© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former President Carter backs U.S. airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq, but not Syria

Steve Carmody
/
Michigan Radio

Former President Jimmy Carter told a Grand Rapids audience Monday that he supports U.S. military air strikes against Islamic extremists in Iraq, though he’s less supportive of similar air strikes in Syria.

The U.S. launched air strikes against ISIS in Syrialast night.   This follows a series of air strikes against military targets in northern Iraq.  

President Carter was at Grand Rapids Community College to discuss his latest book on reducing violence against women.  

But the former president says there are times that violence is justified, like now against the Islamic State in Iraq.

“It is very necessary to have our own people on the ground that can give us accurate information about exactly where to let a missile land or bomb land to make sure it kills the ISIS terrorists … instead of normal civilians,” says Carter.

However, Carter says the situation is different in Syria. He says the Carter Center has been working for years to help Syrian moderates build a democracy out of the ashes of the country’s ongoing civil war.

“The moderate rebels, according to what we have found, are mostly living in Turkey, or in Paris, or in Rome or in London,” says Carter. “They’re not on the battle lines.”

Credit Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio
/
Michigan Radio
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and her husband, the 39th President of the United States appeared at Grand Rapids Community College Monday

The 89-year-old former president appeared at Grand Rapids Community College’s Diversity Lecture series with his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

Carter was in Grand Rapids promoting his latest book, "A Call to Action."  The book focuses on the need to reduce violence against women.

“There are terrible abuses of girls and women that we don’t even want to admit exist,” says Carter. He pointed to abuse connected to religion in parts of the Middle East and sexual slavery in the United States.

Rosalynn Carter spoke on the subject of mental health. She has been an advocate for mental health treatment for more than 40 years. She says the greatest hurdle to mental health care is the stigma that exists for people seeking treatment, especially women.

“Stigma leads to discrimination against people with mental illness,” says Rosalynn Carter. “It’s ingrained in our minds.”

She says it’s important to realize that many people are living with mental illness, and they are people you know.   

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.
Related Content