Jimmy Carter’s irresistible urge

Kenneth Stein is the Emory University professor who resigned from the Carter Center in protest against the “gross inventions, intentional falsehoods and irresponsible remarks” contained in Jimmy Carter’s latest book. He has now elaborated on what some of the falsehoods are. One involves Carter’s misquotation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. Stein says that Carter inserted the word “the,” which did not appear in the original, and thus made the resolution appear more specific than it was in requiring Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
But Stein’s main complaint is that Carter reports falsely about a meeting he had with Syrian dictator Hafez Assad in 1990, which Stein also attended. In Carter’s version, Assad said he was willing to negotiate with Israel on the status of the Golan Heights. But according to Stein, Assad was not willing to accept a demilitarized Golan. Stein also disputes Carter’s claim that Assad expressed willingness to move Syria’s troops farther from the border than Israel would be required to do. According to Stein, Carter’s falsehoods are intended to make Syria look more reasonable, and Israel more intransigent, than was actually the case. So, as one might have guessed, Carter’s irresitible urge to cast anti-American dictators in a favorable light (coupled, of course, with his hatred of Israel) has landed him in this latest spot of bother.
Finally, Stein takes issue with Carter’s claim that the Bush I administration was too focused on Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait to pay attention to Carter’s report on the alleged progress he had made with Assad. Stein notes that Carter’s briefing occurred before Iraq invaded Kuwait. The first Pres. Bush must have ignored Carter for other good and sufficient reasons.
Stein agrees with many of Carter’s positions on issues pertaining to Israel. That may not be anything to brag about, but it reinforces his claim that he hasn’t parted company with Carter over policy, but rather because Carter is misrepresenting the facts.
Via No Left Turns

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