MTP Transcript for Dec. 3

MR. RUSSERT: Looking at the Middle East now, what must be done? If President Bush picked up the phone and called you and said, “President Carter”—does he ever call you?

FMR. PRES. CARTER: Oh, yes, we discuss matters on occasion. Either I call the State Department or the White House or he calls me, yes.

MR. RUSSERT: If he said to you, “Mr. President, what do I do today about the Middle East? What do I do to get a true peace?”

FMR. PRES. CARTER: OK. First of all, I think that the United States should stop their horrible abuse of the Palestinian people in a generic sense. I mean, all Palestinian people. Because they voted for Hamas candidates last January, we have cut off all aid to, to the Palestinian people, humanitarian aid and otherwise. We don’t let contributions from other nations go to the Palestinian people. They don’t have enough money to pay their, their teachers, their nurses, their policemen, their firemen, anybody on their public payroll, just because the Palestinian people voted for Hamas candidates. So I would stop that and let humanitarian aid go into Gaza and to the West Bank.

Secondly, I would encourage the formation of a unity government that would include Hamas and Fatah so that the Palestinian people could be brought together. The Egyptians are trying to do this, but it’s over the objection of and the obstruction of the United States and the Israeli government. That was the next thing. And I, and I think the Palestinians are on the verge of forming a unity government.

And third, when that is done, there won’t be any equivocation about who can speak for the Palestinians, and I don’t think there is now. Mahmoud Abbas is the only anointed leader by the Palestinians—I mean anointed by Israel and the United States—as acceptable even three years before he became president. But while he was prime minister, under Arafat, and since he’s been president now for almost two years, he has not been permitted to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians with Israel to try to find an accommodation for their problems.

So I think the United States could use its maximum effort to bring about those kind of peace talks between Abbas and the representatives of Prime Minister Olmert. And if the United States is not willing to do that, I think they should be. As I said, the United States doesn’t want to, then they could let the international quartet do it where the United States would be a major player joined by Russia, the United Nations and by the European Union.

MR. RUSSERT: Before we leave you, I’d like to take advantage of your experience as a past president. How do you believe history will judge the war in Iraq?

FMR. PRES. CARTER: As one of the most troublesome and, and important errors ever made in international policy of the United States of America, for more than one reason. One is that we abandoned a justifiable and major presence in Afghanistan, where we could have helped wipe out al-Qaeda, we might have caught Osama bin Laden. And if not, if he had still escaped, we could have used our tremendous influence at the end of that war, with the Taliban overthrown, to rebuild Afghanistan, and to let them know that the Western world—and the Arab world—were supporting their move toward democracy with full restoration of their basic quality of life. That’s one thing.

We abandoned that in the middle of what I consider to be a justifiable war, and, and moved our resources, financial resources, our military resources, into Iraq, lost the support of almost unanimous support around the world following September 11, and almost acted unilaterally, with Great Britain by our side, in an unjustified war in Iraq, and alienated a lot of people who would otherwise have been allies with ours.

And I hope that they—that the coming Lee Hamilton and, and James Baker committee will recommend that, that there be a convergence in a conference of Iran and Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and others, even going to France and Russia, to say, “We, as a collective group, will guarantee to the Iraqi people our full support to rebuild the nation that has been damaged, if not destroyed. We will support the government that exists, and we will also guarantee you that, over a period of time—not a very extended time—the Iraqi people will control their, their military, their political and their economic affairs by themselves, without American influence, and with a collective worldwide beneficial influence for the rebuilding of a damaged nation.”

MR. RUSSERT: President Jimmy Carter, we thank you for joining us. Your self-described provocative book, “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.” Thank you again.

FMR. PRES. CARTER: It’s a pleasure.

MR. RUSSERT: And we’ll be right back.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT: That’s all for today. We’ll be back next week, in-depth coverage of the upcoming Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report. If it’s Sunday, it’s MEET THE PRESS.

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