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Carter's Compromised Statesmanship

[Jerusalem Post] David A. Harris - It is startling that a former president who prides himself on his ongoing contribution to world peace would write a crude polemic that compromises any pretense to objectivity and fairness. Discussing President Bill Clinton's peacemaking efforts, Carter discounts well-established claims that Israel accepted and Arafat rejected a generous offer to create a Palestinian state. The extent that Carter goes in propping up an extreme version of the Palestinian narrative, and in burying and devaluing any trace of the Israeli and American versions of events, is deeply disappointing. In accepting the Palestinian narrative, Carter has conveniently revised history, excused the Palestinians for their tragic failure to come to terms with Israel each time the chance presented itself, and blithely ignored Israel's very legitimate security concerns. Carter's book will not help the cause of peace, and with its publication, the world has lost a statesman at a time when one is most needed. The writer is executive director of the American Jewish Committee.
2006-12-06 01:00:00
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