By Mark David Blum, Esq.

Swift Boat him all you want, retired President James Earl Carter has proven himself so much more valuable to the world subsequent to his term in office that when he sat upon the throne. Clearly stepping into the post-Nixon, post Vietnam, rising anti Americanism / Zionism world put President Carter is the utmost of bad situations. Trusting his generals in the field caused a major military disaster at Desert One and the birth of Nightline.

But in his retirement, the loud and clearheaded voice of Jimmy Carter must be heard. Afghanistan is now preparing for War; not against the Taliban but against Pakistan. Pakistan itself is in the midst of internal collapse. Russia is headed back into a Cold War mindset in dealings with the United States. International pressure is mounting for the United States to negotiate with Iran and Syria to end the chaos in Iraq. North Korean blew a bomb and Little Kim is one of the club. Latin America is forming its own political agenda which does not include friendship or political cooperation with the United States. Americans pretend to be Canadians when they travel. Lastly, we still maintain an embargo on Cuba denying Americans and Cubans access to liberty.

Over the past six years, we wasted several hundred billion dollars, tens of thousands of lives, destroyed economies worldwide by causing gasoline and oil spikes, and ruined our international standing. We are labeled “evil”. As a nation, we have been politically isolated.

The single mistake of the entire Iraq conflict (other than the decision to engage in the first place) was that once the war was won, instead of getting back on our planes and boats and coming home, we encamped. It took the U.S. Forces about a week to conquer the entire country of Iraq and assume control over all of its land. Things were actually coming together. I think I can recall at least one flower being tossed at conquering American forces when they arrived.

Then Paul Bremer committed an unspeakable act, an act so heinous that had it been done in the United States, there would have been a civil war. He unilaterally took it upon himself to shut down a fledgling Iraqi newspaper. The hypocrisy of this action is obvious. We went into Iraq for, among other lies, to bring the blessings of Freedom to a People who seemingly don’t want it but accepted it at the point of a gun. Then, we attacked one of the cornerstones of freedom … a free press. We shut down Al Sadr’s newspaper.

The rest is history. Before the newspaper was closed, there was no Al Sadr to worry about. He and his army had no conflict with the United States. Now it seems he is either kicking our ass or playing us to a draw over and over; all the while spilling a river of blood. For the past three years, and spread over six Iraqi cities, over the bodies of a few thousand American dead and wounded along with thousands of Iraqis dead and wounded, despite the millions of dollars expended on munitions and medical treatment, despite Al Sadr being outnumbered about 100,000 to one, and being clearly outgunned, out manned and out tech’d, Al Sadr remains a formidable opponent and continues to slaughter Americans.

American forces have been engaged with Al Sadr longer that we were engaged with Sadaam’s entire military. I doubt he is capable of “winning” a military victory, but his political victories against our troops are piling up alongside the dead.

Perhaps we so offended Iraqis and the world that they no longer look to us for moral and ethical leadership. We gave them a taste of freedom; a vision into the world of real social liberty. Then, we shut down their newspapers, engaged in endless acts of prisoner abuses, torture, and murder coming out of Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. American soldiers confessed to committing sins that we believe are or should be unacceptable by our standards. None of it was an accident.

The abuses were willful acts perpetrated intentionally. We all share the blame but look to the President as the Decider of these policies. Our President planned it. Intelligence Services executed it both in Cuba and in Iraq. Chinese interrogation “experts” visited Cuba to show us how to get it done. Lawyers like John Yoo and Alberto Gonzalez trained and guided the President how to end-run the law and avoid prosecution. Let us not forget Andrew Card running to an ailing Attorney General (“I–Cant-Beat-A-Dead-Guy-In-An-Election” Ashcroft) to get his signature on a purely illegal act.

Meanwhile, the Republican dominated Congress treated it like a big joke. The media hid the story. American doctors participated in the torturing of prisoners. One foolish Harvard lawyer named Dershowitz suggested it was OK to torture, we just need “rules” for it. The former Attorney General says the Courts have nothing to say about it and We the People must accept the Nuremburg Defense.

To the rest of the world, our behavior is nothing less than criminal. To an Iraqi, if it were me, it would be grounds for War.

I understand the rage. The rage of September 11th, the Rage of Nick Berg, the Rage of Madrid, and 100’s of Tel Aviv bombings. I understand the Rage of war and the stress of combat. The only rule of war for the soldier is to kill the enemy; period. I get it. My heart hurts for the more than 3,400 American soldiers now dead in Iraq and the families of the near 26,000 wounded. Hundreds if not thousands more still stand to die or be wounded and my heart bleeds for them. (Let us not forget also that three Americans are in enemy hands and any politician who sleeps or focuses on any other issue should be thrown from office).

But, the ends do not justify the means. Our government knows information gathered from these abuses cannot be used in a criminal prosecution. It is obviously not their intent. They clearly want this information for prosecuting the war. The War on Terror has changed the scenario where the bad guys are no longer criminals, they are military opponents. Right or wrong, this is the current U.S. policy. This is the policy that has turned an entire world’s sympathy against the ideal of American honor and freedom.

Tell your concerns to the survivors of the Malmedy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge. How about sharing your thoughts with those who walked the Bataan Death March. It matters a lot how we treat people; whether they are civilian criminals or military targets. Now, more than a half century later, the world still collectively holds nations and peoples in disdain for acts committed by their governments. The rise of fundamentalist militant Islam has more to do with the United States abandoning her basic principles than the theological ravings of a few crazy Imams. Congressman Ron Paul is absolutely correct in his analysis as to what prompted the 9/11 attacks. Rude Guliani’s lambasting of Paul demonstrates the exact ethnocentric arrogance that Paul was describing.

Iraqis, Afghanis, and yes even terrorists are human beings. It should not be the United States that builds the camps, interrogates by torture, and openly violates the law for the purposes of War. Our history is to the contrary. It would be considered “Un-American”. "Men who take up arms against another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings responsible to one another." (General Order 100 of the United States Army Field Manual of 1863).

My concerns lie with the soul of our nation and with the souls of my children. For my nation, it pains me that we no longer maintain the moral high ground. Ours is no longer the dream others seek. The whole world condemns us now. Even the Russians sing in that chorus.

Try this; especially those of you with children. Close your eyes and wonder what the world looks like next time we have a war. Jessica Lynch is again captured by Iraqi forces. Where will we stand if we saw another Jessica being treated as we treat our captured POWs? Can we cry? Can we yell? Who will listen?

I would be proud if my daughters and grandsons served in the military. I would worry every moment they were gone. But if they should be taken prisoner of some military conflict or if they should be discovered wounded by the enemy, I insist that they be treated humanely and be protected. I can demand such treatment only if I too grant such safety to theirs. My government puts all of that at risk.

More importantly, we as a Nation and People must rise up and demand our Representatives in Washington once again manifest and espouse core American principles. We must remember our own history and focus hard on the future. Leading by example instead of compelled behavior at the point of a gun is how we should be. Iraqis should want a Democracy; not have force fed to them. The violence we have done to human beings, property, our treasury, and our basic beliefs has shamed us before the world. It has given us new enemies who will not rest until our destruction.

The only true solution to Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Korea is to foster a situation where the lowest member of the lowest social caste has the same opportunities and the same voice as the highest of the high. America should never be afraid of criticism.

But, the Republicans and our President were so afraid of the enemy that they forgot why they were elected in the first place. ‘Vengeance’ is not a national policy. Shutting down opposition voices is dangerous. Once a people have tasted freedom, taking it away again is not done easily. Ask Mr. Al Sadr.

The greatest sin of all is the how the current Administration has bubbled itself. Closed off to the voices of the majority of Americans and of Congress and of leaders around the world, our current President insists on throwing more American soldiers into the fire. He demands more billions beyond his budget. His political circle is so closed and tight that he is manifesting the same siege mentality not seen since the last days of the Nixon Administration.

But Jimmy Carter is absolutely 100% correct. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me. … And I think the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world. … Bush's administration is the worst in history in international relations.”

His words are as relevant as they come. After all, who but Jimmy Carter has the experience and expertise to comment?