Jimmy Carter's role in winning the Cold War

[Cypress]

This analysis resonates with me, because I maintain that it is America's soft power, her moral authority, and Carter's emphasis on human rights, democracy, and targeted sanctions that really discredited the USSR and hastened its demise.

Carter, uniquely I believe among US president, had the moral authority to attack the Soviets where they were weakest, and where their political system could be utterly discredited - by leveraging democracy, human rights, human dignity, and the treatment and repression of its own citizens as moral weapons against the Kremlin leadership.

Jimmy Carter’s lasting Cold War legacy

Jimmy Carter was a dark horse Democratic presidential candidate with little national recognition when he beat Republican incumbent Gerald Ford in 1976. The introspective former peanut farmer pledged a new era of honesty and forthrightness at home and abroad, a promise that resonated with voters eager for change following the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War.

Critics have described Carter’s foreign policies as “ineffectual” and “hopelessly muddled,” and their formulation demonstrated “weakness and indecision.”

As a historian researching Carter’s foreign policy initiatives, I conclude his overseas policies were far more effective than critics have claimed.

The criticism of Carter’s foreign policies seems particularly mistaken when it comes to the Cold War, a period defined by decades of hostility, mutual distrust and arms buildup after World War II between the U.S. and Russia, then known as the Soviet Union or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
.
By the late 1970s, the Soviet Union’s economy and global influence were weakening. With the counsel of National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, a Soviet expert, Carter exploited these weaknesses.

During his presidency, Carter insisted nations provide basic freedoms for their people – a moral weapon against which repressive leaders could not defend.

Carter soon openly criticized the Soviets for denying Russian Jews their basic civil rights, a violation of human rights protections outlined in the diplomatic agreement called the Helsinki Accords.

Carter adviser Stuart Eizenstat argues that the administration attacked the Soviets “in their most vulnerable spot – mistreatment of their own citizens.” This proved effective in sparking Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s social and political reforms of the late 1980s, best known by the Russian word “glasnost,” or “openness.”

Carter’s team underscored these violations in arms control talks. The CIA flooded the USSR with books and articles to incite human rights activism. And Carter publicly supported Russian dissidents – including pro-democracy activist Andrei Sakharov – who were fighting an ideological war against socialist leaders.

continued http://theconversation.com/jimmy-carters-lasting-cold-war-legacy-113994

 

[rjhenn]

This analysis resonates with me, because I maintain that it is America's soft power, her moral authority, and Carter's emphasis on human rights, democracy, and targeted sanctions that really discredited the USSR and hastened its demise.

Carter, uniquely I believe among US president, had the moral authority to attack the Soviets where they were weakest, and where their political system could be utterly discredited - by leveraging democracy, human rights, human dignity, and the treatment and repression of its own citizens as moral weapons against the Kremlin leadership.

Carter was the polar opposite of Trump.

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[Moosakofsky]

Boycotting the Olympics was a foreign policy disaster. No two ways about it.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

Good read, thanks for posting it, Cypress. Carter has always been a figure to admire, to me, a model of how a man can use the fame of the Presidency as a force for good in the world. To me he is also a model of Christianity and Christian caring for all no matter what nation, race, or language.

 

[Cypress]

Boycotting the Olympics was a foreign policy disaster. No two ways about it.

I was 100 percent in favor of it, given the Soviet's invasion of Afganistan. Even though I was just a teenager, I was well versed in the nature of Soviet totalitarianism. Denying them hard currency and a propaganda platform was well warranted.

More importantly, the USSR was not brought down by Abrahms tanks, Pershing missiles, or ICBMs.

It was brought down by the moral authority of the west, the moral superiority of western liberal democracy, and by the Soviet system being utterly discredited as a morally bankrupt system of degenerate totalitarianism.

I believe that Carter understood this far better than Reagan, and that his judicious use of American soft power, the moral authority of his presidency, and shining a bright light on the moral depravity of Soviet totalitarianism did more than its fair share to shame and discredit the communist system of the USSR. I believe it helped lay the groundwork for the emergence of a reform movement under Gorbachev.

 

[Cypress]

Good read, thanks for posting it, Cypress. Carter has always been a figure to admire, to me, a model of how a man can use the fame of the Presidency as a force for good in the world. To me he is also a model of Christianity and Christian caring for all no matter what nation, race, or language.

I agree.

I maintain that, in hindsight, Carter's legacy is looking better and he made lasting positive contributions of the office of the Presidency and the world at large.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

I was 100 percent in favor of it, given the Soviet's invasion of Afganistan. Even though I was just a teenager, I was well versed in the nature of Soviet totalitarianism. Denying them hard currency and a propaganda platform was well warranted.

More importantly, the USSR was not brought down by Abrahms tanks, Pershing missiles, or ICBMs.

It was brought down by the moral authority of the west, the moral superiority of western liberal democracy, and by the Soviet system being utterly discredited as a morally bankrupt system of degenerate totalitarianism.

I believe that Carter understood this far better than Reagan, and that his judicious use of American soft power, the moral authority of his presidency, and shining a bright light on the moral depravity of Soviet totalitarianism did more than its fair share to shame and discredit the communist system of the USSR. I believe it helped lay the groundwork for the emergence of a reform movement under Gorbachev.

This makes me unutterably sad, given the immoral POS that sits in the WH now. Will the office of the Presidency ever regain its power and status as representative of America and our people?

 

[Cypress]

This makes me unutterably sad, given the immoral POS that sits in the WH now. Will the office of the Presidency ever regain its power and status as representative of America and our people?

In some ways, Jimmy Carter was the right man for the right time. On the heels of Watergate, Vietnam, and the abuses on the national security state, we really needed someone with moral authority in a leadership role.

Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter are, by presidential standards, models of clean government and moral behavior. For some weird reason, the GOP routinely nominates and elects people of dubious moral character, abject incompetence, and/or flat-out criminals, aka Tricky Dick, Spiro Agnew, Donald Trumpf, Dumbya, Bedtime for Bonzo.

 

[TTQ64]

The racist right demonized Carter and Americans bought into it.

Racist white men have been lying to America for decades.

It's time yall stop listening to them.

 

[Heff]

This analysis resonates with me, because I maintain that it is America's soft power, her moral authority, and Carter's emphasis on human rights, democracy, and targeted sanctions that really discredited the USSR and hastened its demise.

Carter, uniquely I believe among US president, had the moral authority to attack the Soviets where they were weakest, and where their political system could be utterly discredited - by leveraging democracy, human rights, human dignity, and the treatment and repression of its own citizens as moral weapons against the Kremlin leadership.

I don't mean to pooh pooh the article but the idea that Carter helped win the cold war with "moral weapons" is quite hilarious.

 

[TTQ64]

This makes me unutterably sad, given the immoral POS that sits in the WH now. Will the office of the Presidency ever regain its power and status as representative of America and our people?

It will when we hold racist white men and their supporters accountable.

We can start by getting rid of the electoral college 1 person, 1 vote.

 

[Cypress]

I don't mean to pooh pooh the article but the idea that Carter helped win the cold war with "moral weapons" is quite hilarious.

Carter spent plenty of money on our vast military industrial complex, and on weapons designed to meet and defeat the Soviets on the field of battle.

You obviously are unfamiliar with the history of the use of moral authority and soft power. You might want to familiarize yourself with Ghandi, MLK, and the Polish Solidarity labor union, et al.

In the meantime, name the military battles we won against the Soviet Union that brought about its demise.

 

[Heff]

Carter spent plenty of money on our vast military industrial complex, and on weapons designed to meet and defeat the Soviets on the field of battle.

You obviously are unfamiliar with the history of the use of moral authority and soft power. You might want to familiarize yourself with Ghandi, MLK, and the Polish Solidarity labor union, et al.

In the meantime, name the military battles we won against the Soviet Union that brought about its demise.

The Soviet Union didn't collapse until a decade after Carter. I wonder if it just took that long for his "moral weapons" to work?

I know enough about soft power to know it has little to no effect on ruthless regimes.

 

[Sailor]

The racist right demonized Carter and Americans bought into it.

Racist white men have been lying to America for decades.

It's time yall stop listening to them.

You do not know much about Carter or that time period do you.

 

[Cypress]

The Soviet Union didn't collapse until a decade after Carter. I wonder if it just took that long for his "moral weapons" to work?

I know enough about soft power to know it has little to no effect on ruthless regimes.

NATO was formed by Harry Truman 40 years before the collapse of the USSR, but nonetheless played an essential role on containing the USSR and contributing to its ultimate demise.

Since you believe soft power and moral authority are utterly inconsequential, I am still waiting on you to name the military battles the US Army won against the Red Army bringing the Soviet Union to its demise.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

NATO was formed by Harry Truman 40 years before the collapse of the USSR, but nonetheless played an essential role on containing the USSR and contributing to its ultimate demise.

Since you believe soft power and moral authority are utterly inconsequential, I am still waiting on you to name the military battles the US Army won against the Red Army bringing the Soviet Union to its demise.

There is a reason why Putin's puppet is constantly bashing NATO and threatening to withdraw from it. The Russians fear and hate it.

 

[Heff]

NATO was formed by Harry Truman 40 years before the collapse of the USSR, but nonetheless played an essential role on containing the USSR and contributing to its ultimate demise.

Since you believe soft power and moral authority are utterly inconsequential, I am still waiting on you to name the military battles the US Army won against the Red Army bringing the Soviet Union to its demise.

Which NATO-like alliance did Carter start?

Why would I name non-existent military battles?

 

[Cypress]

There is a reason why Putin's puppet is constantly bashing NATO and threatening to withdraw from it. The Russians fear and hate it.

Trumpf is the first American president to go out of his way to bad-mouth and alienate long standing western Allies, while going out of his way to kiss the @ss of the Kremlin chief and former KGB leader.

If Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter had done what Trump does, they would have been brought up on treason charges by a Republican congress, and run out of the country.

 

[Mason Michaels]

Boycotting the Olympics was a foreign policy disaster. No two ways about it.

I think it was the down fall of his Presidency.

 

[Mason Michaels]

The racist right demonized Carter and Americans bought into it.

Racist white men have been lying to America for decades.

It's time yall stop listening to them.

One trick pony!