Does anybody else see the irony in the Bush administration taking a swipe back at former President Jimmy Carter for his staunch opposition to the Iraq War?
Carter has argued that the decisions leading up the Iraq War and the subsequent occupation, have effectively ranked George W Bush's presidency as the worst in US history.
A White House spokesman responded by accusing Carter of "reckless personal criticism".
However, one has to ask which is more costly... reckless personal criticism of a single man... or a reckless personal war with an entire nation? The worst that can happen in the former, is that President Bush's ego might be a little bruised. What we actually have in the latter, is that tens or hundreds of thousands of lives (depending on which figures you accept), are snuffed out in the name of neo-conservatism.
It is quite clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black. My advice to the White House press office would be to read this:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Carter has argued that the decisions leading up the Iraq War and the subsequent occupation, have effectively ranked George W Bush's presidency as the worst in US history.
A White House spokesman responded by accusing Carter of "reckless personal criticism".
However, one has to ask which is more costly... reckless personal criticism of a single man... or a reckless personal war with an entire nation? The worst that can happen in the former, is that President Bush's ego might be a little bruised. What we actually have in the latter, is that tens or hundreds of thousands of lives (depending on which figures you accept), are snuffed out in the name of neo-conservatism.
It is quite clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black. My advice to the White House press office would be to read this:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Matthew 7:3-5
Carter clearly believes that the Bush administration has inverted America's values and tarnished the good elements of its international reputation. Yet the Bush government is so delusional, it is completely incapable of questioning the righteousness of its actions.
Tony Fratto speaking for the White House on Sunday argued:
"I think he (Carter) is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments."
That is incredibly rich coming from a political leadership that has managed to isolate a significantly large amount of its own countries electorate by making poor policy decisions. If anyone is irrelevant... surely it is George W Bush!
You would think that I would side against Carter... because of his criticism of the UK's blind subservience to the current US administration. However on these issues at least, I am in agreement with him.
Carter appears to have been a humanitarian first and foremost - certainly his achievements in that field have been publicly recognised. For that reason alone he commands a certain amount of respect with me.
George W Bush and Jimmy Carter. Two very different men who have both claimed an active belief in Jesus Christ and have been open about it in political life. However, which one would you argue has demonstrated good spiritual fruit in their policies and actions? What I wonder is your opinion?
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