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President Carter Favors Diplomatic Solution in Syria

September 11th, 2013

Tuesday night, President Obama said he would put off a military strike if Syria’s president agrees to a Russian proposal to put the country’s chemical weapons under international control. Prior to the speech, former President Jimmy Carter told those gathered at the Carter Center he was against any military action in the country and favored a diplomatic solution.

President Carter doubts a limited military strike will bring about change in Syria. That’s why Carter hopes the U.S. can reach a solution when Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Switzerland this week.

“Secretary Kerry has announced he’s going to Geneva to meet with Foreign Minister Lavrov from Russia, I believe, on Thursday, so I hope that the United States and Russia can work out a deal, that Syria will accept it and there won’t be any need for a military Strike.”

The former president says it’s a deal that could create a new environment on the ground in Syria.

“Because they have many, many stockpile locations in Syria, and if you send a twenty-person U.N. inspection team to all of those places, you would have a cease fire in a large part of Syria.”

Carter says that could eventually pave the way for another agreement that would end the civil war in the country and lead to elections.

However, if a diplomatic solution can’t be reached and Congress does move forward with a vote on Syria, Carter says it won’t be a catastrophe for the President’s credibility if Congress votes against any military action.

“Because all of us presidents have submitted things that were extremely important to us, maybe even more important than bombing Syria, and we’ve been rejected by Congress.”

Carter says it’s just something you live with in a democracy.