based on recent remarks by the author, it is clear that his approach toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has not changed. According to an Associated Press report, the former president pointed, in the December 3 discussion, to the “persecution of Palestinians” and lack of American active involvement in the Middle East as the main sources for instability in the Muslim world.

A couple of reviews of his last book:

Jimmy Carter has highlighted uncomfortable issues for American Jews (I am also one) to address. It was an important step forward that a well respected personality such as Carter wrote this book. Israel's 'realpolitik' towards the Palestinians is morally unsupportable. Terror has many tactics; it can come from government policies & tanks as well as suicide bombers.
My view is that it is time for American Jews to take the 'blue' pill, wake up and see the reality as it is, not what they wanted or were told it is. It's not a comfortable process to put into question assumptions that were taught since childhood. But blind devotion to a state is dangerous. --andreas838

The book explains how the more "secular" Israeli nation under the Labor party till the mid-90's believed in "land for peace", while the Likud (and affiliated right wing quasi-religious) party has ignored all the promises the nation of Israel has made since the treaty with Egypt in 1979 (the book includes the text of all the UN resolutions, as well as the Oslo and other peace accords that the recent Israeli governments signed.

The book also elaborates on how ALL the arab countries (Iran is NOT an arab country) have laid the basic framework for living in peace with Israel, but the latter is yet to act on the treaties it has agreed on.--World Citizen "Media King"

Any thoughts?
----
Don Bacon is a retired army officer who founded the Smedley Butler Society several years ago because, as General Butler wrote, war is a racket.

Comments

Comment from... Abdelhafid Dib, at December 8, 2008 02:40 PM:

I wish much success for President Jimmy Carter's peace plan for resolving Palestinian-Israeli issue. I do believe,as a world figure,the President could play a great role in reducing the tensions of the conflict.

Hafid

Comment from... mikep, at December 8, 2008 03:47 PM:

I've never understood why Jimmy Carter seems so concerned about human rights in other countries, but apparently couldn't care less about the infinitely worse situation in his own country. He criticizes Israel for being "apartheid," yet his own American South has been infinitely more apartheid than Israel ever has been, and still is. (And of course, the real apartheid in the Middle East is the division between men and women under sharia, but he couldn't care less about that.) But he doesn't seem concerned with that at all. Hasn't expressed any concern over the racism displayed by Katrina in New Orleans (just like other white southerners, such as the Clintons and Gore). He couldn't care less about the millions in US prisons being regularly beaten, tortured, abused and forced into working as corporate slave labor. (I assume because most of them are people of color, and he is a white southerner). But Palestinians who are openly engaged in attacks on civilians get his support and even his encouragement!!! He's concerned about voting violations in other countries, but not one word on the massive and repeated violations in his own country, even in his own state. And naturally he can't be bothered to openly stand up against the US's endless and illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places. No, that would be taking a genuine position on an ethical and moral matter. Palestinians deserve human rights, but Iraqis and Afghanis are just garbage in his mind. He has no problem with Iraqi women being raped by American soldiers. And on and on.

Sorry, but I'm kind of tired of his hypocrisy, and of his efforts to distract attention from the massive human rights violations in his own country, clearly aimed at supporting the white supremacist corporate machine. Especially from someone who engaged in illegal wars and human rights violations when he was president. He has become an embarrassment to the American people.

Comment from... D. Mathews, at December 8, 2008 04:49 PM:

mikep:
Massive human rights violations in his own country? Perhaps. But it doesn't detract from the fact that the US is massively subsidizing human rights violations in Palestine.

Comment from... Donald, at December 10, 2008 04:35 PM:

Your defense of Israel's policies is a weird note in that rant, mikep. I happen to think Carter was a hypocrite on human rights as President--Chomsky shows this quite well. It goes with the territory. Obama will probably stink too. But you could criticize Carter fairly or unfairly (he does quite a lot, actually, as an ex-President and was opposed to the Iraq War)without whitewashing Israel's record. Desmond Tutu himself thinks Israel's policies are as bad as those of apartheid South Africa and I give more weight to his opinion than to those of some ranting blog commenter.

Comment from... Shirin, at December 12, 2008 02:12 AM:

Donald, mikep's raison d'etre in the context of this comment section is to whitewash Israel's and Zionism's record. Of course, he's not nearly as sophisticated at it as most of the other Israel apologists and out and out hasbaristas who like to post comments here, but he does his best.

And how anyone can pretend that the human rights situation in the United States is worse than Israel's abysmal record of ethnic cleansing, murder, state terrorism, and oppression, well....what can you say?