Jimmy Carter Slams Bush On Human Rights

Says U.S. Has Tortured Prisoners, Ignoring Geneva Convention

(AP)  The U.S. tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday, adding that President Bush makes up his own definition of torture.

"Our country, for the first time in my lifetime, has abandoned the basic principle of human rights," Mr. Carter said on CNN. "We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime."

President Bush, responding to an Oct. 4 report by The New York Times on secret Justice Department memorandums supporting the use of "harsh interrogation techniques," defended the techniques Friday by proclaiming: "This government does not torture people."

Mr. Carter said the interrogation methods cited by the Times, including "head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures," constitute torture "if you use the international norms of torture as has always been honored - certainly in the last 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated.

"But you can make your own definition of human rights and say we don't violate them, and you can make your own definition of torture and say we don't violate them," said Mr. Carter.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on BBC, the former president described Vice President Dick Cheney as "a militant who avoided any service of his own in the military."

Mr. Carter went on to say Cheney has been "a disaster for our country. I think he's been overly persuasive on President George Bush."

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell declined to speak to Carter's allegations.

"We're not going to engage in this kind of rhetoric," she said.

In the CNN interview, the Democratic former president disparaged the field of Republican presidential candidates.

"They all seem to be outdoing each other in who wants to go to war first with Iran, who wants to keep Guantanamo open longer and expand its capacity - things of that kind," said Mr. Carter.

He said he also disagreed with positions taken by Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have declined to promise to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq over the following four years if elected president next year.

[toldyouso21]

PS. It''''s not hatred of the American People. It''''s hatred of a secretive gov. operations not accountable to the people that is anti-democratic and fundamentally Anti-american. ANd they have only made matters worse in the world because illegal wars and interventions only cause more violence and destruction... Posted by ttinsly at 08:53 PM : Oct 11, 2007


You are wasting your time responding to that person. When a Bush supporter has gotten his talking points from Limbaugh or Faux news--what you see posted is the equivalent of a kid sticking their fingers in their ear while screaming "La, la la...I can''t hear you" the fact is, these are the same type of people who would be the little henchman of the class bully. They have already sold their decency for power and when a person does that--few can ever bear taking a good look at what they have been involved in or said or done--to realize that they are not the heros but the zeros, that they did not back good but evil, and that they have been misled and in turn have helped to cause harm--is more than many can bear. On the other hand, there are always a few who know exactly what is going on and relish the mayhem and evil like icecream on a hot summer day.

When you look at a Bush supporter, chances are high that they are either very ignorant and deermined to remain that way--or very intelligent sociopaths and determined to change the world to reflect the void within themselves.

[michellem99-2009]

A govt that is secret and that goes against the constotion. Bush is a member of skull and bones. free masons are another. mormons as well.

[robertkjjj]

ttinsly: you''re wrong, you''re stupid, you''re a liar, and you''re trying to rewrite history, and such revisionist bullsh*t will not be tolerated. It''s well documented that Carter is responsible for allowing Iran to go purely Islamic, and that alone kick-started Islamic Jihad as we know it today. You saying otherwise will NEVER change the facts. You''re full of sh*t, so go f*ck yourself, you traitorous bag of dogsh*t. Go jump in bed with senile old Carter like the little America-hating lapdog you are.

[robertkjjj]

A little analogy for you folks: Carter is the arsonist. Bush and Cheney are the fire-fighters. If the fire-fighters get hurt or killed fighting the fire, who does the law blame? Yep, you guessed it. Except liberals want to conveniently forget that it was Carter who STARTED this entire Islamic Revolution and Jihad by helping to kick the Shah of Iran out of office. Then came Khomeini, and ALL of modern Islamic Jihad and world terror followed. And 9-11. And now Bush & Co are forced to spend their entire term fighting these Carter-ignited fires. Through no choice of their own. Usually you can''t pick your wars. Rather, the wars pick you. Carter is scum and pure evil. www.jihadwatch.org for the truth.

[michellem99-2009]

I have never met crzmeat but yer don''t pick on him and Dad taught me that. We are Mainers.

[draftreid]

liberalme,

are you really sure your real name isn''t himmlerme, or heydrichme, or eichmannme...

maybe its osamame or ahmedinejedadme - or of course carterme.

Remember the coward wrung his hands when our people were seized - and Clinton was too busy bombing Belgrade and ignoring Osama for 8 years while he was planning 9/11...and yet this moron calls Bush a Nazi.
Guess you''d better look in the mirror, bozo.

[draftreid]

Re: Lockedbrain,

Good Riddance to bad Nazi rubbish.

LOL.

[liberalme]

Hey forthepeopl1---I''m with you 100%.
It will never be too soon for me to hold these idiots in the White House accountable for everything they have destroyed.
Bushmeister is Hitler reincarnated!

[lochlan-2009]

Draftreid- Well, I have to call it a day. You''re a twisted man, there is no doubt about that. Don''t forget to brush when your done sucking off your lord almighty Bush. It was a pleasure toying with you, Nazi.

[liberalme]

Hey forthepeopl1---I''m with you 100%.
It will never be too soon for me to hold these idiots in the White House accountable for everything they have destroyed.
Bushmeister is Hitler reincarnated!