As I said earlier, many do not share your view as to what accounts for greatness.
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freep.com
Jimmy Carter speaks eloquently for peace
December 11, 2002
"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other's children."
That simple truth was spoken Tuesday by Jimmy Carter as he accepted an overdue Nobel Peace Prize. The man often described as America's best ex-president laid out a case for using the United Nations, "imperfect as it may be," instead of war to resolve international disputes.
He's right. The UN can be a frustrating and indecisive organization, but nobody ever gets killed during arguments there. Instead of trying to strong-arm the United Nations into action, the United States should be working to make the body more effective as a global peacekeeper. It may seem a subtle difference, but the UN would be a more respected organization if the world's outlaw regimes knew the U.S. was fully behind it, not trying to work around it.
Carter's remarks at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, were clearly directed at the current administration in Washington, where President George W. Bush seems almost eager to unleash American forces against Iraq. The president has been dismissive of the results so far of UN weapons inspections in Iraq, and has made it plain that the U.S. will take action if not satisfied that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been disarmed of weapons of mass destruction.
Carter, 78, described himself as a "citizen of a troubled world," lamenting that better communication and increased travel has, unfortunately, not produced greater international understanding.
But he recognized that the UN can be useful in this regard, too. And it will be even more so with its most powerful member fully engaged, exercising responsible leadership rather than dictating terms.
Carter was not a particularly effective president. His country denied him a second term. But he has learned a great deal from hindsight that could spare the world considerable pain if the current Washington leadership is listening. |
