My Conversation with Former President Jimmy Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter continues to travel around the world on behalf of the Carter Center. His contributions toward global health, peace and human rights earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. I recently spoke with him about the issue of moral equivalency in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and about how the next president can change America's image in the world. Here is a part of that conversation:

Comments

[jollyelle]

Why is it so difficult for people to understand and admit that the Israeli Gov't is at fault???? I feel Mr Rose incites President Carter to choose sides, luckily, he's accustomed to this and is careful not to be baited- this tactic is divisive and not helpful in this discussion. Only in America is it NOT known and accepted......
Israel is at fault. People can barely spit out the words!!
Yes, the Israel Gov't in power is engaging in terrorist types of activities. 67% of the Israeli citizens do want Hamas to be included in Peace talks.
The air here is so thick with Pro Israel propaganda, it is suffocating.

Hamas is firing rockets, homemade rockets at a couple of towns in Israel. That is wrong. The Israeli army is killing Palestinians roughly at the rate of 10-1 and that's conservative. The Palestinians live in a concentration camp in Gaza, little food, very very little clean water, no electricity, no medical services and random targeted bombings- Violence from the Israeli services can happen anytime, anywhere and usually at a far more disproportionate result than that of Hamas fired rockets. If Israel wants peace, do they? they have an obligation to begin the negotiation. They seem to want the Palestinians to sign in advance and agree to unknown conditions......... The Native Americans signed agreements w/out conditions and look what happened to them. This country needs to decide which one we pledge allegiance to : money or humanity?

[YankeeCanuck]

Thank you, Charlie Rose! In a more perfect world, more television journalism would discuss issues, would reach for insight. But notice that there are only three comments on this article and hundreds, thousands, on the non-articles about the election.
And yet, here are Charlie Rose and Jimmy Carter talking about ideas that could change our world and the way America is perceived in the world. Let's focus our attention on discussions like these and not on spreading like wildfire youtube videos that take (sometimes doctored) snippets as articles of faith. We are not that gullible, are we?
TIme to focus on the big questions -- like:
What does it mean to be human?
Why does something happening to people half a world away affect us?

[Justtellthetruth]

Carter Speaks the truth again. History will judge Carter as a great man, more in recognition of his post presidency. History will Judge the Bush presidency as among the worst of all presidencies, and will excoriate him and his administration for not doing more to force Israel to abandon all settlements and quit the occupation. Few other factors in the middle east contribute more to world terrorism, terrorism against the US and Israel, than the settlements and the occupation, and we officially condemn both.

What will it take to finally force congress to suspend all aid to Israel, both military and monetary, until they make good on their decades of broken promises to remove the settlements and the occupation? They continue to take our money and use it to protect and grow the settlements which are the catalyst of SO much terrorist activity.

If you care at ALL about ending the war on terror, please remember that Hillary Clinton told AIPAC that she supports having Jerusalem be the undivided capitol of Israel (which would mean ethnically cleansing the existing population of Palestinians in east Jerusalem). This is an insane, ultra right wing deal breaker that most Israelis and Jewish Americans do not even support. This is CRAZY neocon talk, which will ensure decades more terror against Israel and against the US. This will probably also eventually afford her the ability to take a crack at "completely obliterating Iran" as well, if we are crazy enough to EVER elect her.

[digoweli]

Great interview and a great man. Digoweli

[dolvlo]

Thank you, Charlie Rose, you are one of the only honest journalists on television. I love every interview you give.