Grrrrrrr--US must disarm: Carter

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Date: November 18 2002

The former United States president Jimmy Carter says the US, which has taken the lead in urging such countries as Iraq and North Korea to destroy their weapons of mass destruction, should also disarm.

"One of the things that the United States Government has not done is to try to comply with and enforce international efforts targeted to prohibit the arsenals of biological weapons that we ourselves have," Mr Carter told CNN.

"The major powers need to set an example," Mr Carter said, as the US confronts Iraq over its possession of such banned weapons.

"Quite often the big countries that are responsible for the peace of the world set a very poor example for those who might hunger for the esteem or the power or the threats that they can develop from nuclear weapons themselves.

"I don't have any doubt that it's that kind of atmosphere that has led to the nuclearisation, you might say, of India and Pakistan."

Mr Carter, winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, for his efforts in seeking negotiated settlements to head off violent conflict, also said that the US gave only a thousandth of its gross national product for international aid, while the average European country gave four times as much.

"For every time an American gives a dollar, a citizen of Norway gives 17 dollars," he said.

"Foreign aid in this country has a bad name, but in other countries, it's a right thing for the government to do."

The US had given many countries cause for resentment and scorn, he said.

"There is a sense that the United States has become too arrogant, too dominant, too self-centred, proud of our wealth, believing that we deserve to be the richest and most powerful and influential nation in the world.

"I think they feel that we don't really care about them, which is quite often true."

Agence France-Presse

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002

Answers

It is the nature of the beast.

Why should we, "the richest and most powerful and influential nation in the world," do more than nod and wave at those less fortunates who have the power to obtain freedom if only they would fight for it? We, as a nation, are not the ones who are opressing these other countries, keeping them backward. They are doing it themselves by allowing all the myopic funny hat wearing megalomaniacs to rule them.

Hey, Carter, pssst......SHUT UP! Bend over so they can insert that nobel peace prize where it belongs.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2002


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