Jimmy Carter, the former president who apparently hasn’t met a terrorist he hasn’t liked, said that he would be willing to meet with the terrorist organization Hezbollah if they were willing to meet with him. He made his comments in the context of the upcoming elections in Lebanon.
Former US President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday he is ready to meet with Hizbullah officials if the Lebanese militant group agreed to see him.
Carter made his comments upon arrival in Lebanon where he will assess whether his Atlanta-based Carter Center would take part in monitoring next year’s parliamentary elections.
Asked whether he would meet with Hizbullah officials during his five-day visit, Carter told reporters that it was up to the militant group, which the United States considers a terrorist organization.
“I am going to meet with all of the political parties as possible,” Carter said. “I understand that several leaders of Hizbullah said they were not going to meet with any president or former president of the United States, so I don’t know yet.”
A Hizbullah official told The Associated Press the group had no immediate comment on Carter’s remarks but said it might issue a statement, most likely on Wednesday.
The US classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, unless Obama decides to change that, so no one from the US government is permitted to meet with them. For a former president to do so is a clear contradiction and violation of US policy and gives the impression the current US government condones the meeting. That probably won’t mean anything to him since it didn’t back in April when Secretary Rice told Carter very clearly not to meet Hamas. He did anyway.
When he was president, he governed our country weakly and erratically, two characteristics of his personality that have only gotten worse in the past few years. However, now you can add hostile to that list, as that’s how he seems to feel toward his country. It makes me wonder: has there ever been a former president in our history that has been more antagonistic toward his own country than Carter?
