Jimmy Carter's Crushing Criticism Of Compliant, Subserviant Tony Blair

Perhaps twice a year (at most), do we two take it upon ourselves to tip the nod in the direction of The Daily Telegraph - aka - Torygraph.

Well, thanks to one of our long standing, liberal American friends (lets call the lady in question, Lucy) today has turned out to be one of those times.

When Lucy found and alerted us to this link, we were immediately reminded that there always were things about former American President Jimmy Carter, which we'd liked; often, liked a lot. This Telegraph header from today's online edition should show you what we mean.

Compliant and subservient: Jimmy Carter's explosive critique of Tony Blair

By John Preston and Melissa Kite - (Filed: 27/08/2006)

Well, what did we tell you? Come to think of it, what have we been trying to tell everybody - and their cats & dogs - for what seems like forever?

Okay, disregarding (purely temporarily), our (trademark), braggardly rhetoric, read right on.

Tony Blair's lack of leadership and timid subservience to George W Bush lie behind the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the worldwide threat of terrorism, according to the former American president Jimmy Carter.

	Outspoken: Jimmy Carter condemns the Iraq invasion

"I have been surprised and extremely disappointed by Tony Blair's behaviour," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

"I think that more than any other person in the world the Prime Minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington - and he has not. I really thought that Tony Blair, who I know personally to some degree, would be a constraint on President Bush's policies towards Iraq."

In an exclusive interview, President Carter made it plain that he sees Mr Blair's lack of leadership as being a key factor in the present crisis in Iraq, which followed the 2003 invasion - a pre-emptive move he said he would never have considered himself as president.

If ever there was an old Yank president who This Old Brit appreciated, then Jimmy Carter was, quite catagorically, his number one.

Here's another excellent extract from the same Sunday online story.

We now have a situation where America is so unpopular overseas that even in countries like Egypt and Jordan our approval ratings are less than five per cent. It's a shameful and pitiful state of affairs and I hold your British Prime Minister to be substantially responsible for being so compliant and subservient."

So compliant and subservient, eh?

Plainly, gentleman Jimmy's far too polite to come right out and call a poodle a poodle. Though he does say this.

"We've never before had an administration that would endorse pre-emptive war - that is a basic policy of going to war against another country even though our own security was not directly threatened," he said. In his book, President Carter writes: "I have been sorely tempted to launch a military attack on foreigners."

But had he still been president, he says that he would never have considered invading Iraq in 2003.

"No," he said, "I would never have ordered it. However, I wouldn't have excluded going into Afghanistan, because I think we had to strike at al-Qaeda and its leadership. But then, to a major degree, we abandoned the anti-terrorist effort and went almost unilaterally with Great Britain into Iraq."

Now, before buggering off to The Telegraph to read the rest yourself, we'd like you to look at this little quote.

At 81, Mr Carter - the 39th American president, from 1977 to 1981, and the winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize - plainly has no intention of sitting on his porch and nodding quietly away as the sun goes down over his peanut farm.

And finally ....

He has just published a book, Faith and Freedom, in which he savages the American administration for leading the country into insularity and intolerance.

Right, then. Now read the remainder.

Here's the relevant link.

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