JIMMY CARTER: OBAMA´S HUMAN RIGHTS OPPORTUNITY
By Jimmy Carter, the 39th president and founder of the Carter Center , a not-for-profit organization advancing peace and health worldwide (THE WASHINGTON POST, 10/12/08): The advancement of human rights around the world was a cornerstone of foreign policy and U.S. leadership for decades, until the attacks on our country on Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, while Americans continue to espouse freedom and democracy, our government’s abusive practices have undermined struggles for freedom in many parts of the world. As the gross abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay were revealed, the United States lost its mantle as a champion of human rights, eliminating our national ability to speak credibly on the subject, let alone restrain or gain concessions from oppressors. Tragically, a global backlash against democracy and rights activists, who are now the targets of abuse, has followed. The advancement of human rights and democracy is necessary for global stability and can be achieved only through