Former president Jimmy Carter is under fire for a planned meeting with Hamas leaders. Speaking to reporters from Nepal, Carter says he hopes to facilitate open talks between Hamas and US officials.
Several state department officials have criticized the former president for the planned meet, but former US Ambassador Andrew Young defended Carter’s intentions. Young says Carter has done more to bring peace to the Middle East than any of the former president’s detractors.
“He sets an example for those who want to be president now. All three of them need to look at his example and look at his presidency and realize what a great president he was.”Carter has criticized Washington’s policy of not meeting with terrorist organizations saying it is counterproductive to peace in the Middle East. Young himself faced criticism for meeting with former Palestanian leader Yasir Arafat during his time as UN Ambassador to the United Nations.
Young says neither he nor the former president have ever been afraid of being unpopular because of their views.
“Carter knows about the Middle East, than all of his critics put together because none of them has every produced 20 days of peace for the people of Israel.”
