Former President Jimmy Carter Critical Of Iraq, Detentions

In a speech given at an international conference recently, former President Jimmy Carter criticized the war in Iraq as "unjust" and also questioned the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. He said that American actions have gave terrorists excuses to attack the West. The former President hastened to criticize such attacks as well.

This is not the first time that Mr. Carter has harshly criticized American policies in regard to Iraq, and it will not be the last.

Rather than mere criticism, I would like to see him offer constructive solutions for the problems that face the United States and the rest of the West, including those arising from international terrorism.

I believe that his strategy would be to engage in international cooperative efforts to crack down on terrorists. However, it is known that Britain had relaxed its vigilance against terrorist actions just prior to the first of the two recent bombings in London. Can concerted activity to guard against terrorism work when democracies are prone to returning to previous states of normalcy?

Mr. Carter and other critics should provide realistic alternatives to our current foreign policy approach.