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<\/a>Most countries surveyed in a 2013 WIN\/Gallup poll identified the United States as the greatest threat to world peace. (Photo: CD\/CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n
The only US president to complete his term without war, military attack or occupation has called the United States \u201cthe most warlike nation in the history of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his regular Sunday school lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, Jimmy Carter\u00a0revealed<\/a>that he had recently spoken with President Donald Trump about China. Carter, 94, said Trump was worried about China\u2019s growing economy and expressed concern that \u201cChina is getting ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Carter, who normalized diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing in 1979, said he told Trump that much of China\u2019s success was due to its peaceful foreign policy.<\/p>\n Carter then referred to the US as \u201cthe most warlike nation in the history of the world,\u201d a result, he said, of the US forcing other countries to \u201cadopt our American principles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince 1979, do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody?\u201d Carter asked. \u201cNone, and we have stayed at war.\u201d While it is true that China\u2019s last major war\u2014an invasion of Vietnam\u2014occurred in 1979, its People\u2019s Liberation Army pounded border regions of Vietnam with artillery and its navy battled its Vietnamese counterpart in the 1980s. Since then, however, China has been at peace with its neighbors and the world.<\/p>\n Carter then said the US has been at peace for only 16 of its 242 years as a nation. Counting wars, military attacks and military occupations, there have actually only been five years of peace in US history\u20141976, the last year of the Gerald Ford administration and 1977-80, the entirety of Carter\u2019s presidency. Carter then referred to the US as \u201cthe most warlike nation in the history of the world,\u201d a result, he said, of the US forcing other countries to \u201cadopt our American principles.\u201d<\/p>\n China\u2019s peace dividend has allowed and enhanced its economic growth, Carter said. \u201cHow many miles of high-speed railroad do we have in this country?\u201d he asked. China has around 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of high speed rail lines while the US has \u201cwasted, I think, $3 trillion\u201d on military spending. According to a November 2018\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0by Brown University\u2019s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, the US has spent $5.9 trillion waging war in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other nations since 2001.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more than you can imagine,\u201d Carter said of US war spending. \u201cChina has not wasted a single penny on war, and that\u2019s why they\u2019re ahead of us. In almost every way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think the difference is if you take $3 trillion and put it in American infrastructure you\u2019d probably have $2 trillion leftover,\u201d Carter told his congregation. \u201cWe\u2019d have high-speed railroad. We\u2019d have bridges that aren\u2019t collapsing, we\u2019d have roads that are maintained properly. Our education system would be as good as that of say South Korea or Hong Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n The US has also invaded or bombed dozens of countries and supported nearly every single right wing dictatorship in the world since the end of World War II.<\/p>\n While there is a prevalent belief in the United States that the country almost always wages war for noble purposes and in defense of freedom, global public opinion and facts paint a very different picture. Most countries surveyed in a 2013 WIN\/Gallup poll\u00a0identified<\/a>\u00a0the United States as the greatest threat to world peace, and a 2017 Pew Research poll\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that a record number of people in 30 surveyed nations viewed US power and influence as a \u201cmajor threat.\u201d<\/p>\n The US has also invaded or bombed\u00a0dozens of countries<\/a>\u00a0and supported nearly every single right wing dictatorship in the world since the end of World War II. It has\u00a0overthrown<\/a>\u00a0or attempted to overthrow dozens of foreign governments since 1949 and has actively sought to crush nearly every single people\u2019s liberation movement over that same period. It has also\u00a0meddled<\/a>\u00a0in scores of elections, in countries that are allies and adversaries alike.<\/p>\n ___ Jimmy Carter: US ‘Most Warlike Nation in History of the World’ Former president says peaceful China ‘ahead of us in almost every way.’ by Brett Wilkins The only US president to complete his term without war, military attack or occupation … Continue reading
\nhttps:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/views\/2019\/04\/18\/jimmy-carter-us-most-warlike-nation-history-world<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"