Was Jimmy Carter a pacifist?  

Was Jimmy Carter a pacifist?  

1. Name(required)

   Email(required)

   Website

   Message

   Submit

   By Eno Udo

Former United States President Jimmy Carter passed on as the first American president to have clocked a 100 years, and would now be remembered for his record in and out office. Most often American presidents are adjudged by how well or not they used their nation’s military might for conquests abroad.

But unlike presidents before and after him, Carter did not embark on a huge scale American military adventurism as the unofficial world police. He came to power in an era when the US was still smarting from the Vietnam War where, though it killed more than two million North Vietnamese, left as a defeated army in 1975. As at 1976 when he was elected into office, the picture of how the US left Vietnam with its tail tucked between its legs was still fresh in the minds of most Americans. In fact, the iconic photograph of the last helicopter taking off from the helipad on top of the US embassy in Saigon, the then capital of South Vietnam, leaving many stranded, would always be a painful reminder of the US’ failed mission in Vietnam. Therefore, America needed to look inward and rebuild its military. As a result, Carter did not have any compelling cause to embark on another military expedition and his tenure seemed to have been relatively a period America did not engage in military conflicts overseas. But, that however did not mean he was not keeping an eye on the rest of the world. He had to watch every step of the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). In spite of that, he found himself helpless to stop the USSR from full occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 at the invitation of the Kabul government. His response was tepid and the best he did was to have the US and its Allies to boycott the 1980 Olympics hosted by Moscow. But trust the US not to stop engaging in covert moves against the Soviets in Afghanistan. It threw its weight behind the mujahedeens who resorted to guerrilla warfare. It could be recalled that among the mujahedees was Osama bin Laden who, as at then, enjoyed US indirect support until the bubble burst between the two.

Thirteen years after, the Soviets found themselves exactly in the same quagmire the Americans faced in Vietnam, and had to pull out ingloriously. Of course, the same scenario happened to the US in Afghanistan, a nation hard to fully subdue by the world powers. His handling of the US embassy hostage taking by Iran in 1979 has been widely criticised.. Some wanted him to take immediate decisive military action to free the 66 Americans held for almost a year in Iran. It was a difficult situation that needed to be handled with utmost care. But at last, he resorted to a military rescue operation which unfortunately went awry and failed before it could get started. Whether the operation would have succeeded without costing the lives of the embassy staff was hard to assess. But it all failed when one of the US army choppers involved in the audacious mission, crashed at a remote location inside Iran and the mission had to be called off. Maybe if the whole plan had succeeded Carter would have been viewed as a tough guy.

Generally, he was perceived as a peaceful man. Students of history would remember him mostly for all his peace efforts in and out of office. His rapprochement with China opened new vista of relations between the two nations which, though frosty most often, have continued for the sake of global peace.

Perhaps, and indeed, the most outstanding peace prize he achieved was not even the Nobel Peace Prize he received after leaving office, but the peace he brokered between Egypt and Israel in 1978. After the surprise, bold and historic visit of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt to Israel, Carter stepped in to build the momentum and ensured a lasting peace accord between Israel and Egypt which still endures till date. Several times he invited both Sadat and the then Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin, to peace talks at Camp David which became famous as home of peace. Carter was a driving force in cementing a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt who had been mortal enemies for ages and, in modern times, had fought more than three wars. Today, Egypt is in the forefront of getting the Arab world to fully recognise Israel. Thanks to the efforts of Carter and the foundation he laid for the two nations at the Camp David talks.

After leaving office, Carter was arguably the most active former US president to engage in diplomacy and humanitarian activities. He did not retire to sit back at home but went round the world, giving helping hands to the needy. For example, his guinea worm eradication scheme in Nigeria was robust and well sustained.. Through his nongovernmental organisation he reached out to many in the world. While his approval rating in office was low, his post-presidency rating could be one of the highest for any former American president. He worked for humanity until his end of time, and would be remembered as a companionate ex-president who wanted to give his all to build a peaceful world.

Now, here is a poser: If Carter were to run for presidency years after leaving office, would he have won? It is a tough poser because the world later warmed up to him after realising his kind- heartedness. But as already said, Americans inwardly prefer a tough leader who shoots from the hips and ever ready to demonstrate US’ military might. Carter did not cut that image. Maybe he was a pacifist. Maybe!