Jimmy Carter: Embarrassment Then and Now

Al Jazeera gleefully reported Jimmy Carter's latest criticism of the Bush administration.

Carter demands closure of Guantanamo

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter demanded the United States to shut down its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to demonstrate its commitment to human rights.

"The U.S. continues to suffer terrible embarrassment and a blow to our reputation because of reports concerning abuses of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo," Carter said after a two-day human rights conference at his Atlanta center.

The abuse reports have surfaced despite President Bush's "bold reminder that America is determined to promote freedom and democracy around the world," he said.

Carter was a miserable failure as a president. Recall how he managed the Iran hostage crisis. Enough said.

More from Al Jazeera:

William F. Schulz, the executive director of Amnesty International, said, "No amount of spin can erase the myriad human rights abuses committed by United States officials in the 'war on terror.' The United States cannot simultaneously claim that it 'promotes freedom around the world' while detaining tens of thousands at Guantanamo Bay, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and in Iraq and other locations without charge or trial and allowing those civilian and military officials responsible for orchestrating a systematic policy of torture to escape accountability.

"Instead of attacking us, President Bush should insist upon a truly thorough, independent investigation of those who tried to circumvent global prohibitions on torture, and he should open all detention centres to scrutiny by independent human rights groups. Only then will the world be able to judge whether it is Amnesty International or the president whose perspective deserves to be called 'absurd.'"

Looks like Jimmy Carter, Amnesty International, and Al Jazeera are on the same page.

Carter is a digrace. He should stick to peanuts and writing bad novels.