Thread by @Will_Tanner_1

He just died so we're supposed to pretend he's a saint, but Carter was instrumental in killing the free, prosperous state of Rhodesia and aiding Mugabe in his takeover of it, then transforming it into hellish Zimbabwe

In fact, after Harold Wilson, Carter's the key villain🧵👇

I've written much about this before, but a quick summary to set the scene:

Carter was elected in '76 and acceded to power in '77. This coincided with the Bush War taking its final, much more intense form, with Soviet and CCP-backed rebels infiltrating from Zambia and Mozambique, which the Portuguese had lost in '75 after the '74 Carnation Revolution

The Rhodesian Front government, still generally supported by most blacks and whites within the country, was fighting for its life against those communist rebels and in desperate need of Western aid to survive. Its survival would have mean a bulwark against the communists in one of the world's key regions.

It needed that aid because the South Africans had generally stopped helping, as they sensed which way the wind was blowing and sought detente in their region with the black communist governments, and thought throwing Rhodesia to the wolves would buy them some time. Meanwhile, the whole world other than South Africa and Israel had gone along with UN sanctions of Rhodesia, cutting it off from needed trade and access to supplies

So, with the South Africans betraying them, the British unhelpful, and the communists surrounding them, the Rhodesians desperately needed American aid

In a sane world, it would have been given. Rhodesia was free, with personal and property rights generally protected and respected for white and black alike. It was willing to fight communism and, at the point of Carter's election, had already done so for a decade. It could feed Africa and had vast mineral reserves. So, it was just the sort of state you would think America would want to aid in the Cold War, and help defend from communism

That aid was given by some Americans personally, such as Soldier of Fortune's Robert Brown, and some Americans arrived to fight as volunteers...but it was left to see if Carter would let Rhodesia fall to the communists, or provide the little bit of aid and sanctions relief it needed to keep fighting

Carter didn't give it. Despite being a Southern Democrat, he was in thrall to the race communist spirit of the age, one best represented by his friend and fellow Georgian, "Civil Rights leader" Andy Young

Young, America’s UN Ambassador from January 1977 to September '79, was known for being “lenient toward communist tyranny.” He took the lead on US policy toward Rhodesia, and remained unremittingly hostile to the country as it fought for survival against communist aggression, not only maintaining sanctions on it but providing much moral aid to communist rebels like Mugabe and Nkomo

That Young-led American support for communist rebels continued even as they committed horrid atrocities

For example, in '79, Nkomo's USSR-aided rebels, after years of torturing and killing black villagers, shot down two Rhodesian civilian airliners. When the planes crashed, his men r*ped the survivors and then bayoneted them to death. After the planes were shot down and survivors deliberately tortured and murdered, Young described Nkomo as “conciliatory" toward the Rhodesians.

Young even kept up the support of Mugabe to the point of refusing to let the Rhodesians find a negotiated political end to the war

When moderate African Bishop Abel Muzorewa was elected in the 1979 election in what was described as "undeniably mobilized a genuine outpouring of sentiment for peace among black Rhodesians," Young smeared it as an election of a “neofascist." He then, with Carter's blessing and support, pushed for an end of such conciliatory measures and demanded an election in which Mugabe or Nkomo could be elected

So, under Carter's watch, in the last year of his presidency, Young then supported Mugabe in the 1980 election, which was characterized by Mugabe’s men intimidating voters. Lord Christopher Soames, charged by the British with overseeing the election, found that "the scale of intimidation in eastern Rhodesia [bordering Mozambique, which had sheltered Mugabe's ZANU guerrillas] was massive. . . . The mere presence of Mugabe's guerrillas in the villages was enough to deter the local population from showing support for any party other than ZANU."

Young didn't care about the voter intimidation, nor the torture and killing of black Rhodesians. Instead, he stuck by Mugabe, again with Carter's blessing.

Even as Mugabe described a multi-party state as a "luxury" he would end, Young praised him, saying, "I find that I am fascinated by his intelligence, by his dedication. The only thing that frustrates me about Robert Mugabe is that he is so damned incorruptible.”

For reference, Young's support for Mugabe (and Carter's friendship with Young) continued past Carter's presidency

He even defended Mugabe as he murdered and stole the farms of Rhodesia's white farmers. Young defended the “land reform,” saying, “President Mugabe is doing much better to manage this situation than the British government is doing managing Ireland.” He then hand-waved away the murder that occurred, saying, "I think it was in the tradition of civil disobedience, but unfortunately the hostilities between the veterans and the land owners was rather volatile and people were killed."

Young has continued to support Mugabe in recent years. In 2008, The New Republic quoted him as lying and ridiculously claiming that Mugabe doesn’t steal, leading that outlet to say, “Young, with the soft voice and the doe eyes, long ago turned into a cash carnivore, fronting for Africa's tyrants in corporate board rooms and congressional offices.”39 It added, “Well, he does steal, and from his own people. And he maims and murders them, too.”

So, as a free nation tried fighting communist tyranny, Carter sent the Civil Rights hounds after it and let them destroy it in the name of race communism, supporting murderous rebels in the name of "democracy" even as they butchered civilians in unspeakable atrocities and intimidated voters

He and his friend Andy Young then continued supporting Mugabe even as he genocided the Ndebele, stole land and other property from the remaining whites, and killed them as "land reform"

So, unless you support the murderous Robert Mugabe and his campaign of terror-filled race communism, there's no reason to support Jimmy Carter

He's a villain who enabled, supported, and provided moral cover for the worst sort of tyranny and villainy, consigning millions to horrid fates

Read more about this here: theamericantribune.news/p/how-the-unit…

We also have a few lines of Make Zimbabwe Rhodesia Again gear, such as this mug, if you’re interested. Check k that out here: theamericantribunestore.com/products/make-…

Read more about this here, if you’re interested: theamericantribune.news/p/how-the-unit…