Former President Jimmy Carter has once again weighed in on the current administration’s goings-on, jabbing at President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for their handling of foreign affairs, particularly in the Middle East.
He preluded his criticisms by saying that he holds “great admiration” for current Secretary of State John Kerry, adding that the two correspond frequently by email, Time reported.
Mr. Carter then gave a backhanded slap at the Obama administration.
“[Kerry] has had a very difficult time operating pretty much on his own” in the Mideast peace process, Mr. Carter said, CNN reported. “I know from experience that the best way to have the United States be a mediator is for the president himself to be deeply involved.”
Mr. Carter’s rhetoric against the Obama administration and Mrs. Clinton then struck a more direct and critical tone.
“When Secretary Clinton was secretary of state, she took very little action to bring about peace,” Mr. Carter said, CNN reported. “It was only John Kerry’s coming into office that re-initiated all these very important and crucial issues.”
Mr. Carter’s views of Mrs. Clinton — and by default, of Mr. Obama for appointing and supporting her — follows mantras put out by the Republican Party.
“Whether it was acting with the next political campaign in mind or merely following a weak Obama-Hillary foreign policy, Hillary Clinton has very little to show for her four years in the State Department,” said Kirsten Kukowski, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, in the CNN report.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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