Monday, 30 December 2024

Jimmy Carter: Legacy

Oil on canvas painting of President James Earl Carter. Artist: Herbert Abrams.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States of America, has passed away at the age of 100.

But what will be his legacy?

His detractors will claim that he presided over a "weak" America during times which were characterised by high levels of unemployment and inflation. The Iranian hostage crisis and the subsequent disastrous failure of an attempted rescue mission by U.S. Special Forces. The Shah of Iran, a vassal of the United States since the CIAs Operation Ajax brought him to power, was overthrown two years after Carter had asserted that Iran was "an Island of stability" in an unstable region of the world. It was also under his watch that his National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski oversaw the arming of local and foreign Mujahideen militias to fight the Soviet military in Afghanistan, a policy which after the Soviet withdrawal led to the evolution of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

His supporters will point to the election of Carter, an ex-naval officer-turned-Peanut-farmer from the state of Georgia in the American South as representing a kind of final reconciliation between the protagonists of the American Civil War. He continued the advances made by Black Americans and other minorities since the Civil Rights era by appointing an unheard of amount of Blacks to Federal positions. Carter consciously strove to practice an ethical type of foreign policy by returning the Panama Canal to Panamanian control after decades of it being controlled by the US military. He also refused to support the tyrannical regime in Nicaragua led by the Somoza family. He sought to improve the relationship between the United States and the African continent and was the first president to activate policies regarding renewable energy. And as a peacemaker he presided over the landmark Camp David Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. His commitment to global peace and stability was underlined by his negotiating of the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 2) with the USSR., which was implemented despite the fact that it was not formally ratified by the U.S. Senate because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Carter was a one-term president whose time in office is adjudged by many to have been a "failure". But these conclusions tend to be based on politically partisan inclinations, as well as those who developed an animus towards him because he showed an interest in bringing Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) to the negotiating table after Camp David.

After his presidency, Jimmy Carter competently performed the role of a global elder statesman. For instance, he frequently acted as an observer at elections around the world. His Presidential Library and the Carter Centre, a non-governmental organisation, have adeptly carried out their respective objectives over the years, the former as a reservoir of historical data and the latter in its promotion respectively of conflict resolution, democratic values and health.

As a human being, Carter struck many as a God-fearing Christian and a man of endearing humility. He was also a man of conscience and moral courage. He spoke up for the rights of the Palestinian people and criticised Israel's policies of perpetual militarism and its denial of Palestinian humanity. Carter warned Americans about the entrenchment of oligarchic power and the licence given them by electoral legislation which has created the circumstances for he described as “unlimited political bribery”. He also left the Southern Baptist Convention because of its opposition to women pastors.

That must have been an extremely painful thing for Carter to have done. While Carter had sought throughout his private and public life to fight against and make amends for the legacy of Southern racism, he was a man whose whole being was suffused in his Southern heritage.

He was understandably conflicted about the issue of Confederate statues because a number of his not-too-distant ancestors had perished during the civil war at the bloodiest encounter between North and South at the Battle of Gettysburg.

He was a distant cousin of the pioneering Carter Family who are revered as the "first family" of Country music. He was friends with the likes of Willie Nelson and Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers band who respectively were exponents of the "Outlaw Country" and "Southern Rock" genres.

While evaluation of his presidency continues to stir controversy, his post-White House activities arguably provide a model of what a former president can achieve. He helped build homes for the poor, actively fought against diseases and promoted sound agricultural techniques around the globe. And his aptitude for conflict resolution continued resulting in the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. The lesson of James Earl Carter’s life was his unfailing display of both commitment and conscience in his various roles as naval officer, farmer, state senator, governor, president and elder statesman.

Jimmy Carter was born on October 1st, 1924, and died on December 29th, 2024. His wife Rosalynn predeceased him, and he is survived by four children and many grandchildren.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.

Friday, 20 December 2024

A Summary of the Military and Political Career of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco

  
Capitán de fragata (Commander) Luis Carrero Blanco as the face of an original 1937 Spanish Civil War ration coupon.

Luis Carrero Blanco was a close associate of Generalissimo Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War which lasted from1936 to 1939. Franco, the leader of the Nationalist side became the undisputed head of state after victory over the Republican side and continued to lead Spain until his death in 1975.

Military education:

. 1918 - Naval Infantry School
. 1924 - Submarine School Course
. 1932 - Naval School, Paris

Military ranks (select):

. 1926 - Lieutenant 
. 1935 - Commander
. 1945 - Captain
. 1957 - Rear Admiral
. 1963 - Vice Admiral
. 1966 - Admiral

He held the following military positions:

. Ship Captain
. Submarine Commander
. Professor at the Naval College, Madrid
. Commander of the Cruiser Division of the Spanish Navy 
. Chief of Operations of the Navy High Command
. Chief of the General Staff

Carrero Blanco became an important functionary in Francoist Spain. He held the following appointments:
. 1940 - Under Secretary to the Presidency
. 1943 - Vice President of the Cortes
. 1967 - Deputy Premier
. 1973 - Prime Minister of Spain

Carrero Blanco authored at least three books:

. Spain and the Sea (1941)
. The Art of Naval Warfare (1943)
. The Victory of Christ of Lepanto (1947)

He was assassinated in a bomb attack by ETA, the Basque separatist group, on December 20, 1973.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.



Sunday, 8 December 2024

French Navy Tribute Recalls A Dramatic Connection Between Charles de Gaulle And Notre Dame Cathedral

FS Charles de Gaulle displays Notre Dame Cathedral on its deck (Source of photo: Chef d'état-major de la Marine on "X", formerly "Twitter").

A photograph released by the office of the French Chief of Naval Staff on Saturday, December 7, 2024, commemorated the re-opening of the refurbished Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was gutted by a fire in 2019.

The overhead shot of the aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French Navy, depicts the revered Cathedral using 922 members of its crew to reconstruct its façade.

Notre Dame Cathedral was of course the site of an assassination attempt on General Charles de Gaulle in August 26th, 1944. De Gaulle was in Paris to attend a thanksgiving service to celebrate the Liberation of the city.

As "Le General" strode into the Cathedral at the head of a procession of French soldiers and members of the resistance who had marched from the Arc de Triomphe, shots rang out from the dark corners of the Cathedral’s roof.

But as people threw themselves downwards to take cover, an unperturbed de Gaulle continued walking at his full height towards the altar and remained untouched by the hail of gunfire.

The echo of bullets exchanged between the snipers and the French security team of gendarmes and soldiers soon died down and was replaced by the sound of the congregation singing the Latin Christian hymn “Te Deum”.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.