Jimmy Carter

I sense a slight contradiction with your claims. On the one hand, you say that

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During his watch, Carter aided and supported Nicaragua's then-dictator Anastasio Somoza, who murdered and repressed tens of thousands of his own people. When Somoza's forces were about to lose control of the main cities, Carter attempted to launch an invasion under the fig leaf of an intervention by the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS refused and Carter then planned to send the US military to salvage Somoza's army, which was established by and beholden to the US government-but it was too late. Carter made sure that Somoza was ferried out of the country on a Red Cross-painted US aircraft. The C.I.A. under Carter helped to re-establish Somoza's army as a terrorist force against the people of Nicaragua.

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but, at the same time, you assert

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Carter used the full power of the office to install Sandanista Daniel Ortega in power in Nicaragua.

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This would suggest that Carter was fighting to keep the Somoza dictatorship in power, whilst simultaneously using the full power of his office to overthrow him in favour of Ortega and the Sandanistas.Have you accidentally intermingled incompatible criticisms from Carter's opponents to the right and left?

Of course, the difference in this case is that you're claiming the US was helping Somoza set up the military opposition to the Sandanista regime at the same time as they were enthusastically supporting the Sandanista regime.In fact, the US never enthusiastically supported the Sandanistas. What they did, under Carter was provide aid to the new government (which briefly attempted to be a government of national unity before it transformed into a one-party state) with the intention of preventing the new Nicaraguan government from turning to the Soviet Union for support and becoming another staunch Soviet ally on the US's doorstep. This policy was obviously abandoned by Reagan's adminstration, which opted to overthrow the Sandanistas by force.I'm unaware of any evidence of US support for the counter-revolution prior to 1981.

You wrote (or rather quoted someone else) that "the C.I.A. under Carter helped to re-establish Somoza's army as a terrorist force against the people of Nicaragua." There's no evidence of this (that I know of). Carter lobbied for the retention of some of Somoza's national guard in the new regime, to try and make sure Nicaragua did not become a Communist ally, but I don't know of any evidence that he actually funded or supported them (unlike Reagan). Yes, and also that you (or your source) overplayed Carter's support for Somoza. While he did try and maintain Somoza's regime in power, he accepted when it became clear this was not possible. This was not a popular attitude with some in the CIA, and they were given a free hand under Reagan, with rather horrifying results.I don't know enough to comment on any of the rest of your list.Edited by caffeine, : No reason given.

I was only trying to question the claim that Carter helped to reform the National Guard as a counter-revolutionary militia after the fall of the Somoza regime - I'm not trying to justify support for Somoza.Regarding the Red Cross planes - I can find many assertions of Carter arranging this, but no sources. I can, however, find contemporary press accounts of National Guardsmen fleeing the country in Red Cross planes - planes they seized at gunpoint. There doesn't seem to be any mention of US involvement in the case at the ICJ.