Jimmy Carter Essay

The United States we know today is the product of many different events and ideologies. From war to peace, and from isolation to internationalism, 44 different presidents with many altered circumstances participate in shaping the United States we know today. Scholars have subsequently discussed the way US Presidents manage foreign affairs, and they are still debating the successes and failures, or which among them deserve the most credit. In this research paper, I discuss the foreign policy of president Jimmy Carter and I examine the basic principals he stood on. Carter had many actions coming from a human rights approach. I will be discussing them with the principals underling these actions. I will then be linking his actions to the balancing

Carter’s basic ideas were coming from his own personal moral interpretations. “I promised you four years ago that I would never lie to you” (Carter, n.d.) He came with the right ideas in the right time, which paved his way to the white house. Especially in 1976, Americans wanted someone like him. He came with very decent ideas, which was the opposite of the Nixon’s administration. Americans needed to rebuild trust in their leadership after the failures in Vietnam War. Carter’s basic ideas were clear from the beginning of his elections campaign. Carter was a Democrat, and also was an idealist. “We are a proudly idealistic nation,” (Carter, 1997) Carter said in his Inaugural address. He wanted to reflect the highest moral principals in his foreign policy but I believe Carter had high expectations for his foreign policy but he did not know how to meet them. His principals can be seen clearly from his inaugural address when he said: “Our commitment to human rights must be absolute, our laws fair, our national beauty preserved, the powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be enhanced.” (Carter, 1997). He was focusing on human rights, his annual submission by the Department of State of a full and complete report on human rights practices around the world (“Carter's Foreign

From the beginning, having the Shah in was a totally unwise decision because it will reflect a negative image to the new Iranian government. Not only that, also they were in a revolutionary situation where all people are radicalized. This crisis was of the nastiest crises to the American people because it affected them directly and affected public opinion in the United States for 444 days. Correspondingly, I believe that it’s Carter’s baggiest failure and if it didn’t happen or it was managed differently, I would probably have a different opinion on his foreign policy. What is worse than the problem itself is the way he interacted with it. Carter's failure to negotiate with the Iranians was obvious to the world, but what made it even worse was the badly failed rescue mission. Operation Eagle Claw failure showed the American people that their great country miscarries in front of a small country like Iran. Not only that, but by the end of the operation the prestigious group of special operations Delta Force had lost 8 of its members (Kamps, 2006). President Carter’s inability to resolve the problem made him look like a weak and ineffectual leader. At the same time, his intense focus on bringing the hostages home kept him away from the campaign trail. (Iran Hostage Crisis,