In an article from Harpers Magazine former President Jimmy Carter was ordered by the Bush White House not to visit Syrian President Assad. The former president stated:
"I have known President Bashar al-Assad since he was a college student, and I thought it might be helpful if I went and urged him to support the peace process in the Middle East. But for the only time in my life as a former president, I was ordered by the White House not to go."
As the article goes on to state the White House has had no ojections to the three Republican Congressmen who are currently visiting Syria, but have relentlessly attacked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for her visit.
Rep. Darrell Issa of California even criticized Bush on his visit, something Pelosi was careful not to do.
Jimmy Carter has done more to promote peace and human rights since leaving office than any president we've ever had. From the Carter Center's Peace page:
Peace with justice requires resolving conflict according to rules agreed to by all, beginning with the shared commitment to human rights and democratic values. Today, virtually all governments claim to share this belief. The Carter Center, in partnership with others, seeks practical ways to narrow the gap between the rhetoric and realities of government policies in countries striving to overcome legacies of oppression and deadly conflict by building more just societies of their own.
This is just more of the same from a White House that prefers partisan manipulation, war mongering and attacking instead of dialogue and open communication. My question is, can they really tell Carter that he can't go to Damascus; does he need their permission, or is Carter just too much of a gentlemen to provoke their wrath?