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Carter Vs. Bush
I have yet to figure out how the editorial staff at the Red Star Tribune could be so wrong about things so often. Today's installment form the Paper of Surrender concern's former President jimmy Carter's statement about the Bush administration being "the worst in history." At least in regards to foreign policy and standing in the world community. This coming from a one-time loser who had the absolute worst administration, whose policies, both foreign and domestic, were such failures that he was ousted after four overly-long years in office.
A little comparison is in order.
During the Carter years, the U.S. economy stagnated under double-digit inflation. At that time, interest rates, both on loans and on deposits were sky high. The two are directly related and tightly intertwined. The more expensive it is to borrow money, the higher resulting interest rates.
Carter hamstrung the nuclear energy industry by pushing an agenda that resulted in laws being passed that eliminated the industry from being able to reprocess spent fuel rods. This resulted in the mess we are in today where power plants are stuck stockpiling the radioactive waste instead of shipping them to other reactors that could use the waste to generate more energy.
He also reinstated draft registration, which has set the stage for the possibility for implementing a draft, eliminating the all-volunteer military and setting it back to the Vietnam era and forced conscription of recruits. Bad idea.
Perhaps Carter's biggest failure is in regards to Iran. He failed to support one of our closest allies in the Middle East - the Shah of Iran. When the Shah was deposed and replaced by radical Islamists, Iran became an anti-Western totalitarian theocracy. The fall of Iran was followed by the embassy hostage crisis which Carter failed to resolve due to his ineptitude.
President Bush, on the other hand, inherited from his predecessor, an economic recession and failed economy. The economy continued to flounder and sink after terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands of people and causing massive destruction.
Under Bush, America responded to the terrorist attacks by invading Afghanistan and removing the repressive Taliban regime, co-sponsors and protectors of al-Qaeda, perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.
The American economy prospered under a series of tax cuts, which also resulted in increased tax revenues. Unemployment fell to lows not seen since before the .COM bubble, and remains low even today.
The Bush Administration correctly perceived that Saddam Hussein was a threat to stability in that region, as well as being a co-sponsor of terror. Iraq had been used as a safe haven for terrorists to meet and plan. Hussein also had chemical weapons that he continued to hide from the Dunsels sent by the United Nations to inspect. Hussein was also directly responsible for the murder of over 500,000 Iraqis during his rule. Kidnappings, rape and torture were the rule of the day. Iraq routinely fired on U.S. and other allied aircraft that were patrolling the skies in accordance to the Gulf War cease fire agreement.
It is clear to me that given the historical facts, it is the Carter Administration that is "the worst in history."
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