Four former presidents condemn Putin
One says ‘nyet’
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week was met with rebuke from world leaders, past and present. Former American presidents, in particular, did not hesitate to issue statements of condemnation — well, all except one.
Ninety-seven-year-old Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States (1977 – 1981) and the oldest living former president, issued a statement through the Carter Center. “Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine… violates international law and the fundamental human rights of the Ukrainian people,” the statement read. “I condemn this unjust assault on the sovereignty of Ukraine that threatens security in Europe and the entire world, and I call on President Putin to halt all military action and restore peace.”
President Carter is regarded as one of the more ardent advocates of world peace to ever sit in the Oval Office. Most notably, between September 1978 and March 1979, Carter hosted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David, which ended in the signing of a historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Known as the Camp David Accords, the historic treaty reflected Carter’s strong determination to see peace and order flourish throughout the world.
In addition, Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States (1993 – 2001) rebuked Putin and expressed his support for the Ukrainian people. “I stand with President Biden, our allies, and freedom-loving people around the world in condemning Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” the former president said in a written statement on February 24. “I stand with the people of Ukraine and am praying for their safety.”
Clinton was the first U.S. President that Vladimir Putin met. The two met at a G-8 summit in Japan in 2000, shortly after Putin’s election and shortly before the end of Clinton’s second term.
Like most former presidents and world leaders, George W. Bush, president from 2001 to 2009, joined in expressing strong disapproval of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia’s attack on Ukraine constitutes the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II,” the 43rd president wrote in a statement through the Bush Center. “I join the international community in condemning Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The American government and people must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as they seek freedom and the right to choose their own future.”
Bush, the second American president to deal one-on-one with Putin, invested heavily in their relationship. Putin visited Bush’s Texas ranch, and the two met in Russia shortly afterwards. Despite a seemingly productive relationship, U.S.-Russian relations deteriorated during the 2000s. In 2008, Putin invaded the country of Georgia, beginning a decade of increased Russian territorial aggression, ultimately reaching its climax this February.
Barack Obama, the first African American president in U.S. history, serving from 2009 to 2017, admonished Russia’s “brazen attack on the people of Ukraine.” Russia’s actions, he said in a statement on Thursday, were “in violation of international law and the basic principles of human decency.” Putin attacked Ukraine, Obama said, “because the people of Ukraine chose a path of sovereignty, self-determination, and democracy. People of conscience around the world need to loudly and clear condemn Russia’s actions and offer support for the Ukrainian people.”
In March 2014, Putin annexed and invaded the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine, and President Obama responded with economic sanctions. Following Putin’s bold move and his backing of separatists in Eastern Ukraine, U.S.-Russia relations entered a mini–Cold War that remained through the end of Obama’s term in office.
That leads us to Obama’s successor, Donald Trump. Days prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump sent out a statement mocking President Biden’s handling of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. “Putin is playing Biden like a drum,” the 45th president said through his website. “It is not a pretty thing to watch!” He called Putin’s recognition of two breakaway regions of Eastern Ukraine “genius” while on a conservative talk show.
As the Russian invasion intensified on February 24, Trump, unlike his predecessors, did not issue a statement condemning Putin, nor did he offer support for the Ukrainian people; he mentioned neither.
“If I were in office, this deadly Ukraine situation would never have happened!” he said.
No rebuke of Putin. No statement of support for the Ukrainian people. Nothing. Not even an acknowledgment of an invasion. Just “I would have prevented this.”
If one were to read his statement without knowing what was actually happening in Ukraine, one would not get the impression that they were being invaded.
In the end, the American presidency is not just an office one occupies for four or eight years. It is, as FDR once said, “preeminently a place of moral leadership.” Former presidents are simply presidents without constitutional powers. They remain powerful symbols of American democracy throughout their entire lives, and their influence extends beyond the boundaries of fixed terms.
For a former president to neglect his duty to promote the principles of America abroad, particularly at such a critical time when the freedom of the Ukrainian people is under attack, is embarrassing and wrong.
The Ukrainian people deserve, and gravely need, the support of influential people like American presidents. Their democracy is under attack. And an attack on one democracy is an attack on all democracy.
Thus, the cause of Ukraine is not exclusive to its borders. It is the cause of all freedom-loving people. We must remember that freedom and democracy are fragile, and we must always defend them.
Words are powerful. In these hours of grave uncertainty, the Ukrainian people need our support every minute of every hour. If we cannot offer our physical support, we must offer the strongest possible encouragement through our words and voices.
It shouldn’t be difficult to stand with democracy.
Dakoda Pettigrew
Feb. 26, 2022 medium.com