Jimmy Carter and Human Rights
President Jimmy Carter believed that U.S. foreign policy should be founded upon deeply held moral principles and national values. The mission in Vietnam had failed, he argued, because American actions there were contrary to moral values. His dedication to peace and human rights significantly changed the way that the United States conducted its foreign affairs. Carter nominated civil rights activist Patricia M. Derian as Coordinator for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, and in August of 1977, he had the post elevated to that of Assistant Secretary of State. Derian established the United States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published annually since 1977, and made their findings a factor in military aid determinations, effectively ending such aid for five Latin American countries for the remainder of Carter's tenure.
Carter’s attempt at a foreign policy built on the principle of human rights also prompted much criticism, however. Many in his own administration were opposed to these initiatives, and the more assertive human rights policy of the Carter years was blunted by the discord that ensued between, on one hand, Derian and State Department Policy Planning Director Anthony Lake, who endorsed human rights considerations as an enhancement of U.S. diplomatic effectiveness abroad, and National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who held Cold War considerations as paramount.
Though met with mixed results during his presidency, in 1982, Carter established the Carter Center in Atlanta to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. The non-profit, nongovernmental Center promotes democracy, mediates and prevents conflicts, and monitors the electoral process in support of free and fair elections. It also works to improve global health through the control and eradication of diseases.
South Korea
During his first month in office, President Carter cut the defense budget by $6 billion. One of his first acts was to order the unilateral removal of all nuclear weapons from South Korea and announce his intention to cut back the number of U.S. troops stationed there. Carter planned to remove all U.S. troops, with the exception of 14,000 U.S. Air Force personnel and logistics specialists, from South Korea by 1982; however, after cutting only 3,600 troops, he was forced by intense Congressional pressure as well as strong opposition from the military generals to abandon the effort in 1978.
People's Republic of China
During his presidency, Carter continued the policy of Richard Nixon to normalize relations with the People's Republic of China. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and China expert Michel Oksenberg laid the groundwork for granting the People's Republic of China full diplomatic and trade relations. In the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, dated January 1, 1979, the United States transferred diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The US reiterated the Shanghai Communiqué's acknowledgment of the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is a part of China; Beijing acknowledged that the American people would continue to carry on commercial, cultural, and other unofficial contacts with the people of Taiwan. The U.S. unofficially recognized Taiwan through the Taiwan Relations Act.
Soviet Union and SALT II
A key foreign policy issue Carter worked laboriously on was the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II), which reduced the number of nuclear arms produced and/or maintained by both the United States and the Soviet Union. Carter and Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, reached an agreement on the treaty in 1979 despite opposition in Congress to its ratification, as many thought it weakened U.S. defenses. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan late in 1979, however, Carter withdrew the treaty from consideration by Congress and the treaty was never ratified (though it was signed by both Carter and Brezhnev). Even so, both sides honored the commitments laid out in the negotiations.
Carter and Brezhnev Sign SALT II
President Jimmy Carter and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) treaty, June 18, 1979, in Vienna.
The Middle East
Intervention in Afghanistan
Carter insisted that what he termed "Soviet aggression" in Afghanistan could not be viewed as an isolated event of limited geographical importance but had to be contested as a potential threat to U.S. influence in the Persian Gulf region. After the invasion, Carter announced what became known as the Carter Doctrine: that the U.S. would not allow any other outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf. He terminated the Soviet Wheat Deal in January 1980, which was intended to establish trade with the Soviet Union and lessen Cold War tensions. The U.S. was also worried about the Soviet Union gaining access to the Indian Ocean through arrangement with Pakistan, in which the Soviet Union provided Pakistan with aid in collecting intelligence. The United States, via the CIA, purchased all of Israel's captured Soviet weapons clandestinely and then funneled the weapons to the Mujahideen fighter in Afghanistan. The U.S. aid was supplied to Islamic fundamentalists and to the military government of Pakistan, which may have contributed to the subsequent political instability and rise of Islamic theocracy in the region.
The Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were the result of 18 months of intense diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Israel, and the United States that began after Jimmy Carter became President. The efforts were initially focused on a comprehensive resolution of disputes between Israel and the Arab countries and gradually evolved into a search for a bilateral agreement between Israel and Egypt. The Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David in the United States. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter.
There were two 1978 Camp David agreements: A Framework for Peace in the Middle East and A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. The agreements and the peace treaty were both accompanied by "side-letters" of understanding between Egypt and the U.S. and Israel and the U.S. The first part of the agreement, A Framework for Peace in the Middle East, provided a plan for Palestinian self-government; however the vague language left this issue undecided to become the primary point of Arab-Israeli contention. The second part of the agreement, A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, provided that Israel return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and evacuate Israeli inhabitants in exchange for diplomatic recognition and other guarantees. This led directly to the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and resulted in Sadat and Begin sharing the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.
The U.S. also committed several billion dollars in annual subsides to Egypt and Israel, which continue to the present-day. The Camp David Accords left Egypt, formerly a leading regional power, ostracized by other Arab countries, who criticized Egypt's concessions to Israel and Egypt's arrogance in speaking unilaterally for Jordan and Palestine. The Accords also demonstrated to Arab states that direct negotiations with Israel were possible, setting up future attempts at diplomacy by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Jordan, and others.