Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9411050026
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHERYL HECKLER-FELTZ
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It would be an impressive addition to the list of humanitarian and peace awards the former president has received since he left office 13 years ago.
But from Carter's spiritual perspective, the accolades are not important.
He sees himself involved in conflict resolution - traveling to hostile environments and talking with unfriendly leaders - simply because the teachings of Jesus Christ require it.
``There is no nobler calling on this Earth than the seeking for peace,'' Carter said in 1978. ``For it is that reason which caused the Bible to say that peacemakers shall be called the sons of God.'' Carter was referring to Matthew 5:9.
Last year, in his book, ``Talking Peace,'' Carter outlined the philosophy he used in his marathon sessions with Haitian military leaders led by Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras.
The former president, who will be 70 years old on Saturday, believes his negotiating success is linked to his determination to work directly and only with top officials who can implement the promises they make.
He spends a great deal of time studying the cultural and personal history of the conflicting leaders and typically becomes involved in identifying for the leaders the benefits of peace for their citizens, resources and economic bases.
He is known to begin negotiations by saying, ``Let us agree we will not leave this place until we have a peaceful settlement.''
Carter also is known for beginning individual sessions by identifying how much the two enemies have in common and all elements successfully negotiated to this point.
The search for peace is a common theme in the Sunday school classes conducted by the former president at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., where he often draws on his international travels when making a point to his students.
``How would Jesus Christ define a successful life for us?'' Carter asks. ``Humility, service, suffering if necessary and certainly a life full of compassion for unlovable people.''
Carter has been attending regular adult Sunday school at Maranatha since leaving the White House in 1981, and he now teaches an average of 30 to 36 weeks out of the year.
Throughout his political career, Carter has offered many comments - in speeches, in Sunday school class and in interviews - which he used to place both his religious beliefs and search for peace in perspective.
The first Sunday school class the newly elected President Carter taught was in Washington's First Baptist Church, on Feb. 20, 1977. On that occasion he said:
``God's law doesn't change, no matter if one is in Plains, Washington, the Soviet Union, China or Pakistan. Congress meets and goes home. God's law doesn't change.''
Earlier this year, in June, Carter journeyed to North Korea for talks with the late President Kim Il Sung that moved the U.S. and North Korea away from the edge of conflict over the issue of nuclear arms.
In 1987 he traveled to Syria to meet with President Hafez Assad; in 1988 he traveled to Nicaragua to assist in that country's democratic election; and he monitored the 1989 elections in Panama that were later nullified by Manuel Noriega.
In 1992 he was menaced by an angry mob while monitoring an election in Guyana.
But in terms of his international peace efforts, Carter is best known for the Camp David Accords in 1978, when he successfully closeted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin together at the presidential retreat for two weeks and returned to Washington with an agreement between the two countries.
Carter arrived in Port-au-Prince on Sept. 17, the same date in 1978 that then-President Carter achieved his breakthrough with Sadat and Begin.
The two events had important similarities, including a dramatic last-minute success for Carter.
In his presidential memoirs, ``Keeping Faith,'' Carter included the following account of that drama:
``Earlier, my secretary, Susan Clough, had brought me some photographs of Begin, Sadat and me. They had already been signed by President Sadat, and Prime Minister Begin had requested that I autograph them for his grandchildren.''
Clough suggested that she get the names of the grandchildren, so that Carter could personalize each picture.
``I did this, and walked over to Begin's cabin with them. He was sitting on the front porch, very distraught and nervous because the talks had finally broken down at the last minute.
``I handed him the photographs. He took them and thanked me. Then he happened to look down and saw that his granddaughter's name was on the top one. He spoke it aloud, and then looked at each photograph individually, repeating the name of the grandchildren I had written on it. His lips trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes.''
Begin told Carter a little about each child, and especially about the one who seemed to be his favorite.
``We were both emotional as we talked quietly for a few minutes about grandchildren and about war.
``Then he asked me to step into his cabin, requesting that everyone else in the room leave. He was quiet, sober, surprisingly friendly. There were no histrionics. He said that the Jerusalem matter was fatal, that he was very sorry but he could not accept our letter to Egypt. ...''
Carter wrote that he walked back to Sadat's cabin, dejected.
``Sadat was there with [adviser] Osama el-Baz, both dressed to go back to Washington. I asked everyone else to leave and told Sadat what was happening. We realized that all of us had done our best, but that prospects were dim indeed.''
``Then Begin called. He said, `I will accept the letter you have drafted on Jerusalem.' I breathed a sigh of relief, because it now seemed that the last obstacle had been removed.''
Begin and Sadat shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the agreement. However, Carter was not named.
Carter originally traveled to Haiti in 1990 to assist in the peaceful election that was won by Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
In ``Talking Peace,'' Carter summarized Aristide's quick downfall after an overwhelming victory in which he claimed 70 percent of the vote:
``Although deeply religious and dedicated to the well-being of the poorest people of Haiti, who had given him their support, Aristide had little understanding of politics or governing. It was almost impossible for him to compromise on any issue, and he failed in his efforts to reach out to Haitian financial, business, education and social leaders to join him in the long-overdue reforms. Not trusting the army, he began to organize his own armed security force. There was little cooperation between the new president and the elected members of the Parliament.''
Eight months later, Cedras overthrew Aristide, and Carter wrote that ``Haiti, already the poorest country in our hemisphere, is sinking even further into disorder and poverty.''
After leaving office in 1981, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, sought to build something more than just a presidential library. So they created the Carter Center, a nonprofit public policy institute with the hopes of improving human rights and international peace.
Today the center oversees many programs aimed at prompting peace throughout the world. These include the International Conflict Resolution Program, the African Governance Program and the Human Rights Program.
Ironically, Carter originally planned to be a career officer in the U.S. Navy and even served under Adm. Hyman Rickover as senior officer of the ``Sea Wolf,'' the second nuclear submarine ever built.
He resigned his commission in 1953 and returned to Plains to run the family business after his father's death.
In the introduction to ``Talking Peace,'' Carter writes, ``As a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and later as president of the United States, I learned firsthand about the terrible nature of war. This knowledge strengthens my personal commitment to work for the blessings of peace.''
Today, when asked how he'd like his administration's achievements to be remembered in U.S. history, Carter typically lists ``four years of military peace'' at the top.
During his own administration, Carter ordered U.S. armed forces abroad only twice - into Zaire in 1978 when U.S. military aircraft provided logistical support to Belgian and French rescue operations, and into Iran in 1980 when six U.S. transport planes and eight helicopters were used in a failed and deadly attempt to rescue American hostages.
By contrast, former President Reagan ordered troops oversees 18 times during his eight years in the White House, and former President Bush did so 12 times during his four-year term.
In an address in Charleston, S.C., in 1977, Carter quoted from Romans 14:19 when he said:
``With all the difficulties, all the conflicts, I believe that our planet must finally obey the biblical injunction to `follow after the things which make for peace.'"
Cheryl Heckler-Feltz is a freelance religion writer based in Ohio who has covered Jimmy Carter for several years.
by CNB