Monday, January 22, 2007

An Arab Ambassador

In his new book, Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid, former President Jimmy Carter lays most of the blame for the current state of violence in the Middle East on the shoulders of Israel. The conflict is caused, according to Carter, by the "occupation of Arab land". Such direct and inflamatory statements are not usually made by Presidents, men who are not known for their candor. In fact, Carter's book has come under fire from just as many liberals as conservatives.

Alan M. Dershowitz is an author, attorney, and Harvard Law professor who is disgusted by former President Carter's new book. Ironically enough, Dershowitz is also a liberal. Dershowitz claims that Carter has been "bought, paid for and delivered by Arab money". Dershowitz cites the fact that the Carter Center has received over $10 million dollars "directly from the king of Saudi Arabia. (World Magazine)" In addition, Carter has accepted money and an award from an anti-semitic Arab thinktank based in Dubai, leading to a conjecture that Carter himself is an anti-semite.

Dershowitz isn't the only individual upset by Carter's book. In fact, 14 members of the Carter Foundation recently resigned claiming that Carter's book was not written by the Jimmy Carter they came to respect and support. One of these members, who had been with the organization for over 23 years, resigned because Carter's book is "replete with factual errors [and] copied materials not cited." Furthermore, former Mideast envoy Dennis Ross who served under Presidents Carter, Bush, and Clinton claims that Carter used some maps he created and twisted their meaning.

Sadly, President Carter's newest literary masterpiece is more akin to fiction than fact. Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid may cause Jimmy Carter to lose any shred of legitimacy he has left as a world leader and peace activist.

LWS

1 comment:

CalebB said...

Interesting, I like these tid-bits of information (I need to read World Magazine more, so much reading to do). Oh and as I promised you earlier today, heres my just-made Blog's URL.
http://uhohcalebshere.blogspot.com/
-Caleb.