Well, that was fascinating, Jay. Thanks. And, although I'm sure Mr. Carter will deny that the Saudi money holds any influence on his thoughts on the Middle East, it's awful hard to demonstrate that it doesn't.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Saudis positively (or negatively) hemorrhaged money on it seems almost eyeryone in the US political elite in the last 30 years . Of course there is Arab fincancing of the Carter Center as well as lesser Jewish contributions.. But Jay you are on the right road... Big money can be an important consideration in enunciation of policy even perhaps by an ex-president, but why reserve your dudgeon, only for ex-presidents.

Considering the circles of Hell, though BC is currently having to crane his neck up for a peek at his Big Brother, he'll have a long way down to aim his piss when JC goes to his reward.

Yep..."Billy Beer" ah...but as long as we are discussing brothers....Our President's brother..Neil..I could care less about his asian underage hookers and his messy divorce...
Along with everyone who lived in Colorado in the S&L rip-off we remember Silverado Savings....
So please google Billy Carter and "corruption" and "divorce"...and then google Neil Bush with the same words....Billy cost taxpayers very little...Neil's part in taxpayer bailout was over a billion bucks...
I report...you decide...

ZZZzzZzzz.
Like reading an aging, infinitely passing, advertisement.

Steve C. is right. It's not just Carter that's been bought and paid for by the Saudis. They've been spreading money (and lots of it) around DC for many years, toward any number of government officials and ex-government officials. Of either party -- the House of Saud ain't fussy about what you call yourself, just so long as you say what they want you to say.

The big scandal at the time was Burt Lance, Carter's budget director I think, and the BCCI bank.

Drug money from Afghanistan flowed through Pakistan (and other Arab States) and into the BCCI bank that was buying up lots of US banks with the help of Burt Lance.

But BCCI was unsound and brought down everything including Burt and involved lots of other people and countries - this was a BIG BIG scandal - and involved also the WTI in Ohio as I recall.

To this day the FED maintains a section of banking laws and regulations known as the "Burt Lance" laws.

Of interest, Jackson Stephens, who along with Walton and Tyson was one of the three power brokers in Little Rock, and a key Carter supporter, was deeply involved but escaped to later support Clinton and Gore. Under Clinton, the Stephens group profited handsomely from its connections, in the heath care and computers services areas.

Stephens, one time head of Augusta Golf Club, was said to maintain the old-time southern attitude toward blacks and Jews.

Jay neglects to point out the connections between the house of Saud and the Bush family which goes back three generations. Prince Bandar is an "honorary" member of the Bush family, whom they jokingly refer to as Bandar Bush. The Saudis bailed Bush II out during his Arbusto/Spectrum 7 days which allowed him to claim he was an "oilman", and not a "failed, bankrupt oilman" on his resume.

Jay, If you really wanted to do a scholarly work, and not just a hack piece, you could have discussed what's been happening over the last 25 or 30 years, which is a lot more relevant that what happened during the Carter administration.

You could have even discussed the agreement we have with the Saud royals to keep them in power, even with our military, in exchange for their promise to stabilize our energy prices. Makes for much more interesting reading than old, cold hash about "Billy Beer".

Rober and John: prescient posts. Billy news is strictly bathroom reading: something to take you're mind off necessary crap. Like the U.S. throwing gasoline on the Turk-Kurdish dispute as I write. W is a megolomaniac.

You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. Nuff said.

Jay, If you really wanted to do a scholarly work, and not just a hack piece, you could have discussed what's been happening over the last 25 or 30 years, which is a lot more relevant that what happened during the Carter administration. :: by John on January 13, 2007 2:09 PM ::

Your attempt to drag the topic of this post from its intended subject to something you feel is more important, more anti-Bush sniping, it's an easy jump to declare your comment a "hack piece" and very, very troll-like.

Carter, of course, has thrust himself into the news with his new book and reentry into the Middle-East debate. Not only Jay has taken up Carter in recent days, and those that bail on him.

As long as Carter is used as peace icon of the left, and glorified also I might add, he is making himself news, not Jay.

And as long as his positions are quoted on the Senate floor it is only right to recall what a disaster he was, and why we should not listen to him now, and expose the connections that may have led to the positions he takes against known fact and Israel, but refuses to defend.

I'm pretty sure Jay Tea has the right to blog about whomever he desires. If you don't like it, write your own post, but don't hijack the comment section because you don't like Bush.

I wasn't alive for Carter's presidency, but from what I've seen and read of the man I'm no fan.

Not a Carter, worse. If you want to find the real Arab money then you have to look at the Clintons. They have a hundred thousand dollars in graft from the Arabs for each nickel anyone else has ever received. How easy it is for a liberal to forget who was pushing the Arab port deal, the money in the Libary, bait shop, and massage parlor in Ark. and many other 'projects'.

From the comments both left and right it seems to me that no matter who gets elected,they have money tied to the Arabs. How far back does that go? Are they already pouring money into all the people who are throwing their hats into the next election? How many other countries have the same discussions about their leaders(or family of leaders) who sucked up tons of our tax money to nudge things in our favor?

Yes, it is true that the Bush family has longstanding ties to the Saudis.

So both sides have their arab ties, true.

In this case, Carter has been accused of being persuaded off of the neutral to the point of making factual errors and strong judgements against Israel. His book has been panned by many and it has been suggested that his ties to the arab world may be responsible.

Bush on the other hand has been the strongest supporter of Israel of all our Presidents.

It would be difficult to argue, although some here may, that the Saudis are influencing Bush to support Israel.

Jimmy Carter was such a wuss he would make PEE WEE HERMIN look like HE-MAN