The policies of his presidency, from Iran, Camp David, "Carter Doctrine" to Afghanistan highlight the trajectory of US Empire, capable of instrumentalizing "human rights" and even "peacemaking".
Yes - as may be in the link you provided, Carter started arming the death-squad Arena (party) government in El Salvador at the end of his presidency, leading to the 1981 carpet-bombing of civilian populations in the north of the country (who were inspired by the Sandinistas in neighboring Nicaragua) to hit the young FMLN guerrillas opposing the fascist government who were supported by those "base communities."
[Much as the U.S. would carpet-bomb large neighborhoods in Panama 8 years later, to little coverage except via VHS in "The Panama Deception," featuring a *much* braver and more principled AG, Ramsey Clark.]
Thanks also for crediting the late, great Robert Parry. He set such a standard for courageous, hard-hitting investigative journalism.
And finally, thanks to you for continuing in that tradition.
Thank you, Sam!! Yes, as M Miller says, your knowledge and (well-documented!) detail are excellent. This article alone could be an entire semester college course ... so much to dig into here. Appreciate all your work. Providing the links to where, why and how we are today.
Read this whole article out loud to my hubs who has been much more informed about a lot of this than me. For decades! He verified my questions about some of it and he even learned some new things, too. :-)
Also... (very sorry to say!!) i didn't discover you and your work until an appearance you did on Breaking Points a few years ago. At first, i didn't realize you were a journalist. I thought you were one of the doctors and scientists being interviewed about looking into the infamous lab leak.
I really liked your input especially and looked you up. Was shocked to learn that you've been a journalist for quite a while. And somehow, i'd not heard of you yet. Starting to look back at lots of your writings. Making the connections for why and how it all 'works' in DC for the rest of us. (We are lifelong students in this house. Can ya tell?)
From this, i'm beginning to get a more refined picture of DC's workings. I.e. wondering if the 'deep state' is mostly concerned with foreign policy rather than domestic? Till today, i've seen the corporatocracy as a behemouth that includes MIC. Maybe it's not that simple. (duh)
Thank you for being YOU and for doing what you do. We are both finding it incredibly valuable. Sometimes we think we're the only ones who see things the way we do... and you come along with tons of expertise and experience to share here what makes the most sense to us.
Thank you for the reminder, and new information, that should be old hat, but was never made public. Although, I think Jimmy Carter was the best ex-president we've had, I can never think about him without remembering that among his best friends were two dictators, the Shah of Iran, and Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. Strips the gilt straight off the lily.
“I’ve grown to see that the Empire uses good things for its own purposes over and over: feminism to invade Afghanistan, human rights to bomb Yugoslavia and Libya, public health to illegitimately control people during a pandemic, gay rights and trans rights to demonize Russia. The case of Carter here shows that even peacemaking has been instrumentalized for insidious purposes.”
Sam, thanks for the wealth of information and informed analysis. You are one of a handful of no bullshit journalist who has crossed paths and challenged government officials, both past and present.
Sam-this is great reporting. I am rethinking my mostly positive assessment of Carter’s presidency, as ignorant. He is the last president that I voted for, and I still respect him as an ex-president, particularly for habitat for humanity.
The 'interagency consensus' has for decades been instrumental in formulating foreign policy, either persuading or intimidating presidents to adopt their point of view.
Yes - as may be in the link you provided, Carter started arming the death-squad Arena (party) government in El Salvador at the end of his presidency, leading to the 1981 carpet-bombing of civilian populations in the north of the country (who were inspired by the Sandinistas in neighboring Nicaragua) to hit the young FMLN guerrillas opposing the fascist government who were supported by those "base communities."
[Much as the U.S. would carpet-bomb large neighborhoods in Panama 8 years later, to little coverage except via VHS in "The Panama Deception," featuring a *much* braver and more principled AG, Ramsey Clark.]
Thanks also for crediting the late, great Robert Parry. He set such a standard for courageous, hard-hitting investigative journalism.
And finally, thanks to you for continuing in that tradition.
Wonderful commentary Sam and thank you so very much. I didn't know much of what you so clearly detailed.
Thank you, Sam!! Yes, as M Miller says, your knowledge and (well-documented!) detail are excellent. This article alone could be an entire semester college course ... so much to dig into here. Appreciate all your work. Providing the links to where, why and how we are today.
Read this whole article out loud to my hubs who has been much more informed about a lot of this than me. For decades! He verified my questions about some of it and he even learned some new things, too. :-)
Also... (very sorry to say!!) i didn't discover you and your work until an appearance you did on Breaking Points a few years ago. At first, i didn't realize you were a journalist. I thought you were one of the doctors and scientists being interviewed about looking into the infamous lab leak.
I really liked your input especially and looked you up. Was shocked to learn that you've been a journalist for quite a while. And somehow, i'd not heard of you yet. Starting to look back at lots of your writings. Making the connections for why and how it all 'works' in DC for the rest of us. (We are lifelong students in this house. Can ya tell?)
From this, i'm beginning to get a more refined picture of DC's workings. I.e. wondering if the 'deep state' is mostly concerned with foreign policy rather than domestic? Till today, i've seen the corporatocracy as a behemouth that includes MIC. Maybe it's not that simple. (duh)
Thank you for being YOU and for doing what you do. We are both finding it incredibly valuable. Sometimes we think we're the only ones who see things the way we do... and you come along with tons of expertise and experience to share here what makes the most sense to us.
Thank you for the reminder, and new information, that should be old hat, but was never made public. Although, I think Jimmy Carter was the best ex-president we've had, I can never think about him without remembering that among his best friends were two dictators, the Shah of Iran, and Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. Strips the gilt straight off the lily.
“I’ve grown to see that the Empire uses good things for its own purposes over and over: feminism to invade Afghanistan, human rights to bomb Yugoslavia and Libya, public health to illegitimately control people during a pandemic, gay rights and trans rights to demonize Russia. The case of Carter here shows that even peacemaking has been instrumentalized for insidious purposes.”
Sam, thanks for the wealth of information and informed analysis. You are one of a handful of no bullshit journalist who has crossed paths and challenged government officials, both past and present.
Sam-this is great reporting. I am rethinking my mostly positive assessment of Carter’s presidency, as ignorant. He is the last president that I voted for, and I still respect him as an ex-president, particularly for habitat for humanity.
The 'interagency consensus' has for decades been instrumental in formulating foreign policy, either persuading or intimidating presidents to adopt their point of view.
Peanut Boy Carter should have started out as an ex-president
Cf. My book “ Visas for Al Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked the World “. (Amazon) as well as my Substack article “The 100 Years War”