Chicago Tribune

Commentary: Jimmy Carter was right about human rights

President Jimmy Carter announces his friend Bert Lance's resignation, director of the Office of Management and the Budget, during a press conference in Washington D.C. on Sept. 21, 1977.

When I first joined the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service, I was optimistic about the positive role the United States played in the world. By the time I left not quite a decade later, I was haunted by how dangerous our shortsighted foreign policy can be.

What worried me most was how casual the U.S. government was about arming, training, and resourcing dictators, tyrants and local thugs all over the world. We typically justified this in the name of stability or maintaining influence, but pursued it with shockingly

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune3 min read
Cubs' Christopher Morel Appears To Avoid Injury In Collision During 17-0 Blowout Loss To Red Sox
BOSTON — Chicago Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel’s all-out effort to snag a popup down the left-field line at Fenway Park nearly ended in disaster. Morel’s pursuit of a shallow fly ball off the bat of Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran in the b
Chicago Tribune3 min read
Review: ‘Uncle Vanya’ On Broadway Leaves A Talented Cast Stranded
NEW YORK — Filled with sad-sack characters living lives of soul-sucking boredom, Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” ain’t ever a walk in the park to produce or, for that matter, to watch. Still, the new Lincoln Center production from the typically reliabl
Chicago Tribune10 min read
After 25 Years Of Selling Tamales In Chicago, An Undocumented Immigrant Mother Returns To Mexico Without Her Family
Claudia Perez’s children could count on one hand the number of times they had seen their father cry. The day their mother left was one of them. Perez had worked her whole life for a dream that did not come true: Save enough money to take her family b

Related Books & Audiobooks