CNN

So let me see if I've got this straight. Because Jimmy Carter has built houses for Habitat For Humanity, he is therefore above reproach, or criticism. Carter builds a house and then burns down two. You do some construction work, and that's supposed to compensate for single handedly being responsible for the nation of Iran? You do some good deeds, and then you get to bash Israel, and pontificate about human rights, and then refuse to debate anyone who challenges you. Jimmy Carter would probably bash Israel even if he wasn’t receiving millions from an assorted variety of Middle Eastern Arab organizations, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, it would seem, that receiving millions from people who would like to see Israel driven into the sea, while bashing that pea sized country on a continual basis, might present a possible conflict of interest. I must remember if I ever want to do engage in some truly dastardly, and despicable behavior, to first do a few very public good deeds, so no one can criticize me.

I got some torture for ya. One softball interview after another with Jimmy Carter. Hey CNN, why don't you ask the guy who ushered in the Iranian theocracy, why he won't debate Dershowitz, or anyone else about gas line Carter's anti-Israel book? He writes a book to supposedly stimulate a debate, and then he refuses to participate in any such debate. It's so Jimmy!

As always, Carter is naive in his comprehension of the world and irresponsible in his commentary. His comments and behaviour on multiple topics from Guantanamo, Cuba, Venezuela and the Mideast at times make one wonder if he was educated in another dimension. Let's be greatful he wasn't at the helm in WW2.

"Jimmy Carter is single-handedly responsible for the nation of Iran."
- Rush Limbaugh

That is literally THE best quote of the year.

If Jimmy Carter was still in office, you wouldn't have a homeland to defend.

Same thing will happen if Hill makes it to power.

I find it interesting that Mr. Carters presidency was such a failure that now he is trying to make himself look good by crircising others. What I would like to know, just how does he know all that he says he knows? He never gives the source of his knowledge. Sounds like a little boy in grade school.

Where's the proof?? We treat those who attempt to kill us more humanly than any one else in the world! Sounds like a jealous rant to me!

As expected I got no response, but then again Liberals don't respond to hypotheticals that could easily become a real life situation as then they would be proven to be the phonies that they are.

"The Government didn't do enough to protect my family", when it is your family, these very minor methods would be welcomed if it saved your families life. No questions asked.

As far as I'm aware, President Bush is the first president, and this the first US administration,that has even been asked to respond to accusations of torture! In past conflicts, whilst there have been certain charges made against US administrations regarding its abuse of human rights (the internment of all citizens of Japanese origin during World War II for example), never before has any administration come close to being accused of torture, nor being this creative in its interpretation of the law!

Terry in El Paso
Why do idiots like you have to bring President Bush's daughters into these conversations? You're naive to think the Bush Administration is the first to participate in these acts. And if private citizens, Jenna and Barbara Bush are fair game, then so are you and your family. I say we hang you upside down underwater..better yet. your kids...let's make your kids responsible for the stupidity that comes out of your mouth!

Good job Wolfie, the senile one actually said that "we had no problems with terrorists while Bill Clinton was in office".

A real journalist would have said "wait a minute, how about the USS Cole, the first WTC bombing, multiple embassies, the Kubar towers etc, etc) were they not terrorist acts????

When Carter said "he doesn't think it, he knows it", a real journalist would say, "do you have any specifics, names, situations etc,etc".

Iran gave up the hostages for three reasons, they were afraid of Reagan and they were not afraid of Carter (who had ample time and didn't get the job done) and lastly the Iran/Iraq war was going to come down and they had too much on their plates.

Quit blaming anyone but Carter for his failings, you already apologize for Clinton and it is stupid as hell.

Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush could have said all kinds of crap about Clinton and Carter, but as ex-Presidents they stuck by the "code" that other Presidents don't do this.

I get it Bush sucks and I agree, but this wholly TERRIBLE president has no legs to stand on.

Jimmy Carter has spent his entire adult life living in a fantasy world. He didn't have a clue while he was President and still has not found one. The eutopia that he presided over included the creation of Jihad, 12% unemployment, 21% interest rates, gas shortages, Americans being held hostage for 444 days and the most botched rescue attempt that has ever been tried by our armed forces. It was not the soldiers fault, it was poor planning, lack of resolve and a lack of support of the administration. He should hide is face.

While most Americans are decent and law abiding people, there are certain groups that are the antithesis of the American Constitution. These guys consider the noble words in the constitution irrelevant, they trash the UN , Geneva Conventions, Kyoto Protocol etc. for love of money/power. They could care less for American soldiers/Iraqi or any civilians dying in Iraq as long as they can get their hands on the billions from armament/oil sales. (9/11 was in response to policies of killing by these same people, not the other way around.)

Torture!, heck these guys kill civilians for fun (Blackwater), imagine what they do to prisoners. They have flushed the soul of America down the toilet.

Amazingly, they get voted in by ignorant Americans and the Supreme Court, so they kill and torture more. And the media controlled by these same power madcaps, lie down like dogs to please their masters.That is the real tragedy here.

Ask him how much torture occurred following his support of the E. Timor Government – well 400,000 died; surely some were tortured in that crackdown.
Or ask him about all of the genocide, killing, torture and suffering which occurred after he and Brzezinski – well, as Brzezinski stated:
Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention.
And the next time you have Bill Clinton on, ask him how much grief was caused by his complacency during the planning stages for the Rwandan genocide, in early 1994. In addition to the 800,000 who were murdered (many hacked to death) there were untold others tortured and 15 UN soldiers had their genitals cut off and stuffed in their mouths – so Clinton said, "Never Again." Then of course, the conflict moved next door to the DR Congo, where more people have died than any place since the end of WWII – Millions of humans, Bill Clinton. "Never again", meant "Again and Again." Oh right, but at least, after the fact, you sent Brown & Root in to help - under the LOGCAP contract.
And you can ask Clinton and Al Gore about setting up the US policy of extraordinary rendition – which was intended to send suspected terrorists to Egypt, where they could be tortured for information. Al Gore's view of that, according to Richard Clarke:
Gore laughed and said, "That's a no-brainer. Of course it's a violation of international law, that's why it's a covert action. The guy is a terrorist. Go grab his ass."
There is less conflict and fewer folks dying in the world than (according to the UN) any other time since the end of WWII. Notably, as compared to the world during the Clinton era.
Get over it. Between Carter and Clinton, Bush can go for another 30 years, and not create as many deaths in the world.

Carter is senile.

Thank God this former president speaks out. The issue is not his presidency but the current one. The current imperial presidency has dis-honored our country with its lies and use of torture. This must never be forgotten.
As far as I am concerned Bush is a torturer as well as a terrorist. What he has done to this country is an act of treason.

Our country installed the Shah in Iran, in 1953, forcebly, to replace a democratically elected prime-minister. No wonder they hate us. Can you imagine (you knuckle headed Bush supporters out there) how you would react if an outside country came in and replaced our democratically elected (we like to think so anyway) president or government with one more to their liking? Think, before you react here.

I find that most of this country's problems are due to the fact that our government and its representives tend to react, in a knee jerk fashion, to every crisis without thinking about the consequences of that reaction. A good example of that is the war in Iraq and the use of torture. We were hurt in 9/11 and when we could not get Bin Lauden, right away, our president decided to strike out at another country instead. A country, no matter how odious the leader, that had not attacked us. Then they approved torture. Torture does not deliver good information.

The simple-minded supporters of this policy and the republicans in general are only expressing their ignorance here today.

Jimmy Carter? He has done absolutely nothing for humanity. He has spent his last twenty five years with Habitats For Humanity building homes for people who lost theirs. Can you think of anything that is more of a waste of time than that?
His time would have been much better spent watching NASCAR, roaming the aisles at WalMart, eating at McDonald's four times a week, working on his trailer, and shooting animals.

How dare he criticize America? We are the land of the free and anyone who doesn't agree with that should be put in jail.

Jimmy Carter? He has done absolutely nothing for humanity.
He has spent his last twenty five years with Habitat For Humanity building houses for people who have lost theirs-can you think of anything that is more of a waste of time than that? His time would have been much better spent watching NASCAR, roaming the aisles of WalMart, eating at McDonald's four times a week, reading the Bible (but not living it–just reading it), working on his trailer, or shooting animals.

I really love how all the comments by folks who don't agree with Carter attack his record as president and DO NOTHING to counter his accusations against Bush.

That's called "Ad Hominem", people; it's a logical fallacy, and it's the easiest way to lose an argument.

Next time, don't attack the source - argue the point he's trying to make. When you do that, we'll take you wilfully underinformed Bush apologists seriously.

International law states that un-uniformed combatants captured on the battlefield can be executed by firing squad. Is Jimmy pressing us for international law??

Jimmy Carter is the only public figure in the US to speak up against the Junta in Washington. Better listen to him before you are all in jail

Jimmy Carter with an opinion?? You'd think he had another book or something coming out. Oh, WAIT! He DOES have a new book! Please, Mr. Carter, try to contribute something like you really mean it...not trying to promote yourself.

The sad answer to that question is that the easiest people to persuade that violence, torture and destruction of human rights are necessary tools of war... are those who are most convinced that "God is on their side."

Such was the case when people like them marched Jesus and his fellow prisoners to the hill two thousand years ago... such was the case when people like them followed Pope Urban II's instructions and slaughtered the women and children of Jerusalem 900 years ago... such was the case when people like them followed Torquemada's instructions and held their prisoner's feet to the flames in the dungeons of Europe 600 years ago... and such was the case when people like them removed the limbs and vital organs from live patients in the operating rooms of Dr. Josef Mengele 60 some years ago in Auschwitz and Birkenau... they were sure that "God was on their side".

Some of the scariest people who ever lived were SURE that "God was on their side".

Therealist imagines that "the US is still the envey of the world." Who is it that envies us? It is true that the world's impoverished want to migrate here for a job that pays more money than they could get back home.

Employment is high, but good jobs with good income and a good future are disappearing and crappy jobs with no future are replacing them. Americans have traditionally depended on employment for income and for employers to value, train, and retain employees. That tradition is gone. Now employers see their employees a cost, like floor wax or light bulbs. The less you spend on costs, the more efficient your business has become.

Most households have more than one wage earner. 71% of American households earn less than $50,000. 43% earn less than $25,000, about $2,000 per month gross pay. Health costs and fuel costs are eating into that income, of course. Employers are abandoning their traditional role of providing retirement income and covering most medical costs. CEO's once (1980) earned about 40 times the wage of the average worker they supervised; now it is 531 times that of their workers. CEO pay is often tied to the growth of company stock value, though that is not true for workers, as if the entire performance of the corporation depended on the CEO. Many CEO's who are fired for incompetence or illegal activities get severance bonuses in the millions, unlike a fired worker. If the average worker earns $30,000 working for a boss that earns about 16 million, then the boss is taking home $7,658.65 PER HOUR. Maybe Einstein was worth that much per hour when he was working on his theories. Maybe Eisenhower was worth that much in WWII when the western world depended on him to save it from Nazism. No CEO is worth that much. We could find another CEO from India or China who would run the corporation just as well for a lot less.

Worker productivity is on the increase mostly because employers now demand more hours of work but do not provide more pay, as all salaried workers know. Those who succeed in corporate work are the men and women who put in 60-80 hour weeks. I read of a corporate CEO who noticed that a certain worker was not in his office two Sundays in a row. He called the employee to see if he was sick.

In short, the more freedom we give corporations, the less they value their employees. This booming economy is only booming for the top ten percent.

GENEVA CONVENTION:

Article 5 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of civilians in occupied territories, states that if a civilian "is definitely suspected of or engaged in activities hostile to the security of the States, such individual person shall not be entitled to claim such rights and privileges under the present Convention as would, if exercised in favor of such individual person, be prejudicial to the security of such State."

Sorry folks – terrorists do NOT qualify for rights under the Geneva Convention.

Don't let that stop you, though. Continue whining and crying about those poor poor terrorists and how we treat them. Assign them Geneva Rights, get them US attorneys, hell why not grant them amnesty – give them driver's licenses and demand the US give them free health care??

The ACLU-cry baby wussies of this country are a greater threat than the terrorists!

The Bush Administration has been caught lying about so much already. You'd have to be a fool to believe ANYTHING they say at this point.

Bush and Cheney have brought nothing but shame to America and according to our government's own intelligence reports, their approach has not been effective against global terrorism, which is now a much bigger problem than it was when they took office. They should be impeached before that do more damage to our beloved country.

Torture is immoral. Torture does not elicit useful information. The Bush administration condones and directs the use of torture. These are the facts. The Bush administration has caused lasting harm to the moral fabric of this nation and to its security. Terrorists could not have had better allies than the Bush administration.

Simply put, Jimmy Carter is a naive, naive fool.

He was wrong on the Soviet Union.
He was wrong on "Palestine."
He was wrong on economics.
He was wrong on foreign policy.

Given his flaccid response to Muslim aggression in 1979, is it any wonder that radical Islam grew to be the hydra it has become today?

If he had done his job as commander in chief, and SMASHED the Radical Muslim threat in its infancy in 1979, we might not be facing the global, fanatical, hyper-radicalized enemy we fight today.

Today, Radical Islam is still non-nuclear. Do we take our bruises fighting a tough enemy today, or do we wait, pretend it's Sept. 10 and pretend the threat doesn't exist, and push this fight off onto our children?

If not dealt with today, our children who will fight an insanely brutal and much better prepared enemy tomorrow (read: nuclear).

It's our responsibility to tackle this monster today. If Carter is badmouthing the effort, he's simply illustrating with whom his allegiance lies.

Ok already! Jimmy Carter was "the worse" etc. It seems that people attacking Carter are still avoiding the main issue. Does the US torture? Do we violate human rights...the Geneva Convention? Stop attacking the messenger rather than face the issues.

If we can't elect a president acceptable to both parties, we are officially not a democratic society. Every second commenter here says, in effect, that they'd like to see this country wrecked just to prove this or that politician wrong. Are you all nuts? Go to some other country and wreck that one – I'm trying to live and raise a family in this one.

For all those enthusiastic defenders of the Bush torture regimen, remember you will confessm you will sign any confession after a couple of hours of simulated drowning. And for the guy who would prefer a president who abuses human rights if his son were in Iraq, you got no complaint coming if your son is abused by 'Islamnfascists.'
Put another way, Dad, if you had to choose between Dick Cheney torturing your son and Vlad Putin or Iran's Ahmedinajad, how could you in God's name prefer any one torturer over another? You haven't thought this through and when you finally do you'll wake up screaming.

he is the biggest idiot i have ever heard. i wasnt even alive to have him as president. THANK GOD!!! but i do want to say i dont see anything wrong with trying to get an answer out of the prisoners. have people forgotten 9/11? if we dont get answers out of them one way we have to try another. because if we give them the chance they will be right back over here trying to kill us. jimmy carter needs to shut up and stay at home

Now we are the laughing stock of the world. – laurinda,ny

13T GDP
4.7% Unemployment
1% Budget Deficeit
65% GDP national debt
Largest homeownership(all races)
Longest economic expansion
Exporting capitalism and democracy

The facts show that the US is still the envey of the world. Small minded political opinions are just that..

Belgium should be the last country someone pipes in about being a joke. Do you guys even have a government formed this year yet??

After reading the comments I find that there are very few that appear to understand what this nation stands for or at least use to stand for. Whether you like Jimmy Carter or not, he has made a clear and concise statement of fact based upon international law and treaties to which the United Stares use to be a leader.

We in the past have refuse to send individuals to nations where we beieve they shall be tortured upon their return. We have had very strong statements as to those nations of the world that extract information through the use of torture. Our courts have recognized from the birth of our nation that confessions gained through torture or other questionable means are not worth the paper that they were written upon.

I shall not defend the Carter administration, it was a very turbulant period of time in US history. However, where were you when the embassy was taken in Iran, I was sitting on a military airfield in the US on alert, where were you when Charlie Beckworth's attempted rescue failed, I was on the ground in Germany defending the free world. What Jimmy Carter is saying is the truth, I think we should start paying attention to our former Presidents not only in what they say, but in many cases in what they do not say. And if you have not noticed, no living US President has come forth to include Gerorge HW Bush and lavish praise upon this administration for their actions in Iraq, their foreign policies, the questionale spying programs, nor the secret CIA prisons or the acknowlegded techiques of extracting information.

Information gained through torture is useless. Guidelines given to US forces in the later daus of Vietnam and after Vietnam stated to withhold information the enemy wanted as long as you could, but to relaize that any information you had was already out of date and not useful to the enemy and to go ahead and give it to them. Information over 24 hours old is not information that has any real use.

This may be a hard concept for some to understand, however, where I am, in my uniform, is America, what I do in uniform is America, the concept that an American soldier can disregard the rules of War, the Geneva Conventions because some official thinks they do not apply is not an acceptable stance. They do apply, why, because we signed them, I do not care who else has signed them but we have signed them, they are a protection for our soldiers and our behavior and adherenace to the rules and conventions are further protection for our servicemen and women today and 100 years from now.

Basically if we have a war the rules apply, if a crimminal act was committed a different set of rules apply, however one can not have it both ways, so make up your mind, we are either at war and the rules apply, or a crimminal act has occurred and our miliary forces are being improperly used for actions other than what we maintain a military force.

Carter is the worst president is US history. It's been throuoghly documented. He is only trying to repair that before his death. Bill Clinton will be doing the same thing 20 yrs from now. I can't wait...

Except for 2 Democrats, all past presidents have followed the same moral principle of not interfering with following administrations, allowing instead, the democratic process to work as intended. What does that say about those 2 presidents? Is there any wonder about which ones??

Integrity and Truth cannot be manufactured or bought ..

President Carter is the real deal.
A great human being and thankfully an outspoken former President...
The Truth always comes in perfect time.

That is Bush's typical mode of operation: change the international definition (of torture) or any rule if Bush does not like it. He appointed his croonies to the supreme court, etc., to favour his agenda.

With the Iraq war, Bush has isolated america from the rest of the world, and america has become public enemy #1. Domestically, america is deeper into debts because of the war, and the social system is in a mess.

Jimmy Carter is a brave man and a wise ex-president. He told it as it is, and does not back down.

As Carter says, it is time to kick the Bush out, with a dem president.

To All the Regan-Lovers:
The Iran-Contra Affair was a political scandal occurring in 1987 as a result of earlier events during the Reagan administration in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran, an avowed enemy, and illegally used the profits to continue funding anti-Communist rebels, the Contras, in Nicaragua.[1] Large volumes of documents relating to the scandal were destroyed or withheld from investigators by Reagan administration officials.[2][3] The affair is still shrouded in secrecy. After the arms sales were revealed in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan appeared on national television and denied that they had occurred.[4] A week later, however, on November 13, Reagan returned to the airwaves to affirm that weapons were indeed transferred to Iran. He denied that they were part of an exchange for hostages.

Jimmy Carter is the personification of our weak image in the international community. The perception that America is weak is exactly the reason the terrorists believe that their evil, militant actions will make a difference. We need to deal with the world from a position of strength. President Bush understands this well. Former President Carter has never understood it.

Folks, America does not torture people. Torture is what John McCain went through in Vietnam. Torture is what our soldiers went through in the far east during World War II. Torture is daily beatings and starvation like the Viet Cong subjected our soldiers to. Torture is putting a soldier in a chair, strapping him down, and taking a file and filing his teeth down until he makes the desired statements like the Japanese did during World War II.

Torture is NOT sleep deprivation, water boarding, subjecting to chilly temperatures, etc. Those are simply interrogation tecniques, and are quite successful at extracting quality information.

We do not beat people, or deprive them of nourishment, we don't kill one captive in front of the rest as an incentive to make the others talk. We're not chopping people's heads off or anything of the sort.

America has become soft. Jimmy Carter is a large part of the reason why. I wish he would just fade away into retirement and stop meddling in the affairs of our country. We survived his presidency in spite of him. We don't need him now.

The techniques used by the Bush administration to interrogate prisoners do not really harm anyone. These techniques simply make someone frightened that they might be harmed, even though they are in the safe hands of the CIA. To prove this, we should have some CIA operatives demonstrate the techniques on TV, on one of Bush's daughters (or the patriotic daughter of any patriotic Republican), to show us all that they are really harmless.

Hell, six days with no sleep naked in a room kept at fifty degrees followed by being held underwater until you start inhaling some water, then allowed a few seconds to cough it out, gulp in a breath of air, then held under water again, over and over – that would teach any teenager a little self-discipline.

If our schools would only start using this technique on kids who turn in their homework late, we would start seeing some improvement in those little scholars.

Many Carter supporters are overlooking one historical fact: the taking of the American Embassy in November 1979 and the subsequent holding of 53 Americans hostage were acts of war.

The lack of appropriate response by the Carter Administration emboldened the terrorists who now saw Amerca as weak.

Has President Bush make mistakes?
Absolutely; every wartime president does, it is inevitable. However, success is never an accident; we haven't had an attack on U.S. soil since 09/11/01. Also, our economy is the envy of the world: The stock market is soaring, record unemployment, low interest rates, and you're paying lower taxes than under President Clinton.

Terrorists are not covered by the Geneva Convention (i.e., they don't wear uniforms and they're not from one particular nation).
What exactly is torture? Waterboarding? Extreme cold or heat? Lack of sleep? Lack of food for a few hours?

Why are some Americans so worried about people who want to murder all of us? Will it take another 09/11/01 to wake some of us up to reality?

I'm surprised the amount of comments that are hating on Mr Carter.
I'm proud of the time we as a people elected a strong mind to lead us. I think our electing Mr Carter showed we valued character and simple decency. The problem then and continuing today is a decent truth speaking man should be teaching college not in a leadership role of a superpower. Mr Carters strength comes from the truth so many of us hear when he speaks. I believe it's fair to say Mr Carter is a good man. The kind of man we need to start valuing again in my opinion.
Regarding our folks held captive in Iran, moral strength wasn't going to bring them home. It wasnt like after years of Iran out of their oil they were going to consider us a friend? Of course not, they judged us on our actions, and our actions for years were not very cool. I think it's important to deal with truth, even if it puts you in a bad light. Better to confront our own demons honestly than to sweep them under the rug, and pretend they don't exist. That will just lead to bigger and badder problems. It gets so out of whack that people start hating the truth when it speaks of them less than good. Instead of facing it I read something like "why won't jimmy carter just go away!" or "jimmy carter wishes he was in as queda".

I mean wtf?? Things are so so so so out of whack these days our president allows torture and we just sit there. I have a hard time believing the good folks of our country would enjoy seeing anyone suffer. We are a decent country and we know better. Take another look at our current leadership. Does their example show what we are about? Yes, we put them there. You know the Republicans have got game when poor people vote for them. I hope we learn some lessons inherent in Mr Bush's presidency. There's still a ton of folks out there who feel hes a decent president doing a fine job, and he is most definitely in a very fast paced never get a breather kind of job – he's a good worker I'd say – a good worker for his folks. They're the ones driving new cars. Mr Bush isnt such a good worker for the rest of the people though, the majority of our population.
I think allowing torture is enough to raise a concern regarding Mr Bush's morals and beliefs. What kind of person allows deliberate torturing of other people? That's the character we thought wise to lead us. We have been going backwards long enough. It's time to take a 180 degree turn. It looks a little scarey, but it will be ok. Hillary is the best shot we have to get the oil guys out of the white house. I say we get behind her, expect good things, and just leave her be – it's the constant walking on eggshells every day and abut everything that has developed theuncanny and almost natural sounding ability to answer any question in what sounds like an ok answer but i really was two answers, sometimes even opposing each other.
Thats why I promise Hillary we'll leave her alone so she can get the fighting chance she deserves to make our country a better place – a place to be proud of . A place where truth, kindness, and fair play win the day.

My suggestion would be this. Even if the methods used are not "torture" in the sense of harming a person or causing significant pain, let's be very careful about going to down the slippery slope of even approaching torture! Simulated drownings? Oh my.

ThirsyJon
freedomthirst.com

Someone left a comment saying that the USA was the joke of the world during Carter's presidency.

USA is again the joke of the world. But nobody laughs at this "joke". Bush lies, steals, cheats, kills, and the list goes on.

I can't understand how one can still find people trying to justify his (mis)deeds. The huge damage he as done will probably soon be unveiled and will have to be repaired by the next president, but I doubt that four years will be enough for that. If he (she) is a democrat, it will be a child's play for the republicans to declare him incompetent.

At least Carter, if not a great president (I can't judge on that) was honest I think.

Bob from Seattle needs a history lesson. It was Regan and his cronies that made a deal with Iraq so they would hold the hostages until after the election of 1980, so big actor/little man Reagan could win votes. It worked. The hostages were released quid pro-quo in exchange for weapons which Reagan and his henchmen gladly delivered later that same year. Just another example of republican machivallian manoevers that gets the US into repeated disasters. It is the honest and decent men like Carter who fall the victim to these immoral acts – while the majority of republicans blindly fall for continuous disinformation churned out by their own republican leaders. Shame on them! And shame on those that follow un-questioning, in contradiction of facts and ignorant of history. They would rather have a 'strong' man to follow than be incumbered with reality. And again, Carter speaks the truth to help repair our constitution – while he is meligned liars and power worshipers. Alan, The Netherlands

First poster "Dave", you need to check yourself. The CIA is performing, and encouraging torture. While some in the military have falling victim to the CIA's perceived authority in this area (i.e. Abu Ghraib) and followed their instructions, it is strictly forbidden in the military and we are trained to know this and abide by it. The military as an institution does not torture. The CIA, yes, they torture, always have. Where does it get us? Nowhere. Use Al Zachari as a case study. Where did he get his hatred of the west? Maybe it was when he was being tortured by Egyptians under the tutelage of CIA professionals. The sad truth is torture has been long discredited as an information gathering tool. So why does the CIA still do it? Simple, a great many Americans find comfort in knowing that somewhere a brown man with a funny religion is getting the crap kicked out of him 24/7 in response to 9-11. So "Dave" lay off the military would you? We are merely a tool of government foreign policy. Put in an impossible place with an impossible mission. How exactly we are supposed to rectify 100 years of greedy ham-fisted western foreign policy with a whole lot of bombs and bullets is beyond me. It is up to you, the citizenry to hold the government accountable. If you don't like how they are employing your military or your CIA tell them!

"the USA was the joke of the world during this time."

Well, for your information, Thomas. The USA is the joke of the world as this time! The reputation of a free nation is down the drain with the terror-reign going on right now. But of course the 55% op americans who reelected a no-brain bush is just too blind to see it, or saw it too late.

Jimmy Carter is honest, loyal to good and truth, and one of the last true patriots we have in this country. Thoes who continue to bash this great humanitarian harbor hate and preach distruction. It amazes me how self loathing some can be when it comes to the values of our country.

Dear Echo,

Clinton WAS impeached (but not convicted) for lying to a Grand Jury of the United States.

It is simply an historical fact.

Carter is great compared to bush,i remeber those free peanut butter days and peanuts.

Reagan had already promised the Iranian's "Arms for Hostages", otherwise, give me one good reason why Iran released them as soon as Reagan was sworn in. Jimmy Carter would not stoop so low and bore the brunt of criticism for not buying the Hostages out. The interest rates and inflation was so high because the country was paying back the enormous debt for the Vietnam war. Something to look forward to for the next 25 years. Thank you George Bush.

Gee I dont ever recall President Carter ever making idiotic mistakes like Bush. Sad to hear the White House denounce a former PRESIDENT with a PROVEN track record!!

Wow. You folks don't remember that at the time of the hostage crisis, Carter had tried house-cleaning at the CIA, GHW Bush was the Director of the CIA, and a deal was cut between the displaced rogue elements of the CIA and revolutionary Iran. This was the Iran-Contral scandal. Part of the agreement included the non-release of the hostages, in order to ruin Carter's chances at reelection.

There is no way in hell that Reagan takes credit for releasing he hostages, on his swearing-in day. He wasn't yet president! In fact, he and Bush 41 deserve all the blame for their extended stay.

Very nearly the first action of The Criminal Bush was to block the release of his pappie's presidential papers which must be absolutely dripping with evil.

Like father, like son. I despise these festering meatsacks.

It's amazing how these right wing nitwits continue to buy into the myth of "Bush is protecting us from terrorists", or should I say "terrists". They are truly hopeless when their need for a daddy figure "who will take them by the hand and lead them to safety" is so desperate that they put their faith in a couple of draft dodging sociopaths like Bush and Cheney.
Wake up! They torture people not because they are terrorists. They torture them because they like to. In fact if they had evidence they were terrorists they wouldn't be so afraid to actually bring charges against them. Hello! Earth to the wingnutosphere.

Remember when being from the USA meant you were one of the 'good guys'?

I do.

::sighs::

Everyone seems to forget that the hostages in Iran were not freed because the Reagan political campaign BRIBED THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT WITH ARMS BOUGHT WITH DRUG MONEY. My God people, did the Iran-Contra hearings mean nothing to you? Have you forgotten the recession of 1982-84? Do you not understand that the "Reagan Recovery" was PURCHASED by the largest increase of government debt in history (to that date, Bush II has made it even worse?)

James Carter was the one of the only Presidents to actually behave according to his Christian beliefs. For that the "Christian Right" will never forgive him.

It seems to me that not one person in this room remembers how it was the Republicans that made a deal with Iran to hold our people captive until after the election. They either seem to believe amyth and choose to forget about Iran-contra, Ollie North,Regan(The one who coined"I can't Remember")
Oh those crazy toe tapping Republican.

I wish someone would torture Jimmy Carter and make him go away. What an a-hole….
Posted By Bob, Des Moines, Iowa : October 10, 2007 2:35 pm
-------------–

And Jimmy Carter would do all he could to spare you from the same fate. Not that I would want him to, a-hole.

How about we STOP focusing on how good/bad Jimmy Carter was a president and focus on what he said in the interview? How about we start focusing on how horrible of a president George W. Bush in the history of the US? How about we focus on the state of the country under George W. Bush and his administration's leadership? Let's not kid ourselves folks. We are too far up the creek to keep playing into these bipartisan polictics. Let's start admitting what's wrong and instead of placing blame, start taking some action. This country can not thrive on the type of leadership we've seen since 2000 (republican or not)!! I am frankly sick of people trying to defend the actions of this current administration. It's hard to believe that people can be so naive as to actually believe that there was no torture or that we are fighting the good fight in Iraq.

It's torture watching our people wage war against our country, our lifestyle, our president, our pocketbook,our freedom, You can't eat this, you can't smoke that,you can't say that. I want freedom from idiots trying to run our lives and sell us out to our enemies

God bless you Jimmy Carter – seriously. This is courageous to stand up and call foul where foul runs up & down our criminal corrupt administration. Yes we – the people – deserve better than the jerks up-top.

My big question to the democrats in congrress: What is it gonna take for you to do your job? If carter from outside the administration has to call out what has been more obvious than daylight, what the heck are you empty suits doing for the salaries you're earning????

Hearings. Yup. subpoena the big and small of the cowboys running amock with our constitution. Let's fix this darn foreign policy failing to live up to our constitution once and for all.

Matt

I guess we can count old Jimmy in the 20% of Democrats who think the world would be better off if America loses the Iraq war. Jimmy should just go away.

an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind -Ghandi

Don't get too excited over the memory of Ronald Reagan "freeing" the hostages in Iran. The fact of the matter is, and few know this, that Regan paid ransom money in gold bullion to Iran. Yes, pure gold bars, transshipped through Lakenheath Air Base, England, to Iran, a few days after he took office. A good friend of mine was the security guard on duty at Lakenheath at the time and all there knew of its purpose. Didn’t anyone wonder at the time why (and how) we got the hostages back so quickly and easily?

I would have to agree that Carter may not have been the best president, however, he is a very good humanitarian and an all around good person. His legacy will always be remembered as one who stands for peace.

I have to agree that Bush is the worst thing that ever happened to our country. It will take many, many years to get back what we once had, if we ever can get it back. I am completely opposed to how Bush has run this country; from imprisoning people without allowing them the benefit of knowing their accusation or not allowing them any kind of attorney privilege, to his complete ignorance of the Geneva Convention. I find that very appalling; psychologists all agree that inhumane punishment does not get results. People will tell you anything you want to hear when fearing for their life. Bush lied to get us into war, his manipulation of the truth, his stomping all over our constitutional rights in the name of fear, his illegal war in Iraq and now preparing us for war in Iran. Will Bush ever quit taking our country down?

All of us have the right to freedom of speech and should question our leaders when they appear to be doing things wrong. Where does it say that we cannot question? Do you realize that Hitler's soldiers feared so much for their lives that they never questioned either? Is that really what we want? Or do we want the ability to know or try to know what is going on in our government? Bush has created a very secretive government, much has been classified, so much executive privilege. He is a very scary person and I have such a strong feeling that we will go to war in Iran before the next election; which will complete his neocon ideology. Our country is just not the same as what I remember it to be while growing up. We have allowed the terrorists and Bush to shape us into something that many do not respect worldwide.

Jimmy Carter, I will always respect your thoughts. I share many of them. It's too bad some on here cannot see what damage this administration has done.

"I don't think it. I know it, certainly."

Same Dan Rather moment.., different elitist. Any documents on that Jimmy?

Former President Carter is under-appreciated for his years as President.

However, his contributions to the common good since he left office, and his genuine humanitarianism is beyond question. He is a true elder statesman and should be applauded for his recent remarks concerning the conduct of this adminstration. The ongoing torture being conducted with the consent and support of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney is criminal and deplorable.

I only disagree with Presidnet Carter on one point; he says that he isn't sure President Bush and the Vice-President should be prosecuted. I am sure they should be tried and convicted.

They have damaged this country and the Contitution so much the Republic may never recover.

Thank you, CNN! At least for now, my 6:56 post is back up! Maybe there's hope yet.

Jimmy has been my hero for 30 years. Honest, decent and upright. Just the sort of person republican weasels love to attack. The more morally repugnant their failed position gets the more they work to blame others. Thanks for always speaking up for what's right Jimmy!

Um, what happened to my 6:56pm post? It was up, now it's gone. Nothing offensive or inappropriate in it. I'm guessing that my only sin (and many others', too, I'm sure) was being too "liberal" (or, as most people around the world would see it: too rational). I'm guessing my post and many, many others were pulled to make room for what I assume to be the fewer in number conservative posts. I can't get one mildly worded liberal post up, but irrational hate-spewers like Riggs, Ryan Indiannapolis and RightyTighty can post multiple times? The fix is in.

Why? Because, as usual, CNN is mistaking quantitative "balance" with objectivity. I would bet the pro-Carter/anti-Bush comments probably outnumber the senseless Carter bashers by about 5-to-1, but CNN is so obsessed with trying to prove that it's not "liberal," its editors feel compelled to manufacture the appearance of an even 50-50 debate. It's bad enough that this distortion prevents the network from doing any in-depth reporting on the Bush Administration (can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - there would be no way of shirking the "liberal" label if they were tell it like it is with this president); I didn't realize they go so far as to censor their blogs, too, to further their self-serving commercial agenda. If I'm right about this, it's just another example of how spineless "news" outlets like CNN have made meaningful public debate virtually impossible anymore in this country. Everyone is led to believe that there is no such thing as right and wrong - just differences of opinion, and we're all perfectly and equally entitled to be portrayed as half-right. It's ironic: no one benefits more from "political correctness run amok" in this country today than the right wing, because it's politically incorrect to say, show or do anything that would leave a viewer or reader with the impression that there really is a right and a worng on a given issue. God forbid CNN lets its blog reflect an overwhelming support for one ideological position over another, regardless of such trivialities as facts, reason or (as I suspect is the case here) the true proportion of readers' views on the subject.

If I'm wrong about why my pro-Carter/anti-Bush(anti-torture) post came down, I'd like to know the real reason. It contained no profanity or even harsh, crass, personal insults (all of which are rampant here, especially among the repetitive conservative post-ers).

Can't wait to have this post come down too (Actually, I doubt this one will even get posted in the first place).

All those bashing Jimmy Carter use the same tired Republican tactics: When you cannot refute the facts, you attack the messenger.
To all those right wing nuts, think (if you are capable) about (1) If it's ok to torture to get info, why not admit it? Why the charade that Bush plays? (2) In little over a year, who will be the worst ex-president? hint: it starts with B...

Job Opening: President of United States. Must be able to lie without moving lips and pray at the same time. Must have your own Condie look-a-like to look for WMD (can't find em anywhere). Also, no Dick Cheney halloween masks permitted at job interview (scares the little ones)! No knowledge or lack thereof a plus. Those with history of torture will be preferred. Ignore little kids without health insurance in the lobby. Bring your NRA card for free parking. Job posting limited to the remaining life of the country.

What's a real bummer for me is reading all of these comments from my fellow Americans that are basically supporting torture and the Bush adminstration. It's you people that have degraged Democracy and destroyed true Freedom. The Taliban would be proud!

This seems very typical of the republican style of attack. 'It must not be true that George Bush tortures because Jimmy Carter was one of the worst presidents ever', or 'Global warming does not exist because Al Gore is a democrat' How do these responses make any sense, if Superman said that America tortures than it's true?

"It took the specter Ronald Reagan to free American hostages in days."

Reagan made a deal with the Iranians to keep the hostages until after his inauguration. He sold Americans out for his political purposes. Just as he sold all of us out on with his trickle-down, deregulation hi-jinks that left the middle class shafted and the rich ever richer. Reagan, not Carter, is my vote for the worst modern American President – until this one.

The Bush Koolaid drinkers that are posting their vitriol here against Jimmy Carter are a nice sample of the 29% dead enders. Totally brainless sheep. All of you together would not even equal Carter's little finger. Everyone else now knows your so-called Conservative world views are total bunk. Your days are numbered right wingers. Just a little more than a year till the GOP will be history. Get your things in order.

Someone has to say what all of us know.....Bush tortures. period. He flouts law and tradition whenever it's inconvenient. He's so short-sighted and incompetent. Everyone else in the world knows what he's doing, providing a great recruitment tool for terrorists. Bush is without a doubt the WORST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!

I believe that Jimmy is right, that we are torturing prisoners. But, he should realize that many in the world think that he is "In the Know" and therefore it is a fact. I think this hurts the American Image even further then Bush has already hurt us. Jimmy needs to keep his gut feelings and opinions out of the media. I realize that he is a gentle soul and things like this make him sick at the core of his being. He has the connections to tell George directly what he thinks, not use the WorldWide Media. And, just for the record, for what they (the terrorists) have done already and what I believe they are capable of, a little head slapping and sleepless nights don't bother me one little bit. For what they do to our citizens I think they are getting off easy. If we went with the "Eye for an Eye" thing, maybe they would think twice.

Frank Boca Raton, FL : October 10, 2007 4:12 pm:
You are a typical liberal. You tell the Republicans to stop "labeling" people who disagree with them, yet you do the same thing. Sounds like "do as I say, not as I do" to me. Typical. And unless any of you have seen an interrogation, may I suggest you not judge. Don't be fooled by terrorists who are released that claim torture. Try reading the Al Qaida handbook posted all over the internet. That's exactly what they are supposed to do.

Jimmy who?

I wasted my vote when I voted for Jimmy Carter as president. He is and idiot; he did not know what he was doing or talking about when he was president, and he does not know what he is doing or talking about even today.

President Carter has done a great service by adding his voice to all those who are appalled to see an American president reduced to repeated denials of what has become undeniable–that the United States has, and continues, to engage in torture. Shame.

Imagine you are a US captive now caged in Gitmo. you are sleep deprived, have been naked in a freezer for 20 hours, they strap you onto an board tying your hands down. You know nothing, you were in the wrong place and got swept up into US hands, but no one believes you do not know where the arms are stockpiled; they promise you a warm dinner if you just tell them where the depot is but hold you underwater until you can't help beginning to let some water into your lungs; do you hold out or do you just make up a likely place so they stop the torture? You tell the story, you get your dinner and the fools race off to investigate your false info. This is the only result of harsh interrogation, take a lesson from my mother, she asked her 2yearold was the icing sweet? And immediately got a full confession.

Jimmy Carter speaks the truth that is obvious to any thinking person. The ad hominem attacks of the right wing posted in previous comments only serve to validate his analysis. Bringing up the inflation and gas shortages of the 70's is a diversion from actually speaking to the points that Carter makes: the Bush administration has undermined human rights and the Geneva convention that has protected the veterans of our previous wars for over a century. Talk about supporting our troops! Bush has done just the opposite in the court of world opinion.

There's a huge difference between torture as the prefered method of interrogation of administration-deemed "enemy combatants" and interrogation techniques as employed by seasoned intelligence officials who know how to a.) do it effectively and to our benefit and b.) do it within the parameters of international law. What we have at the sadly diminished "helm" of US leadership is the sad, caved-in, pathetic little voice of a foolish bully from Texas who is too ignorant to do anything but follow his own little inner voice, to our national demise, morally, internationally, and economically. God Bless America and God help us all.

Jimmy Carter speaks the truth that is obvious to any thinking person. The ad hominem attacks of the right wing posted in previous comments only serve to validate his analysis. Bringing up the inflation and gas shortages of the 70's is a diversion from actually speaking to the points that Carter makes: the Bush administration has undermined human rights and the Geneva convention that has served us well for over a century and protected the veterans of our previous wars. Talk about supporting our troops! Bush has done just the opposite in the court of world opinion.

President Carter is 100% correct in stating that the Bush administration bypasses the Laws of the land to create Laws to suit their needs and to hell with anyone that disagrees.
"W" Bush is the biggest LIAR and the most CORRUPT President this great country has ever had in the White House period.
So, take that you RADICAL RIGHT WING WAR MONGERS.......

When the truth sinks in about the terrible things the Bush Adminisration
has done in the name of the war on terror it makes you sick.

Based on the majority of comments, I can only conclude that much of the public really (1) doesn't understand what it is to be an American citizen (i.e. have the right to air legitimate complaints about the power structure)
(2) condones torture
(3) doesn't deserve the freedoms inherent in #1

Actually, I suspect this is a skewed representation: probably, some FOX hate purveyors (O'Really? Shammity?) have issued their legions marching orders to discredit progressive intellectuals (same thing happens to Noam Chomsky, Bill Moyers, Al Gore, etc. any time they opine publicly). Go back to watching Fox "News", please.

Jimmy Carter has a conscience ...
Dubya has none ...
Clinton ignored the Islamic menace ... or
Clinton wagged the dog ... which is it?
Clinton tried to get Osama ...
Dubya forgot Osama and hit Iraq ...
Osama still in AFG/PAK ... now Bush wants to attack Iran ...
I'm a retired army Officer and am ashamed of what Bush, et al has done to this country.

Actually, neither Carter nor Bush43 could be considered the worst American president. That honor would go to James Buchanan, who did nothing about mounting tensions between the North and South and left it to his successor, Abraham Lincoln.

Bob wrote: "Oh my GOSH……If you just listened to his speeches you would think this Lil man was a member of Al Queda or some terrorist organization. I mean what is he trying to prove. Jimmy Carter knows he is the WORST PRESIDENT in America History and will not give it up. I mean this is the same guy that got pushed around by IRAN making Gas go up to astronomical prices, interest rates for homes were at 19%,the economy was horrible….etc I could go on…..This TRATIOR is out of his mind but more than that he is just giving propaganda to our enemy. Jimmy please either go away or join the forces you really want to…Al Queda"

Gas prices certainly haven't gone up under 6 years of Bush! We all know that Jimmy Carter secretly controlled OPEC.

I suppose the Federal Reserve (an independent, private, quasi-government institution) wasn't in charge of interest rates during the Carter administration. It was Carter's fault!

And Reagan certainly was a true patriot, not a "traitor" like Carter. While Carter was mounting a bold rescue effort to try to rescue our hostages, Reagan and GHW Bush were secretly negotiating (illegal) arms deals with the Iranians . . . on the condition that they not release the hostages until Reagan's inauguration.

Then they funded and trained Al Qaeda in Afganistan for 8 years.

Jimmy Carter, worst president in revisionist history. If you believe that, you have been either high or stupid for the last 6 years.

Former President Carter has the limited view of human nature that most Liberals had during the 20th century. He believes that human beings are formed in the image of God and that their true inner nature is God-like. He also believes that people only choose to be evil or destructive because their innate God-like nature has been deformed or suppressed by an unfortunate childhood, political oppression, racism, or brutal treatment. He also believes, like a good Liberal, that inside every man and woman is the God-given yearning to be a good human being. Give your enemy understanding, compassion, and support and he will transform himself – gradually – into a decent person.

What a fool Carter is! His own inner goodness and his deep faith doesn't allow him to realize that much of the human race is mean spirited, selfish, self-centered, and cruel by nature.

For example, Liberals like Carter never learned that, if you give a poor boy a government grant so he can afford to go to college and then make something of himself, that boy will vote against similar benefits for others as an adult.

But Carter is too old to learn anything new now. He will probably go on helping the poor, the unfortunate, the young, the female, and the aged until the idiot dies and goes to Heaven. Even there he will probably try to persuade God to let the rest of us into Heaven with him.

This makes me so very sad. My father fought on the front lines of WWII when the very survival of our nation was threatened but he and his colleagues did not stoop to torture. It breaks my heart that my country has fallen so low.Thanks to President Carter for the truth.

Lol all these people talking about the success or failure of Carter's presidency, like that has any bearing on anything, not to mention what he inherited from Nixon and Ford. You people are about as insightful as Bush, which would explain your knee jerk reaction. In case you forgot or didn't hear it on Limbaugh, Jimmy Carter was a successful businessman and commander of a nuclear submarine. Compare that to your genius who was called by Jesus to be president and couldn't even figure out how to be a cokehead properly ie not while in the cushiest most desirable job in the military during a war, ie a jet fighter pilot stationed in your home state in the National Guard while the unaddicted, unentitled, and otherwise not cowardly are dying by the 10's of 1000's overseas. Sheesh, your time is over republitards. Many of you will have lots of time to kiss W's backside when you're hanging out in hell together.

Wow...NOW can we start impeachment proceedings???

Bob in Seattle:
The Iran hostage story you describe is the Official story. The facts are that it was engineered so Carter would never see them released on his watch. It's called emasculation. You can thank the CIA for emasuclating Carter so that you version, the Official storey, can still be said to be true

Listen to all these right-wingers attack Jimmy Carter, just because he has the nerve to tell the truth. Bush is the first U.S president to trash the Geneva Conventions and authorize the torture of prisoners, and he doesn't even have the guts to take responsibility for what he is doing.

The truly chilling thing is the number of people who are responding that they support torture and who give justifications for why they think it is okay to torture. It makes me fear that our country is becoming fascist.

Torture is not acceptable under any circumstances. Aside from the fact that torturing people is immoral and illegal, it has been shown that people who are tortured do not necessarily provide truthful information. If they don't actually know anything, then they will say or agree to anything in order to stop the torture, resulting in wasted time and lost resources following dead-end leads.

Additionally, people who support torture seem to forget that government agencies in this country had sufficient information about the terrorists that planned 9/11 to have made arrests. That information was gathered using conventional investigation techniques–no torture was used. Europe has also had success uncovering terrorists using conventional techniques.

Hey Bob in Seattle, WA - What does your ENTIRE post have to do with the topic at hand? Answer: NOTHING.

Carter speaks the simple truth.

The only part that's sad is that these truths have to be said.

So Jimmy Carter was a bad president because 53 Americans were held hostage for 18 months and then returned home alive? How does that compare to this current president, on whose watch 3,000 Americans were killed in our largest city and our capital, and an entire city was destroyed? Hmmmm....

Say what you want about Carter and his presidency, but if we had listened to him and put on a sweater, turned down our thermostats, started conserving energy, and moved forward with his alternative energy initiatives (undone by Reagan), maybe we wouldn't be in this mess in the Middle East and be 30 years further in weaning ourselves off of oil. Just a thought.

The saddest part of this discussion is the fact that detractors of Mr. Carter's statements can only seem to respond through defamation and/or fabrication.
One comparison that keeps coming up is bringing up the 444 Days in Tehran where hundreds of students and embassy staffers were held hostage, and his (controversially) 'inept' handling of the situation. To contrast: Bush II has laid waste to two countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) creating massive rates of civilian deaths and a global humanitarian crisis, held our armed forces hostage by sending them into a fabricated conflict with no clear goals and no definition of "victory", and held the citizens at home in our own Great Nation hostage since 2003 because anyone voicing concerns about the war plans was automatically a traitor and "un-American".
Carter was not one of the best presidents. That's nothing new. But while he had his serious fumbles in foreign policy, at least he didn't dismantle the Constitution and the system of governmental self-regulation known as 'checks and balances', choose to manufacture two major wars (one on fabricated pretenses), disenfranchise citizens of color, widen the vast gap between the earnings of the super-rich and the rest of us wage-earners, AND approve of torture. And that's just for starters!
Regarding the question of whether "enemy combatants" can be tortured... There are two legitimate channels for dealing with physical threats to our country. Military, and law enforcement. Both approaches require commitment to human rights, especially Habeus Corpus. So – if a captured fighter is not "worthy" of being designated as a prisoner of war, they should be treated within the framework of the police and criminal justice system. There is no exemption from upholding moral standards.
In my mind, those suggesting that torture is fine-and-dandy, an-eye-for an-eye and all that, are as unAmerican as they usually claim others to be. It is these torture-apologists, the New American Fascists, who are subverting the American Way of Justice For All and the Rule Of Law.

IMPEACH BUSH/CHENEY before they completely destroy us.

I had to double check the date on comments here that claim Jimmy Carter was the worst president in history.

Yep, they said "October 10 2007"! Where have they been? No president has ever sent *everything*, comprehensively, into a tailspin since the previous presidency faster than G.W. Bush. In fact, no president has ever come close to such stunning reversal. I supposed it helped that Republicans have been in control of all 3 branches of government through this period.

Carter is objective, moral, honest, and intelligent–and passionate about it all. A combination Republicans cannot stand.

Anyone can make things appear like they're going great on a credit card like Reagan did. Tax cuts for the rich and record deficits have been his legacy ever since.

President Carter is not anti-semetic. He has been steeped in the Israel/Palestine conflict for years. He has a better grasp of whats really going on than most candidates (Rep and Dem) running. It's time the United States stopped drinking the "I'm such a victim" Israeli koo-aid and started dealing with our own problems. Israle and Palestine must come to grips with the reality of sharing (equally) a piece of real estate and stop making the world miserable because of ancient text. It's beyond ridiculous!

Posted By TJFRMLA : October 10, 2007 7:12 pm

Thank you for speaking the truth, President Carter.

The Bush administration is, without a doubt, the worst one the U.S. has ever had to endure.

Our unelected leader, Mr. Bush, behaves as if he were an emperor, unaccountable to anyone. His administration has violated numerous international laws and most of the U.S. Bill of Rights. Indeed, even eight hundred years of habeas corpus rights are trashed during his time in office.

Our nation's largest budget surplus in history has been plundered; we now have the nation's largest debt ever, with Bush at the helm.

And he apparently misled the American people into an unnecessary, illegal and immoral war, which has killed over a million Iraqis (mostly women and children) and almost 4000 Americans to date (with no end in sight).

Many of the cherished ideals that America once stood for (equality, charity, democracy, truth, justice, etc.) have been tossed aside like some quaint, old-fashioned, irrelevant notions.

Mr. Carter had his share of problems to deal with during his presidency, of course, as do all presidents. But at least he can say he dealt with them with intelligence and integrity.

And at least he didn't trash our American ideals (the Constitution, etc.) and our world standing as a leader in democracy while doing so.

We can't defeat terrorism by becoming terrorists ourselves. But sadly, under Bush's revised definitions and rules (or lack thereof), that is exactly what we have become.

Jimmy Carter is a brilliant humanitarian. He has more world knowledge in his little toe than Chimpy Bush will EVER aquire. He is a real American patriot. Those who disagree with his views have the right to but they do not have th right to trash this man. He's always been truthful, honest and noble in his hope for this country. Try even thinking that about George W. Bush and your head will EXPLODE! The man and his buddies are a bunch of THUGS AND LIARS who should be dragged from the Whitehouse in chains.

Well, of course, President Carter didn't really do a great job of President. That's my opinion. However,That being said, he was a much greater Presiden then Bush is today. Not only that, he is also a great American, which Bush is not. And I'm no longer a Republican because of just that.

attacking carter just proves your inability to focus on the issue. Bush and his cronies use TORTURE! america and everything positive about it has been ruined by a president with no morals or ethics. shameful. and sure, i could attack you carter-haters for being idiots, but that's not the issue here.

Carter is absolutely right. Bush is not only the worst president in U.S. history but he has become obscene and has shamed this nation by making it a torture state.
He should be impeached for that alone.

The Republican Party has supported Bush, his lies, his tortures and his slaughter of American soldiers and Iraqi citizens. We MUST vote them out.

"Summary: Carter giving any administration presidential advice is tantamount to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays giving tips on how to win the World Series. It just doesn't fly."

Posted By Thomas, St. Petersburg, FL : October 10, 2007 2:01 pm

Thomas, your whole post completely sidesteps the issue. Carter is saying that Bush has violated fundamental American and human rights principles by authorizing torture and holding prisoners without charge.

In making these criticisms, Carter is absolutely correct. But the criticisms you make of _Carter_ do not in any way defend _Bush _ or excuse the anti-American, anti-Christian character of Bush's actions.

Allow me to put a liberal spin on Jimmy Carter's judgement call that head slapoping and frigid temperatures contitute 'torture'.

"Think about the children. If torturing a suspect prevents the death of one child, then it was worth it."

Let's try another angle, Our 'torture' vs. 'global torture'. Us: Head slapping. Them: gouging out an eye. Us: Cold Temperatures. Them: Sodomizing and Raping. Us: Waterboarding. Them: Cutting off fingers. Us: Sleep Deprivation. Them: Breaking limbs. Us: Killing time with long interrogations. Them: Killing family members before the victims eyes.

Oh. We are such a bad country. Gitmo detainees get better treatment (health and food) than does the average homeless in this country. Yeah – we're the worst torturers in the world.

Jimmy Carter is a fool and a useful tool of our enemies. Being president doesn't make you smart (and I've gathered that thought by reading all of the anti-Bush rants here) – but it does make you influential – even if you are a fool. We need to understand that differnce when Carter opens his trap.

RE: Laurinda,NY

Ryan in Indianapolis is right. You shouldn't defend Jimmy Carter without having some knowledge of his presidency. In a nutshell, Jimmy Carter oversaw one of the worst economies in recent history (mortgage rates were in the teens)and one of the biggest foreign policy disasters (Iranian Hostage Crisis). He was so bad, that while still president and seeking re-election, he was actually challenged for the Democratic nomination by members of his own party.

You are right on one point. His brother was a drunk.

Who to believe? The answer is pretty clear, bush is a liar, cheat and incompetent, Carter is an honorable man.

I believe Carter!!!

Bottom Line – zero terrorist attacks since 9/11. If it comes down to a choice between having a President that will do whatever it takes to keep us safe versus trying to get the rest of the world to think we're nice, the American people will vote overwhelmingly for security. All you need to know about Carter's lack of intellegence is that he thinks that Hugo Chavez is a fairly elected great statesman. Any day now we can expect to see him in Iran berating the US for not being as progressive and humanitarian as that Iranian Hitler. This man has nothing on Neville Chamberlain when it comes to discerning good versus evil.

G.W. Bush is nothing short of an arrogant war criminal! He and his cronies, Cheney, Rummie, Gonzo and Condi should all be on trial as they are equally guilty of the lies, high crimes and misdemeanors!

To: Thomas, St. Petersburg, FL : October 10, 2007 2:01 pm

Wow, impressive! You only have 5 or 6 points against Carter. You really want to know who the WORSE President of ALL TIME is? Check the list there: http://www.netrootsmass.net/Hugh/Bush_list.html

the list is up to 256 Bush scandals. Nobody can be worse than Bush.

Two things: First, Carter is saying what we all already know. I doubt there is anyone, Dem or Republican, who genuinely - and that's the key: GENUINELY - believes that the Bush Administration, and GWB personally, are against torture. So anyone who is taking issue with this comment by Carter is just out to shoot the messenger, plain and simple.

Second, to those who posted about what a bad president Carter was: You have got to be joking! GWB is out to crush nearly every record Carter ever held in the "bad president" scorecard, and will certainly establish many, many new low points all his own, like most unethical, most dishonest (yes, way more so than Clinton), most fiscally irresponsible, most destructive to our military, most beholden to foreign interests (Bush bows lower to the Saudis than any Dem ever has before the UN), most catastrophic foreign policy, most contemptuous and alienting toward our allies - the list goes on and on and on. One more important one: I don't think any president has ever generated such a long and distinguished line of "insider" converts, anxious to tell the world that it's worse than we can even imagine. By the time 27 yrs go by after GWB leaves office and the rest of this administration's dirty laundry comes out, I can't imagine he'll be taken seriously enough to be invited on serious, mainstream talk shows like this.

It saddens me that al queda has succeeded in their mission. A divided US, a military quagmire in the wrong region, a fading constitution, and most importantly a prevailing climate of fear. We have traded our humanity for "security". Torture is used by cowards, and we know this admin. is rife with them. The GOP trades on your fear, you dolts. Wake up. Who is this America? We do not belong to AIPAC and the PNAC.

Bob From Seattle- if there is a Republican president you are more likely to be taken hostage- due to the increased terrorism around the world caused by- dare I say it – another Republican goof. I dont know if you recall how this all took place, but Carter tried to rescue the hostages-not give the bad guys guns, birthday cakes and other non-sense, like that gunslingin' tough guy Ronnie Baby. If it would not have been for the sand storm, things would have turned out differently. But, it is better to change the facts, change history, and believe that the nuclear engineer, etc Carter just couldn't stand up to the brilliance of the, well, actor. Oh yeah, I forgot, Ronnie won the cold war too. Way to go! Keep loving Ronnie, though, kiss his picture before you go to bed. Out

ACTUALLY ,BOB IN SEATTLE,THE HOSTAGES IN IRAN WOULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED EARLY UNDER CARTER,BUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OFFERED A BRIBE OF ILEAGAL ARMS TO HOLD AMERICANS LONGER AS HOSTAGES.HOW
PATROTIC IS THAT!

Carter or not, this is an interesting topic. What is officially torture? Sitting them in a cold room for an extended period of time, simulated drowning, sitting them in front of HSN for 24 hours straight? It's not something that is easily defined, therefore it can be denied or substantiated depending on what you use to interrogate a person. Personally, if the interrogator was playing with their gum with their fingers or had bad breath, that is torture to me...

All kidding aside, when it comes to imminent threats to this nation or those that protect it, I support using more aggressive techniques. Now define that... again it's really a tough definition to come to, but you have to do something. I think you have to pick somewhere between 2 extremes, Carter, who did nothing, or someone like Saddam who did everything. It's choosing the lesser of two evils, which is going to be a very unpopular choice.

I fuly agree with President Carter and his moral conviction and his clear analysis. The comments from the Bushies are amusing and pathetic at the same time. No one seems to deny that Bush condones torture. They attack Carter and with flawed historical perspective, they attempt to discount his presidency.

If there is a Hell then George W. Bush is DOOMED!

"Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force." – Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, January 23, 1980

Directed at the Soviet, to be sure, but then again, Carter was snuggling up to them as he had snuggled up to Arafat.

Too bad Jimmy Carter didn't consider the revolution sponsored by Khomeini as being an "outside force" as the Ayatollah led this event not from a Muslim country, but from France.

A man without a country...hmmmm, sounds familiar doesn't it?

Carter, as a President, was a disaster. He brought stagflation to this country; made the energy crisis worse with wage and price controls; and, was hated so much by his own party that Ted Kennedy ran against him in the 1980 Democrat primary.

Imagine that: you have to be a real loser to have Ted Kennedy think you suck.

Great, the guy who declared "Turn on your headlights for William Calley Day" as Governor of Georgia is getting all, like,
judgmental about George Bush.

I can't believe anybody cares what this guy says, does, or thinks.

I can't even believe I voted for him, not once, but twice.

What the hell was I thinking???

Oh yeah, he was the lesser of two evils
back in the day...

That excuses me, but what excuses him?

Bill of Stanford,
You are the most brilliant of men!
No words in ever written have ever summed up the meaning and being of a RePigliscum!

"The reason why you(Republicans) are angry is because of your own self contempt. Feast on it, suck it all in.

BRILLIANT!

That's why the live their lives in closets and bathroom stalls.

Wow. Some fairly bad historians here. Carter tried mightily to get the hostages released; he even sent the SEALS in for a daring prison break. Bad weather caused a collision, American fatalities, and the mission was aborted inside Iran, but the point is, he tried. Only Nixon and Carter have had the cajones to try an in-country commando raid to rescue American hostages and both failed, tragically. But they tried, to their credit.

Iran released the hostages one minute after Reagan took the oath of office. There was no fear of Reagan, only a childish desire to humiliate Carter. The unanswered question is whether Reagon negotiated with Iran before the oath of office for the timing of their release. It is curious that Iran is the country to which Reagan illegally sold missiles to get money for the Contras. It was the Iran-Contra scandal, after all. P.S. Reagan was no John Wayne either. He put 300 Marines in harm's way in Beirut, with orders to not load their weapons, so the truck bomber had no problem driving his truck bomb past the sentry into the barracks. After 100+ Marines died, unarmed and unable to protect themselves, Reagan "cut and ran". Hmmm. He doesn't sound so impressive now.

Point is, the middle east is a difficult quagmire for any American President, Carter, Bush, Reagan, Clinton. Anyone. Any party. Any political philosophy.

Carter has been a much better ex-President. He deserves to be listened to, not insulted by those too ignorant of history to know of what they speak.

re: Bob in Seattle
The CIA made sure that the hostages were kept until after Carter left office. Read Woodward's book Behind the Veil

President Carter is the only living President who can voice disgust with the current administration. Ford is in no condition, Bush, Sr. certainly isn't & Clinton isn't going to step on his wife's political toes. None of what Carter said is 'news'! Also, Carter's presidency is not what is at issue. I also wish the democrats would be more vocal about their opposition to the Iraq situation.

Jimmy Carter is absolutely irrelevant. He never had a clue about how to conduct foreign affairs, and still doesn't. He was a doormat for the rest of the world.

Here's a scenario for you:

We have in our custody someone who DOES in fact have knowledge of an atomic device that we believe is set to go off in a major American city within 48 hours. Millions of people will likely die (including potentially you). We don't know the city but we do know that it's planted. He won't tell us. What do you do?

While you might think this is unrealistic, I challenge you for a response in any case...because it COULD happen. Are you saying in that case you still would object to the techniques mentioned? I'm genuinely curious (and of course hope it never gets to that) but I still challenge you for an answer!

Jimmy who...? We really don't care what Jimmy Carter thinks or does... he's proven over and over that he's out of touch with America... and that's why he was the modern era's worst President.

To all the right-wing wing-nuts who are making themselves look stupid on this post: Deal with the issue!

The US tortures people.

You can be proud of the USA for doing it if you want, but don't put your head in the sand and pretend that we're not doing it. We are torturing people. Jimmy Carter knows it, Jimmy Carter says it. Republican idiots attack Jimmy Carter for saying it.

Remember also: whatever we do to our enemies, our enemies will do to us, and we won't have a moral ground to stand on if we object when our soldiers are being tortured.

Go Carter! Tell it like it is.

Torture is unpatriotic for ANY reason!

If you dont remember much about Jimmy Carter than dont post. George Bush has more class in his pinky than Jimmy Peanut has in his family tree.

Ryan. I have never heard class and George W. Bush in the same sentence. That's a good one. LOL.

I consider a Nobel Peace Prize winner the ultimate class act. You are part of a dangerous minority with your obvious affection towards this current President. You may want to read a bit about Fascism.

Perhaps you could enlighten us with why you think so highly about George W. Can you name ONE good thing he's done for our country? Do you feel like we're headed in the right direction? Are you part of the 5% that benefits from huge tax relief and benefits? If so, that would explain a lot.

The audacity of commenters on this Blog to trash Past Preident Jimmy Carter, winner of a Nobel Peace Prize and in the same breath, praise President George W. Bush !!!!

A President who initiated a War based on a mere unsubstantiated premise. Who forced not only America but every member of the United Nations to support his mis-guided mission. A President whose actions has led to the deaths of millions of Iraqui citizens, American and Nato Military members. And who many feel is now energetically seeking another reason to attack Iran!
A President who has put America in the greatest economic slump of all time! A President who has taken America's Worldly image to an all time low.

You Bush supporters sure have a strange way of evaluating what makes a Great President!

Only in America!

Yeah, about all that "Worst President" stuff- the economic train wreck of the mid-70s was courtesy of the Nixon/Ford administrations. As for the US Hostages in Iran in 79/80- they would have been home 3 months earlier if Bush 1 hadn't negotiated with the Iranians to keep them until after the election, in exchange for US weapons delivered via Israel. I really think Carter did as much as any honest president could, given the mess created by the criminal who preceded him, and the campaign tactics of the criminals who followed him. As for the worst president in history, I'm afraid that award goes to the guy whose name is on your back bumper.

Go Jimmy Carter!!! TRUTH TO POWER!!

RE: Ryan, Indianapolis

Correction: BUSH is the WORST PRESIDENT in American History.

Mr. Carter there is a reason why they say war is hell.

It is also sad to say but torture is a necessary part of fighting against individuals who have no qualms with strapping bombs to themselves and killing countless innocent bystanders just so they can kill a few of their enemies. Always taking the morale high ground may win you friends but it won't always win you wars.

It's obvious that Jimmy Carter was not a good president. However, this fact is completely, entirely, 100% irrelevant with what he is saying.

The White House's official position is that we don't torture people. The reality is that we do indeed torture people. Jimmy Carter made a turn from a bad President to a great humanitarian. Why can't you people see he is trying to make the world a better place for ALL people? Denouncing torture in the world is not in any way, shape, or form sympathizing with our enemies.

This Republican war on terror is really a war on human rights. They spin and lie about torture, extraordinary rendition, war crimes, and warrant-less wiretapping.
Jimmy Carter is just stating what is already well documented. Abu Graib. Haditha. Guantanamo. Torture-by-proxy.
This is not controversial opinion, this is documented fact.

Bush: "the US does not torture people." That is lie number...I've lost track, he's told so many lies already! Carter is right to say it, because it's true. Like it or not, we torture innocent people just so Bush can have his way (as usual).

However, I think Carter was wrong to attack Obama's stance on ending affairs in Iraq. To be realistic, we cannot end the war in less than four years without taking everything the soldiers fought for and throwing it to waste. I do, however, want this nightmare to end.

Obama '08

Ryan, good grief, are you thirteen? Show some class.
Tom Jones, your dad used to Abu Ghraib you? How long did you hold out? Were your core beliefs changed? Did your mom divorce him? What strange lives some of these commenters must live.

He's right, of course, if it quacks it's a duck. Tom Jones underwent simulated drowning at his father's hands, and says although it's not torture it will make a prisoner reveal secrets. Mike Smith says Osama has cable in a cave and that America is demoralized, well, gee whiz, Mike, demoralized implies your morals are gone. Are we losing our morals? Jon, like several others, just comes out and says we should use torture.

Here's my problem: if you torture, you are a torturer. I notice no one has mentioned having religious scruples. Should we take these prisoners and nail them to a cross? Will you hammer in the nails?
And quickly, Iran told us for months that the kidnappers were 'student fanatics' and not the Iranian government. You don't 'carpet-bomb' people while they're negotiating. Our military actions since WWII have ALL been designed to bring our enemies to the bargaining table; that's how we roll.

How is it that most people do not see a direct and obvious connection between Carter's failures of office and lack of leadership during his administration and the first Gulf War (Iran vs Iraq), The second Gulf War, and the current War on Terrorism.

These regimes grew from his inactions. The whole world faces a greater threat from his inaction back then.

Bribing a rich country like Iran or Iraq will not work like the way Carter bribed Israel and Egypt.

Know your history people. Islamic nations did not truely start hateing us till Carter decided to give Israel 3 billion per year. The US was looked at as neutral till he took a side. Now we are forced to go hand in hand with them.

Maybe if we started giving Palistine 3 billion a year as well and helped their government we could go back to a live and let live policy.

But if we did that the US would be called Anti Semetic in almost every paper and news program. Even if Palistinians and Muslims are Semites as well.

Clearly Mr. Carter's days of globe-trotting around the world as America's ambassador are over. He's not a person to send anywhere anymore, except maybe back home. I think Jimmy Carter was one of the few American presidents who genuinely and truly had not enough qualifications to belong in the White House.

It is sad that Mr. Carter, one of the worst Presidents to ever grace the White House, has stooped so low in an effort to redeem his record as President. Mr. Carter is perhaps more dangerous now then he was as President.

Carter is to presidency what Round Table is to pizza. He was the last honest one.

Nice to know Jimmy Carter doesn't understand history. Ask a Native American about the torture of their anscestors during the 1800s and into the 20th century... oh wait they don't count because it's not against the Republican Party.

IF YOU CAN FIND ONE

I find it amusing how many Americans know almost nothing of actual American history. So many have written so many inaccuracies regarding the Carter administration. This is due to our media misinforming the public – especially today's right wing talk radio that constantly rewrites history.

Carter did indeed attempt a military response to the hostage crisis that unfortunately failed. Or he would be viewed today as the "greatest" president of the last 100 years. That being said, Carter negotiated the eventual release, Ronald Reagan had NOTHING to do with it. The Iranians waited for Carter to leave office as a slap to him.

Gas prices being high were also nothing to do with Mr. Carter. Big Middle East Oil was playing with supply during Nixon's administration and the effects were very long lasting and were a big part of a worldwide recession. It wasn't just America having economic trouble.

Please get your facts straight. We don't always have to like what happened but, we shouldn't rewrite it to suit our beliefs.

If Jimmy Carter is so irrelevant, why is it that every time he states the obvious, all the conservative nutjobs come out and launch an ad-hominem attack blaming Carter for the economic disaster started by Nixon's wage-and-price controls and Ford's WIN buttons?

As president, he was the only person, let alone U.S. President, to bring any peace in the Middle East, he returned the Panama Canal, every single American Hostages came home ALIVE (6 minutes after he left office), he avoided war with Iran, he installed Paul Volker (who Reagan kept) to successfully solve stagflation, he establishing the Department of Energy and Department of Education, he recognizing China, laid out SALT II, unrelentingly cut pork barrel spending, deregulated the airlines, trucking, rail, communications, oil, and finance industries, and even legalized home-brewing.

Whatcha neocons got left? A speech outlining the dangers of foreign oil addiction? Yeah... he was real off base.

If only he were a decent president, maybe we'd be in an endless war in the middle east with no end in sight while simultaneously destroying the Constitution to fight an idea.

you have to give Mr. Carter credit for speaking his mind. I agree with every single words he said. I know lot of folks don't think he was not a great president but since he left office, he became the greatest voice for democracy, justice and human right around the world.
Bravo mr. president, I hope you live a long life and continue doing what are you doing.

While I respect Jimmy for what he accomplished while being president, wait Reagan cleaned up his mess known as the Carter admistration. I think hes tired of being known as he worst pres. ever, and he will do and say anything to get the left in an uproar over dubya, so dubya can be known as the worst pres. ever. Not saying that what happens at abu graib is right, but it beats the alternative which is them flying more planes into our buildings or even worse.

I WANT TO SEND MY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO MR. JIMMY CARTER FOR HIS COMMENTS ABOUT THE TORTURE USED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AGAINTS SOME SPECIAL PRISONERS. IN A NATION WITH A LONG TRADITION IN HUMAN RIGHTS, EVEN FIGHTING BECAUSE THE DICTARTORSHIPS DISSAPEAR OF THE MAP, MR. JIMMY CARTER, AGAIN, PUT THE FINGER ON A SITUATION THAT MUST BE CLEARED BY MR. BUSH ADMINISTRATION. (JORGE MARTÍNEZ CASTAÑEDA, TACÁMBARO, MICHOACÁN, MÉXICO. cstdster@gmail.com)

I'm sorry, but I don't really care if it's called torture or something else. President Bush is doing what has to be done to protect our country from those that wish to destroy it.

As far as the Geneva Convention is concerned, I think Carter would have a better leg to stand on if the terrorists followed the Geneva Convention. However, I really haven't seen anything in the news where they abide by it (please respond if there is unilateral proof).

As far as Carter is concerned, I wonder if he has attempted to meet with Osama Bin Laden.

To the ill-informed right:

The Iranian Revolution only released hostages after the Reagan campaign promised to give them lots and lots of money to hold the hostages until after the election. Remember Iran-Contra???

And another thing, you good little drooling mindless fascist drones–

The United States created the situation in Iran from scratch when in '53 the CIA overthrew Mossadegh, a democratically elected president, because he was not friendly to Western oil companies. The Shah was a CIA puppet (a brutal despot and murderous thug who hated democracy, just as much as you do, Jon from Sacramento and Thomas from St. Petersburg).

Now I wouldn't expect any of you to know your history, unless of course it came to you in the form of a comic book distributed in a Happy Meal, Walmart weekly coupon paper, or NASCAR racing form.

Top Five Worst Presidents In U.S. History.

1. George W. Bush by a wide margin
2. James Buchanan
3. Warren G. Harding
4. Ulysses S. Grant
5. Jimmy Carter

For all you Republicans, quit showcasing your coarse thinking by labeling anyone that tends to disagree with the current administration’s policies“traitor” and member of Al- Quaeda. We are the so called leader of the free and civilized world, yet our country is overly populated by half brains like you that discourage rational debate on all these legitimate concerns that one needs to address BEFORE going to WAR with Iran.
Since our country has been involved (directly or otherwise) in most wars in recent times, it is absolutely crucial for our government to uphold the accords and agreement relative to human rights. This is the only way to protect our soldiers when they are taken as POWs. We are compromising our moral authority in this world by not playing by the rules. This administration has completely manipulated the system and still failed to achieve the desired results. How ironic!

Come on Jimmy you are talking about something you never had to deal with. what really needs to happen is we need show no murcey towards the enemy regardless of political opinion. Futhermore its just like the children taking guns to school. If parents were not in danger of child abuse laws then we as a society could dicipline those little brats so the would fear god and not shoot people just because they were made angry. PS get out of the public eye and enjoy what little life you have left.

Bashing Carter and his presidency doesn't change the fact that he was speaking a very plain and obvious truth. The methods of interrogation that this administration is using do constitute "torture" by every meaningful and widely-accepted definition of the word. That question being answered, the next ones to ask are whether or not this is legal and whether or not it is acceptable. Given that the U.S. is a signator of the Geneva conventions and that the U.S. has always proclaimed itself not only as among the civilized nations of the world but as a model for them, the answer to both questions are clearly NO.

When will someone in our government arrest this traitorous piece of garbage? He is an anti semite and a traitor. He makes numerous false accusations with nothing to back it up, and yet he still gets airtime whenever he wants it.

He is a joke. He is a bitter old man who still can't come to grips with the fact President Reagan owned him in 1980. Maybe if he showed a little more courage in his speech, manner, and actions, he wouldn't have lost his Presidency to Ronald Reagan and maybe those hostages would not have been in Iran for 444 days.

Wow, it's almost like the more honest and decent you are as a human being the more Republicans hate you. Guess that's why they love the Bushes so much. You people are a bunch of hateful morons who deserve the wretched government you currently have. Unfortunately, the rest of us are getting what you deserve as well.

Does anyone remember when Bill Casey and George Bush, Sr. met with Ayatollah Khomeini and his government in Paris weeks before the elections and brokered a deal with our Islamic terrorist enemies not to release our hostages until after the election of '80 in return for military aid, cash, and diplomatic favors?

You might say that this never happened and that it was simply a coincidence that the hostages were released at the very moment Reagan raised his right hand to take the oath of office.

But if you did, you would be a typically ignorant, uneducated American idiot who has zero knowledge of history.

What's sad is to watch the path that the WH has chosen for my country. For the first time in almost 70 years, I'm ashamed to call myself a citizen of the United States.

I served in the military – an enlistee not a draftee.

I taught in public schools.

I've never missed an election.

But today, I'm ashamed of what we've become. I thank Jimmy Carter for speaking the truth. History will label GWB the worst President in our 225 years. He is not merely incompetent or an ill advised fool, he is an arrogant fraud.

Jimmy, Give it a rest! You have zero credibility, seem to be scizo and you were such an impotent president that we are all just trying to forget that we allowed such a fruit to represent us for four years. Please go back to Georgia and stick to peanut farming. CNN, please stop covering this knucklehead.

Nobel Peace Prize... No one is more peaceful than Jimmy. Too bad the rest of the world will roll over you when you are that peaceful. Its not about being a war monger, but you have to understand how humans act and that every interation will not be peaceful.

No one wants war, but some people understand that sometimes you cannot (or should not) avoid it.

I would vote for Carter to run Mr. Rogers neighborhood, but thats as far as it would go.

President Carter, please, please go away. While you are at it, please grab Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson and take them with you. You are all irrelevant, your opinion's do not matter and you only incite hate and misinformation. Who cares if there is some head-slapping and frigid temperatures. This is torture? Please. Your responsibility as a former president is not to criticize the current administration. Especially you of all presidents, who will go down in history as the biggest failure as an administration since Herber Hoover. Not only did you gut the military, but you also gutted employment, international relations and the economy. You were and still are the laughing stock of the 20th century. Take the lead from the real ex-presidents...George Bush and Bill Clinton and do something positive, instead of monday morning quarterbacking you moron!

One has to wonder what motivates President Carter to mislead his audience by suggesting that the Bush administration is unique in its handling of these matters. The very arguments used to defend the actions at Guantanamo and the scope of the executive branch's independent control there were first constructed by the Clinton administration, a decade ago. If Carter is trying to tell us that the CIA didn't use harsh interrogation techniques under his watch while the Cold War raged, he is either willfully ignorant, or deliberately misleading us.

Posted By Mark C, Asheville NC: "...if you were serving in the military and in danger of being captured by the other side, you might see the problem..."

Do you honestly believe that if the United States provided detainees in Gitmo with lawyers and all the rights afforded prisoners under the Geneva Convention that al Queda operatives would not have beheaded American captives and would have afforded them the same Geneva Convention rights? If you do believe such a thing I have lake front property in the Sahara I'd like to sell you.

Jimmy is still as naive as he was when he was elected president. His comments about diplomatic relations with Iran during his presidency while stared in the face with hostages is a testament to that fact. The fruit of those negotiations never ripened.

In the end the man is on a publicity tour trying to sell a book. He will say what ever is necessary to that end.

I don't understand you people who question his right to speak, or who call him unamerican because he is questioning the president. YOU are unamerican if you think that way... America is about freedom, freedom to question those in power and make them answer - they work for us - Bush is NOT GOD! Carter is absolutely right and he should keep on keeping on. The only thing he said I desagreed with was "I think most Americans want the troops home"... that should have been a resolute "The majority of Americans want the troops home know. They have said so time and time again!"

The Geneva convention applies only to uniformed troops. Terrorists are not, almost by definition, uniformed troops. Therefore I do not see how anyone can WANT to offer them the protections of the Geneva convention. Let's face it, these people are hiding among their own people, and ours, hoping for collateral damage to occur to strengthen their cause. The penalty for this is, when caught, no protection under the Geneva Convention. My understanding is that according to the convention, terrorist found here in the US, or for that matter in allied nations, in civilian clothing can be summarily executed as spies.

In fact according to wikipedia's article pertaining to "Islamic Military Jurisprudence" :
"Different views regarding armed rebellion have prevailed in the Muslim world at different times. During the first three centuries of Muslim history, jurists held that a political rebel may not be executed nor his/her property confiscated. Classical jurists, however, laid down severe penalties for rebels who use "stealth attacks" and "spread terror". In this category, Muslim jurists included abductions, poisoning of water wells, arson, attacks against wayfarers and travelers, assaults under the cover of night and rape. The punishment for such crimes were severe, including death, regardless of the political convictions and religion of the perpetrator. Further, rebels who committed acts of terrorism were granted no quarter.[42]"

Maybe if Marvin Gaye ran the entire world that would be great, running just one nation, he would see the fall of his nation very quickly. Was is not always motivated by hate.

Carter is being talked about, not becuase he is just passing along a message, but becuase he is giving his personal opinion on something. In order to understand why someone would say something, you need to understand what and where they have been.

I could only wish Carter would run the government of Iran or would be in charge of any radical group. That would be the easist victory in the history of the US.

Jimmy Carter was not the worst president in history. George Bush is. I don't even remember to much about Carter except that he was in the peanut business with his brother who was a drunk

Posted By laurinda,ny : October 10, 2007 2:45 pm

Good Post Laurinda, you moron. If you dont remember much about Jimmy Carter than dont post. George Bush has more class in his pinky than Jimmy Peanut has in his family tree. Jimmy Carter and yourself fell from the DUMB TREE and hit every BRANCH

Our enemies must be laughing that we are arguing among ourselves not to slap or deprive sleep while they plan to kill us. Carter is a joke, his Nobel Peace Prize for ending conflict in the Mid-East is a joke.

Why do Democrats want to call defeat? Why do Republicans want to stay and help those who won't help themselves? No one cares about the U.S., it's all partisan nonsense

Tom Jones, Medford Oregon:
My father was part of the group of men who got our guys out of Tehran.
I have always been Fiercely Proud of our Military and an obsessively strong supporter.

I agree with you. Carter should have nailed them too the wall, just as Bush should have done.
My Father always said.., When protecting yourself you should only have to throw 1 punch, the last one. Anything after that is reckless.

Make is hurt, make it count and make it the last.

I am not saying torture is bad. Sucks to be on the receiving end though.

There are NO civilians in War!!
If you are in the military be prepared to follow through with your job. If you are the family member of someone in the military be prepared to follow through with support.
Do not sit at home saying how unfair it is that they should have to fight. After all they are fighting so that you CAN sit at home and cry about it.
Whether you believe in the fight or not is not the issue, but you must believe in the men and women that are fighting. Fighting for you!!

Peanut Carter should go back to installing dictators in third world countries. The buffoon should also take his worthless wife with him on a one way trip to his preferred dictator-run, third world country.

I'm glad President Carter raised the question. We should not torture people because if we do, we are no better than Al Queda and the Taliban. Just look at Abu Ghraib.... we became just like them if not wrost. That being said, to all of you Carter hater's out there, what does his job proformance have to do with the question? It's simple.... Not a thing! Attack the messenger if you can't talk about the message. That's the GOP way. It's time for real debate people and not name calling. This is about human rights..... Finally, to quote one of my favorite singers, the late great Marvin Gay, " War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate. Please try and remember that all you so call who Christians out there who promote hate and love...

This is exactly the reason Carter was elected only once to office; he's a fool!

The people who have negative response to President Carter's remark are very typical "bone head" Republicans.

They did not discuss his remark rather they attacked him personally.

The issue at hand is not how successful his Presidency was rather if the US Government headed by BUSH/CHENEY are encouraging torture of detainees.

Come on people have an intelligent discussion. You guys look so bad.

Discount Carter if you want you Super-Christian-Neo-Cons, but you can't discount his accomplishments. You don't get a peace prize for nothing, and one man can't be blamed for a gas crisis/shortages either. You could blame OPEC though.

Actually Warren G. Harding was the worst president in the past 100 years, and second worst overall, according to historical rankings.

Keep on making noise Jimmy!!!!

There will always be the blow-hards that think this current administration is the next best thing to sliced bread. As long as they can keep their guns and feel like studly war mongers. Clearly these folks are over compensating for something!!!!

W will "hands down" be known as the worst president in History. What's scary is at this rate we may not have a history.

Although I was too young to remember the Carter Administration, so I can’t/won’t comment. I am father in this administration and I remember those pictures of (Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo) those detainees being tortured and held w/o due process. And please, don’t give me that C**p of it was few bad apples that committed those atrocities. They are soldiers and soldiers take orders! This one goes straight to the top and just like good little soldiers they kept theirs mouths shut. How sad…….

I’ve read all of your comments and I would ask those who refuse to see Bush as doing no wrong…..I would ask that you please open your eyes. Perhaps you’re not hurt, by the things that are going on in this country, but there are a lot who are! I hope all of you are not like most (Bush supports) and have the attitude of ‘I just don’t care’! When the shoe is on the other foot one day (I wish No ill-will)……….

When will those that voted for Bush (twice) simply admit that you got this one wrong!!! What’s the big deal, most of you probably just as economically deprived just like the rest of us. Enjoy your day.

Are we getting senile Mr Carter?
As to ineffectiveness at the WH during your administration, the whole world knows about it.
Pleeeease, retire! You don't have to keep reminding us about your BIG bad times.

President Carter is stating what most Americans already know.
This government has disregarded the human rights and geneva convention in the name of it's "war on terror".
It is a sad historical precedent for a nation that has always been perceived as the defenders of "justice for all".
President Bush has decided to re-write the rules and twist the truth to make them fit his plans. For how long are we going to let him do it?

Carter is right! This country has lost all moral high ground thanks to Bush and company! I used to be proud of being an American but in the past seven years I have become ashamed in many ways to call myself an American. The Bush psychopaths have all but destroyed everything that was good about this country. We may still be called the United States but we are no longer "America".
It will be a cold day in hell before I vote for a Republican!

And you'd certainly have your son taken captive if you had a Republican President, Bob. A president like Jimmy Carter would more than likely keep your son out of captivity in the first place, which is his point, of course.

Every former president in US history has maintained a policy of not publicly criticizing the President in office except one and only one – Jimmy Carter – the worst President the US has ever had. He publicly criticized Reagan, George H Bush, Bill Clinton, and now George W. Bush. For a President whom most historians consider his Presidency a failure Jimmy Carter needs to keep quiet.

mike smith says
"Perhaps Mr. Carter has the very common age related frontal lobe shrinkage of the brain that was described in the recent article entitled, "Why Grandpa says inapropriate things."

Now that is probably the most tru thing I have read here today. Good Job!!

Sorry to break it to you, but this isn't about Carter. This is about the torture of people going on under this administration. We have completely lost our morality. If an American gets tortured, there will be screams for the Geneva Convention. It doesn't only apply to us!

To the pathological moronic, discombobulated Bush acolytes, history will no doubt show President Bush as America's worst leader ever and perhaps one of the world's WORST. Carter at his worse was much better than Bush on his best day.

Clinton was (almost) impeached for an indiscretion with Monica, and it was largely a private affair.

Echo: Just to clarify-Clinton was impeached because he lied to a grand jury – congress did not care that he had an affair. Most of Washington has affairs.

Clinton also bombed Bin Laden and other camps in the middle east just to cover up and distract the american people from his meetings in court and before congress – so much for wage the dog.

Carter has no class, he doesn't even have the common decency to not spew the same anti-American hate that Osama is spewing. Once again proving himself to be the worst president in the history of the United States of America. Sorry Bill, but you are a close second..

If Carter dislike the US so much. why does he not go live some were else.

As the son of a hard nosed Marine, I can tell you that head slapping, exposure to cold environments, and "simulated drownings" are no big deal! Frankly, if you're not a US citizen, you should not expect to be treated like one. We are a sovereign nation, and as such should use any and all means to get the information we need in order to deliver hate and discontent to our enemies as rapidly and efficiently as possible. If terrorists get the idea that we'll mail their supporters home in little pieces if we catch them, so much the better. And Mr. Carter, if you'd gotten busy carpet bombing Tehran the day after our embassy had been invaded (which I think is an act of war, I could be wrong) instead of putzing around we might not be where we are today!

Seems like Carter is trying to bring back weakness to the Presidency like he did when he was President. I've never really understood why anyone still wants to hear what he has to say... oh yeah, Liberal Media.

I may be a horrible person for feeling this way but, if you are part of a group that is trying to kill as many Americans as possible, I am all for the torture techniques to help stop future attacks.

On Cut-And-Run Carters comments about staying in Iraq.. Please tell me you are joking. Of course Americans want out of Iraq. Most are not saying pull out now, most I know are saying finish and go. Stop the PC war, actually allow our troops to fight and fix the trouble spots in Iraq, then we can leave.

In short, I would take a 4 year Carter Presidency if I could be assured of a Reagan Presidency for the 8 years following.

If head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures are going to force someone to divulge critical information and thus, help protect me and my family; I'm all for it.

Head slapping, simulated drowning are now considered torture? Sometime you have to take a strong stance to get information from and evil terrorist who wants nothing more than death to all Americans and westerners. Dont think for a second he and his people wouldnt tourure you and most likely cut your head off with a sword. Carter is just looking for another reason to have the camera on his face.

I would rather endure water-boarding than return to the disasterous Presidency of Jimmy Carter!

"Head-slapping, simulated drowning, frigid temperatures"… right… ask Daniel Pearl what he things. Oh wait, his head was sawed off by khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Or perhaps we should just employ the "nice" ways Saddam treated his enemies (wood chipper)?

How about we just ask the bad guys nicely to tell us their plans? We'll give them lawyers, 3 square meals, health care, 8+ hours of uninterrupted sleep, climate-controlled cushy rooms, and religious devotion time.

President Clinton gutting the military, imposing the "hands-off" approach to intelligence gathering, and the ACLU terrorist-coddling approach to interrogation IS the reason America will continue being targeted and attacked.

Posted By Jon, Sacramento ~ Ca : October 10, 2007 2:09 pm

Again John, totally correct.

Nothing we do too gain information that may save all our lives (including you Democrats and Kumbya singers) is vicious at all. Mild at worst.

You want to know what vicious is, ask Daniel Bergs parents or the four Black water employess who were burned alive, dragged through the streets and hung on bridges.

Ask the soldiers about the rape rooms they uncovered or let's not forget the recent story that the MSM (of course) under-reported where our brave men and women uncovered torture rooms in Iraq with BLEEPING MANUALS ON HOW TO TORTURE U.S. SOLDIERS.

The harshest of our methods has been wrongly taken off the table (waterboarding), but if you "people" believe hat sleep deprivation, barking dogs, loud music, yelling and head slapping is torture, you like senile, ineffective and gutless Carter are sadly mistaken.

The head of the CIA and other CIA operatives are on record as saying these mild forms of torture have already WORKED TO SAVE LIVES AND STOP OTHER THREATS.

What a sad day for the US. Bush insists that we don't torture people, but our stated policy is that we do whatever we deem necessary up to the point of "organ failure" or "death."

Now that's something we can all be proud of...

http://www.newsprism.com

"America tortures to prevent terrorism.
Problem? What problem??"

Torture incites terrorism. Your giving up the rights that the constitution protects. Jimmy is off the mark many times but it's obvious he is correct in stating that the US utilizes torture. I'm ashamed to be an American and a Republican.

It's not torture, it's cool fun! We don't torture prisoners, just have cool fun with them. See, it's all in the way you define it. And when Bush leaves office, we can have lots of cool fun having him investigated by a grand jury.

I just read the ticker on Pres. Carter's comments re: the use of torture on prisoners.

We need some agressive journalism to clear up this business of whether or not torture is being condoned by the current administration. When the Administration spokepeople respond that "the US does not torture", someone needs to stand up and ask whether that is by the definition in the Geneva Convention or some other convenient definition of torture. Is it so difficult for reporters to ask hard questions these days? The administration needs it's toes held to the fire on this issue. Where is the fifth estate on this one?

CNN tortures

It's readers that is..., with constant bias political statements from liberal has-beens and movie stars. As if their opinion actually means something to real Amercians.

Why do people continue to use the term dictator to describe President Bush because they don't agree with his decisions? Check out Webster for the definition of dictator and give me just one legal and more importantly an intelligent example of how he has done anything that would fit the definition of dictator. It is really naive of the one writer who described Carter as a great President. Obviously that individual wasn't around during his administration. If you need any proof how weak of a President Carter was than just look how the American Military developed into the best in the World. Oh yes, I know that is why they torture people, not like AQ right? Just ask Daniel Pearl and the other innocent people who had their heads cut off. Guess Jimmy the Coward forgot about them. What a pathetic old man.

If Jimmy Carter had done his job in dealing with Islamic Fundamentalism as the leader of the free world we wouldnt be in the position of having to take the broad steps we are as a society in trying to elicit information on the plans of these terrorists trying to destroy our society and western values. But he would rather Monday morning quarterback the real leaders who finally had the guts to stand up.

Hey Bob from Indianapoils, he USED to be the worst president.

For a former president to publicly make these comments, whether true or not is disgraceful. Someone needs to shut this old man up. If he needs publicity this badly just give him another Noble Prize. The man disgusts me.

In regards to previously posted comments, Mr. Carter is just the messenger so keep his credentials out of the message. In regards to the message... Wake up Americans! Mr. Bush's foreign policy is nothing but a great recruiting tool for future evil doers.

Carter's comments come on the heels of a New York Times report that disclosed the existence of secret Justice Department documents supporting the use of "harsh interrogation techniques" including, according to the Times, "head-slapping, simulated drowning, and frigid temperatures."

Carter calls this torture? He really doesn't look the rest of the world and what real torture is. In China and Tabet were they take a person off the street and imprison them for years, while hanging them upside down, rape, flogging and dragging them behind cars. Where is Africa they rape and kill at will, in Iran where women are beaten, raped and stoned. In other countries they take innocent people and cut off body parts. If this law Carter is refering to is an international law, he might want to spend more time helping the UN uphold the law in these other countries first.

Actually, Clinton was impeached...just wasn't removed.

Carter was the worse president in the last 100 years. He words are weak and meaningless. In fact, 10 gas lines just got longer after he breathed those words.

Thank you Jimmy Carter! Every living President, including father Bush, has criticized the way W has been running this country and HIS war on Iraq. All other former Presidents have toed the line by not being too critical, but Jimmy has the guts to tell it like it is. The little man does have a say in what happens with our country, but it pales in comparison with those who have achieved great fame. They (like Carter)can truly influence the thinking of our wimpy Congress.

Does the United States of America torture prisoners? The answer, unfortunately is yes.

Does the use of torture make this nation safer? The answer is no.

Basically, it was learned a long time ago, that torture does "NOT" provide useful information that is useable, why is this you ask. Simply, an individual will tell you what ever "YOU" want to hear under torture. Does that mean that they tell you lies, no, does that mean they tell you the truth, no, they tell you what "YOU" want to hear.

Information collected under these methods if is not good information nor is it collected in a timely manner to have tactical value. Straegic information can be gathered through other means that provide validation of the data.

The United States over the course of it history has been a leader in the observance of the rules of war and the treaties protecting prisoners, one may ask why, some would say because candy ass liberals do not have the stomach to get the job done, I would have to tell you that you could not be further from the truth.

What we have learned over the course of time is not only is the information obtained useless, but the laws and rules governing the treatment of prisoners plays a very important role in the protection of our service members. But you point out that the enemy does not follow these rules and I would have to say that is correct, however two wrongs have never made a right, nor does that attitude assist in holding world opinion in our favor.

Under international accords and treaties that the United States is party to, it is a crime to torture prisoners, but this administration thinks it can get around these accords by saying we they don't apply because who ever is not a party to the accord, or, our definition of torture is, such and sucjh and we don't do that. Wheather the enemy had signed an accord is not pertanent to the situation, we have signed and we are bound to follow the rules. What we do today will effect our servicemen and women 30 years from now, that is why we have rules on treatment of prisoners.

Is meaningful intelligence collected through torture, no and it never has been. Is this administration in violation of international law and treaties that have been signed and radified by this nation, yes. Are they putting our servicemen and women in unnecessary danger through their disregard of international laws and conventions, yes they are.

Does this administration fool anyone with its denials of torture and its redefinitions of who is covered, who is not what is torture, what is not, who is given rights and who is not? Unfortuently, the answer is yes, but history is not fooled by such actions and if nothing else, history will have to judge the actions of this adminstration.

Does anyone care, appartently not.

Bob of Seattle,
Why must we be in the business of making fear our modus operandi. We should be engendering mutual respect with our fellow citizens of the world. PRESIDENT CARTER is right on in his analysis of the pathological moronic President Bush. Torture should never, never be an option in our repertoire of interrogation methods. WE ARE BETTER THAN THAT OR AT LEAST WE ARE THOUGHT TO BE.
9/11 happened because of our{BUSH} intel failure.

Why can't people understand that 'my way or the highway' doesn't work in the world like it does at home with children. The other nations of the world don't play in our backyards, and we can't require that they go home when the street lights come on at night. But, we can attempt to lead by example. I think some people were taught this in childhood as part of their upbringing. So, if our example is torture is alright, then I hope we can endure the torture that awaits American troops and citizens when they are captured. Sure these practices may help us thwart terrorism in the short time, but in the long run we are only hurting ourselves by using these means deemed by the president and his administration to be acceptable. We need to realize that we aren't always right, and our definitions aren't always read the same by the others we SHARE the world with. After all we can't all be American women. Right?

The issue isn't Carter's record as a President. The issue is: the US is torturing prisoners in violation of international law.

Bravo to Jimmy Carter for speaking the truth about this immoral and corrupt administration!

Chris from Dallas if you believe everything the Government of the United States tells you, you are in serious denial. The Government lies to Americans everyday, it's part of their job description.

>Responding to Carter's comments, a senior White House official said, "Our position is clear. We don't torture. It's just sad to hear a former president speak like that."<

Now somebody IS lying. I tend to believe President Carter. The Bush Administration has made it very clear to the world that they are willing to stretch the truth to achieve their goals. The current Administration is the most dangerous and un-American administration in the history of this country. As Americans, aren't we supposed to oppose the "bad guys"? Well fellow citizens, the Bush administration is the "bad guys".

A president who bends the constitution and curtails our liberties to suit his own agenda is not a worthy American president – he is a traitor! Save our great nation before it's too late – Impeach Bush & Cheney!

Osama Bin Laden loves this kind of foolish speculation by Jimmy Carter.

He is enjoying reading Jimmy's comments in his cave in Afghanistan on his satellite hooked up internet connection and Osama is feeling uplifted by Jimmy Carter and thinking we are one step closer to demoralizing America.

Carter's heart is in the right place he just doesn't think of the consequences of his words before opening his mouth.

Perhaps Mr. Carter has the very common age related frontal lobe shrinkage of the brain that was described in the recent article entitled, "Why Grandpa says inapropriate things."

I do not know what to say. CNN has no news to report. This is garbage from Carter. You need anything to publish here, please tell me. Why do you give importance to this discarded guy. Nobody looks at him here in Atlanta.He does not know anything on what is going on. You can ask him to shut up....

Like I've heard and said before, it's interesting to see Carter swim against the tide of becoming more and more irrelevant. Maybe he's trying to create a legacy far more controversial than his dismal presidency?

If it sounds like torture... and it looks like torture... and it feels like torture...

I can't believe Hillary Clinton supports those same techniques.

Carter tortured the American people with his presidency. Not to mention his "torturous" analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
This numbscull has lost all credibility.

"'Our country for the first time in my lifetime has abandoned the basic principle of human rights,' Carter continued."

Um, internment camps during WWII, anyone?

Jimmy Carter was a miserable failure as president. He continues to spout his left-wing propoganda and undermining the United States. He really should keep his mouth shut and continue farming peanuts, something he knows.

Why are people discounting Carter b/c he was a bad president? Agreed, he was. Now, back to the issue at hand, Bush has thrown the Geneva Convention out the window. How are we going to feel when we see our soldiers being tortured? We won't have much of a leg to stand on...it will be our own fault. And, don't tell me we have to torture to defeat "terrorism."

Jimmy boy, you can't rewrite a failed legacy. Go home and enjoy your life.

We are NOT the same country that we were follwing WWII. Morally we have lost something & living in denial at the fear of being called unpatriotic will not help us to find our way back. The Republicans seem to be able to live in a state of delsion than Democrats. Until the Moderate wing of that Party starts to love the America I grew up believing existed more than political victories then we'll continue to slide into the abyss as another once Great Empire.

President Carter continues to make imprudent comments on a worldwide stage. His opinion means nothing but he is willing to make his opinion seem like a fact.

The Government has stated that the United States does not torture. Carter's opinion is growing increasingly meaningless based on his actions.

Hence, the birth of America being labelled "The Great Satan" was born. Thank you, Jimmy Carter.

Wow, a stunning line of logic there. The reason we were called the Great Satan was that we propped up the murderous Shah in the first place. That wasn't Carter's doing.

And frankly, there was nothing that could be done. Iran dwarfs Iraq, with 3 times the population and 4 times the land. Given the mess that Dumbya has created in Iraq, imagine what invading Iran would be like.

To Jon in Sacramento. You state that you would prefer to endure water-boarding then go back to the days when Jimmy Carter was president. Sounds like you are a complete idiot. All you people that think torture is OK are fools. Just remember.. what goes around, comes around. If it's OK for the U.S. to torture than it's OK for others to torture as well.

USA helped on organized killing 1.5 million Armenians and Kurdish in 1915. USA also helped Turkey killing and torturing Kurdish during 90s by giving them highest # of weapons after other Israel. USA is doing the same in Columbia, and Haiti. Everyone knows Saddam's use of Chemical weapons on his own people was really approved by USA in 1984 March 4th. Though USA condemned that during that period of time, they continued to sell materials to build chemical weapons to Saddam and thus helped Saddam contineously help use chemical weapons on his own people.
Americans are the best people in the world but American Government is the worst and most torturous existing government in the world.

President Jimmy Carter sat on his butt during the Iran hostage taking incident and only when they knew he would the election, did they negotiate and let the hostages go. Why, because they knew this coward was not going to be around, and they would have to deal with a "man" and not a naive child. Iran knew that force was going to be used and they like Carter being cowards gave way to reasoning. This old man needs to go back to Ga. and stop being a disgrace to the office he once held. The fool caused gas lines, recession, and destroyed the intelligence network of the USA. That is why we were perceived as being weak by others. Carter's brother Jimmy would have been just as bad as President.

""harsh interrogation techniques" including, according to the Times, "head-slapping". Even if it is true, at least we leave them with a head to slap which is more than I can say for the other side.

Why does he hone in on his own country as if others arent doing the same?? Anti-american is what it is

Draft Carter for president in 2008!

America tortures to prevent terrorism. Problem? What problem??

Well if you were serving in the military and in danger of being captured by the other side, you might see the problem. But since you're apparently a gutless chickenhawk lacking in any actual principles or honor, I can see why you don't think there's a problem.

Hey Kent. Did Carter hope to be the worst president? You are an idiot...

I guess that Nobel peace prize was for nothing? Carter was responsible for the US becoming satan? This low level of intellect is exactly why political candidates all around the country are being summarily dismissed as being too stupid to be democrats. Yes, we're throwing the idiots out and they're all your problem now. The added weight of these morons will surely cause the red party to sink like a rock.

Please, Carter, haven't done enough harm to this country? You were a joke. You ran this country into the ground. Maybe you should make another positive thinking button to help us get through our problems. Idiot. Go away now.

I guess mr. carter has forgotten the torture thousands of americans went through on 9/11. Eye for an eye.

This is no surprise to most of the world...and most Americans.

We have fallen so far as a once great nation...all at the hands of GWB and his cronies. It will take decades to recover from this criminal administration...if ever.

We Americans need to unite behind Pres. Carter's truthful words and declare GWB a war criminal. I'd like to see the EU use "extraordinary rendition" to bring GWB to trial for crimes against humanity. Might does not make right.

*** Jimmy Carter has a proven track record of NOT emitting 'fear' in our enemies. It took the specter Ronald Reagan to free American hostages in days. ****

Wow, you're badly misinformed. The hostages were released as the inaugural was taking place, not "days" after Reagan was in office. It was done to deny either President credit for the release, though certainly 100% of the work was done by Carter and his administration.

It's also been credibly alleged that a treasonous bargain was struck between the Reagan campaign organization and Iran to keep the hostages from being released until after the election.

It is time the PEANUT FARMER went back to the FARM!!!!!!!

He never got anything right while in the White House so why should we listen to anything he says now.

I wish someone would torture Jimmy Carter and make him go away. What an a-hole....

Isn't it kind of relaxing now that the people with all the long writings aren't here. I'm sure they will be back eventually. There were some good ones. Did you notice that you couldn't make heads or tails most of the time about what they were saying. Well thats because they had all these secret codes in their writings.

"Head-slapping, simulated drowning, frigid temperatures"… right… ask Daniel Pearl what he things. Oh wait, his head was sawed off by khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Posted By Jon, Sacramento ~ Ca : October 10, 2007 2:09 pm

Jon,

Funny story; Turns out that guy had nothing to do with Pearl's horrible murder at the hands of those maniacs. Seems he confessed to EVERYTHING since the kidnap of the Lindbergh baby, UNDER TORTURE! That would be ironic to you if you didn't lack that gene...

Van

Jon, two things. First off, what happened to Daniel Pearl is abhorrent and Saddam was a horrible person. That doesn't make it ok for us to start using torture. We're supposed to be better than that.

Second, we're not being targeted because "Clinton gutted the military" ,we're being targeted because of our ridiculous decisions of foreign policy. Even now, we're not going after the root of the terrorist problem, just the symptoms. As for Clinton's having intelligence taking a hands off approach. If you recall, his administration gave a full briefing to Dubya about the potential threat and that OBL should be a top priority. Dubya ignored it.

This comment is directed to the ignorant, those in denial, the demented, the mentally drained, the blubbering blabbermouthed degenerates Republicans whom I do not even consider to be American. I do not remember Carter's presidency nor do I care to. That has nothing to do with the the last twenty years of service he has offered to the United States and the World. He is a moral and upright man who lives his life according to the dictates of Truth, Justice, and Piety. This is the reason why he bothers the fascists who criticize his presidency rather than see the truth of his words. I have some advice for all of you. READ. Inform yourselves. Contemplate what real Justice is, what Truth is, and Piety. Begin the process of self-actualization instead of hiding in your corners which have been built by Republican Fear. I am not afraid. I am not afraid of Al Quada, bin Laden, Iran. I am not afraid of Republicans. You are merely fascists and you do not even realize it. Read the "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," read "The Roman Revolution", read "Barbed Wire." Stop watching television. I guarentee you cannot. Stop listening to the radio. I guarantee you cannot. Make a decision to become a better person and fulfill your potential. This frightens you. It feels good to be afraid because you do not have to think. You merely have to hide, talk big, not value human life, believe lies, deny truth, plug your eyes and ears. Enjoy your ignorance and your anger. The reason why you are angry is because of your own self contempt. Feast on it, suck it all in. Good day.

"Clinton was (almost) impeached for an indiscretion with Monica, and it was largely a private affair. "

Ummm, Echo, hate to break the news but President Clinton WAS impeached. No "almost" about it.

The House of Representatives draw up articles of impeachment and vote to "impeach". The Senate hears the case and votes to "remove" the President – which did not happen. SO... President Clinton was impeached but not removed.

To answer your question (What will it take to impeach Bush and Cheney):

Evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors – not just accusations or ill-feelings. Your elected leaders (Reid, Pelosi) who HAVE the greatest amount of information and "evidence" have already concluded that impeachment is off the table.

Sorry! Thanks for playing.

Jimmy Carter, one of our worst presidents, and one of our best Ex-presidents.

He simply tells the truth, which is horrid for a president, As Bush proves you can't be president if you ever tell anyone the truth.

But absolute proof in an ex-president works rather well. Bush and company practice torture regularly, The hate the constitution and try to destroy it at every opertunity. (Bush called it "that inconvenient piece of paper").

Assuming our republic ever recovers from His attempt at Dictatorship, Bush will be placed by historians as a far worse president then Carter ever hoped to be.

America tortures to prevent terrorism.

Problem? What problem??

Former President Carter is absolutely right. We all saw the pictures of Abu Gabbi. President Bush has lied since day one of his Presidency. It is clear the majority of the American people want out of Iraq. There is nothing to save.

So many of you are malinformed. First off, Iran deliberately refused to release the hostages until after Reagan started his term in office. This was done only to spite Carter. In truth, Carter's the one that worked to get the hostages released. Reagan wasn't even in office yet when the decision was made. Carter was the last honest and good man we've ever had in office. Since then, we've had war-mongering elitists and calculating adulterers.

Second, I'd love to see Dubya, or any of you, volunteer to undergo some of these "non-torture" techniques. I can promise you'd all be singing a different tune afterwards.

It seems the list of U.S. atrocities and violations of domestic and international laws gets longer each day. We give our hired guns immunity, torture prisoners, extinguish the right of Habeas Corpus, disregard the Geneva Convention, ignore basic human rights and trample upon our Constitution. Is it just me or are we living in a Kafka novel? I think its time for Billy Joel to update his song – you know the one that goes "we didn't start the fire..." And if he does, I hope it includes the part where Bush and Cheny are tried for crimes against humanity.

It is far beyond time for this man to simply go away. His Presidency wasn't so good that he has the right to interject himself into every topic that comes up. His rationale is that the "international norms" have not been followed. Maybe not, but defense of the homeland is paramount in this day and age, and a little "head-slapping, simulated drowning, and frigid temperatures" may provide data that helps us do that. Maybe not, but the win-win situation is to assume that it can. To simply assume that it does not, and avoid it all together, is akin to putting your head in the sand and lessens the ability to find out. You can take that chance, but I am not willing to do so. Anything that might protect us is worth it to me.

Besides, No matter what he says, I'm spending far less money on my quality of life, percentage wise, than I did when he was President. My freedoms are still intact, and I feel safer under Bush that I ever did with Carter.

Let me see if I understand what some people are saying:

"We don't want to get our hands dirty...but we DEMAND that the goverment DO something to protect us from the bad men."

Come on CNN, this is just another disgusting liberal attempt at making the news.., shame, on, you.

Do you think we have forgotten where Jimmy left our US/Middle East relationship when he was voted(thrown)out of office?? Sorry CNN, no matter how hard you guys try to push this, Carter has zero credibility on foreign policy and international law.

Jimmy Carter's presidency was unsuccessful to say the least. But the man is now a great statesman and he's telling the truth about Israel and our Middle East Policy. By the way, the only positive thing he did during his presidency was help broker the accord between Israel and Egypt. We basically bribed Egypt. To this day, Egypt receives a nice sum of money to remain peaceful with Israel. Why can't we do the same with Iran? Because some people just want war.

"President Carter told CNN Thursday he thinks the Unite State's uses torture. "

What country is this? U-N-I-T-E-D S-T-A-T-E-S

It is sad day when patriots like me are ashamed of the American government. It is embarrassing now to discuss America's actions with foreigners. The national character is stained and our national pride has gone into hiding.

What we have to do, after this batch of hard-hearted lightweights has left Washington for an endless retirement, is to open up all the file cabinets where the secret things we have done are currently hidden. We need to bring them all out into the open for a period of self-examination and national cleansing. We all share the blame for this.

Jumping Jimmy:

Very mediocre President.
Excellent ex-President.

Sounds odd, but the peanut farmer actually has a conscience and believes that America has an obligation to play by the rules.

Jimmy Carter is tellin' it like it is! He needs to march right on up to President Bush and say all that he really wants to say right to his face. Right in front of all the video cameras he can.

I would rather endure water-boarding than return to the disasterous Presidency of Jimmy Carter!

"Head-slapping, simulated drowning, frigid temperatures"... right... ask Daniel Pearl what he things. Oh wait, his head was sawed off by khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Or perhaps we should just employ the "nice" ways Saddam treated his enemies (wood chipper)?

How about we just ask the bad guys nicely to tell us their plans? We'll give them lawyers, 3 square meals, health care, 8+ hours of uninterrupted sleep, climate-controlled cushy rooms, and religious devotion time.

President Clinton gutting the military, imposing the "hands-off" approach to intelligence gathering, and the ACLU terrorist-coddling approach to interrogation IS the reason America will continue being targeted and attacked.

Clinton was (almost) impeached for an indiscretion with Monica, and it was largely a private affair.

What will it take to impeach Bush and Cheney?

It's astonishing....

Maybe Carter should scream louder and demand to know who gave him that authority..

That senile old guy needs to realize he isn’t the president anymore. Wasn’t that election a sorry misjudgment by the American people?

I know this revelation comes as quite a suprise to many that the United States would participate in torture. I fortunately am not one of them. Wake Up People. President Bush says that his administration does not torture people, well how about the entire US population jerk? You've been torturing us from day one. Good for Carter speaking out against this totalitarian regime we are enduring.

President Carter is one of the least successful presidential administrations of the late 20th century:

(1) Double digit inflation;
(2) Double digit unemployment;
(3) Gas shortages and long gas lines;
(4) Double digit interest rates;
(5) 53 Americans held hostage after Iranians storm the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran; the USA was the joke of the world during this time.

Furthermore, it is critical to understand that Iran was America's ally (when it was ruled by the Shah of Iran). However, when the Iranian government was overthrown by Islamic extremists in 1979, President Carter did nothing to help our Iranian friends.

Next, Carter thought the new Iranian government was become our friend "since we did not intervene". On the contrary, the new Iranian government had a tremendous amount of rage against the USA since it supported the prior Iranian government.

Hence, the birth of America being labelled "The Great Satan" was born. Thank you, Jimmy Carter.

Summary: Carter giving any administration presidential advice is tantamount to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays giving tips on how to win the World Series. It just doesn't fly.

I am glad to see that someone is finally stating the obvious! Of course the Bush administration tortures people. Just because you don't call it torture doesn't mean it's not torture! Glad to see Bush being such a compassionate Christian. I am sure that this is what Jesus would do. Under this flawed logic I should be allowed to steal, only I won't call it stealing. I shall call it "permenatly borrowing."

Oh my GOSH......If you just listened to his speeches you would think this Lil man was a member of Al Queda or some terrorist organization. I mean what is he trying to prove. Jimmy Carter knows he is the WORST PRESIDENT in America History and will not give it up. I mean this is the same guy that got pushed around by IRAN making Gas go up to astronomical prices, interest rates for homes were at 19%,the economy was horrible....etc I could go on.....This TRATIOR is out of his mind but more than that he is just giving propaganda to our enemy. Jimmy please either go away or join the forces you really want to...Al Queda

Jimmy Carter has a proven track record of NOT emitting 'fear' in our enemies. It took the specter Ronald Reagan to free American hostages in days. The same hostages that Carter couldn't free in over a year and a half. If my son were taken captive but a 'third world' lunatic like Ahmadinejad I certainly would rather have a Republican President than 'Jimmy'.

The white house stance on torture sounds like this to me: "Officially we will denouce torture but we won't officially make it against military regulations to torture."
It sounds to me like they are telling the troops that they will condone and encourage torture, but if any of the troops get caught, they will officially deny that torture is policy and sacrifice the solder's career to save their political hides.