“America no longer has a functioning democracy,” said former President Jimmy Carter. The former President was criticizing the NSA program exposed by Edward Snowden. He made his remarks discussing the intelligence service, and condemning its actions.
Edward Snowden’s revelations are proving useful, said Carter, because “they inform the public.”
Mr. Carter’s remarks were made in Atlanta, while speaking before the ‘Atlantic Bridge,’ a non-profit organization to enhance relations between the United States and Germany.
The State Department has been attempting to undo the damage to the relationship between the United States and Germany after whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the NSA secret operation.
Mr. Carter has been critical of U.S. intelligence services in the past.
“I think the invasion of privacy has gone too far,” Carter told CNN in June. “I think that the secrecy that has been surrounding this invasion of privacy has been excessive, so I think that the bringing of it to the public notice has probably been, in the long term, beneficial. I think the American people deserve to know what their Congress is doing.”
Mr. Carter said that the restriction of freedoms by our government is morally wrong. In an article he wrote for the New York Times, he talked of American surveillance policies and their severity which resulted in a “never-before seen breach (of) our privacy by the government.”
Mr. Carter’s efforts for peace, and his humanitarian efforts, are exemplified by two events. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David peace agreements in 1979. And due to his worldwide efforts, Mr. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Mr. Carter also lamented the growing divide in Washington. He called for less campaign spending, and a re-clarification of the election rules.
Jimmy Carter has valid reasons for criticizing the NSA. American freedom must be reinstated. Stop the NSA, and repeal the Patriot Act.
Alfred James reporting
Op-ed
