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  • Essay / President Jimmy Carter's foreign policy

    The 39th President of the United States of America has had an interesting four years in office. Throughout his presidency, Jimmy Carter made a multitude of significant foreign policy accomplishments, including his dealings with the countries of Panama, China, and the Soviet Union, as well as his complex relationships with the Middle Eastern countries of Iran, Egypt and Israel. One of Jimmy Carter's first foreign policy achievements, and one of the most opposed by American citizens, was the Panama Canal Treaties, which were important steps in reducing hostility toward the United States (Dumbrell 212). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Carter and his advisers agreed — even before the inauguration — that canal negotiations should be an immediate priority. If the United States had not completed ongoing negotiations since the Johnson administration, the government of Panama could have created conflict - including possible violent protests - in an area that would have required drastic U.S. action since the canal was under control. control of the United States (Hargrove 123). The canal would be operated by the United States until the beginning of the 21st century, under agreements designed to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, just as was written in the two signed treaties at OAS headquarters. in Washington, DC, on September 7, 1977. The treaties were approved by Panama in a referendum on October 23, 1977, and the United States Senate gave its advice and consent to their ratification in the spring of 1978, which which resulted in the New treaties adopted and signed by the Carter administration and Panamanian head of state Omar Torrijos gave Panama full control of the canal on December 31, 1999, at midnight, along with all treaties. canal assets being transferred to Panama. Many other Caribbean countries supported the treaty. “Foreign Minister Forde of Barbados welcomed the agreement, saying: 'I hope that the United States Congress will respond favorably to this agreement. It enjoys the support of Caribbean nations in particular…” (Primary Source 1), which has benefited the reputation of the United States in the eyes of neighboring countries. Another foreign policy achievement of President Jimmy Carter was the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China. During the winter of 1977–1978, Carter maintained relations with Chinese officials in Washington and sought an official invitation to visit China himself. However, the president withdrew after his adviser Mondale said it was too much to ask of the Senate to handle the Panama Canal treaties and any new agreements with China at the same time. President Carter was therefore asked not to be explicit on normalization and that his visit to China was not conclusive. In the spring of 1978, President Carter concluded that Secretary of State Vance would visit China, but that he would not be legally permitted to negotiate with the Eastern country because Carter feared it would harm the development of relations with Russia and Japan. The United States and the Soviet Union were also beginning to negotiate a SALT Treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty), and President Carter was determined not to delay any SALT negotiations. Vance was not authorized to negotiate in China, but he did a remarkable job laying the groundwork for future deals. During the summer and fall of 1978, President Carter negotiated the terms of normalization directly with theChinese through the United States Ambassador to China, Leonard Woodcock. Jimmy Carter believed that having better relations and stronger ties with China would help bring negotiations with the Soviet Union to a conclusion. a successful ending.Immediately after the conclusion of normalization terms with China, President Carter pushed for a SALT treaty. In January 1979, Vance met with Chinese Andrei Gromyko in Geneva to put the finishing touches on SALT (131). In his statement following the official signing of the Chinese normalization, Carter said, “We have charted a new and irreversible path toward a firmer, more intrusive, and more hopeful relationship” (Garrison 86). The president also emphasized that he shared similar goals with Ding, including "a world of security and peace, a world of diversity and stability, a world of independent nations free from external domination" (86). Towards the second half of Carter's presidency, relations with the Soviet Union began to change. The United States and the Soviet Union worked together under general terms for a SALT II treaty. Limits were set on the total number of nuclear launchers as well as a sub-ceiling for multi-warhead vehicles that each country could hold. The Soviets could maintain their total number of missiles and continue to add more warheads while the United States could increase its number of missiles and warheads to the maximum allowed by the treaty (Hargrove). The two unresolved questions were whether a new Soviet aircraft, the Backfire, was an offensive bomber (if so, it would be included in the deal) and whether the American cruise missile, which the Soviets had not not spoken for some time, would be considered a missile under the Vladivostok agreement. Assuming the possibility of an agreement on Backfire and Cruise, a SALT II treaty based on the Vladivostok meeting would have stabilized the arms race without reducing weapons arsenals. Limits have been set on future development with the aim of parity. Soviet leader Brezhnev made it clear that the Soviets wanted a quick SALT deal, including the cruise missile and excluding the Backfire. President Carter, in turn, suggested that SALT II could be concluded without cruise or blowback, but that it might be possible to progress toward SALT III with deep reductions in existing U.S.-controlled forces and Soviet Union. Soviet leaders were concerned about President Carter's proposal to conclude SALT II and were also concerned about deep reductions in their existing weapons. The Soviet Union later agreed to constraints on the Soviet Backfire and the American cruise missile under the SALT II agreement. Basic agreements between the two countries on the SALT II negotiations were reached in April 1979, but no formal treaty was ever ratified. The last differences ended at the Carter-Brezhnev summit meeting in June 1979 (Hargrove 134, 135). Middle East: One of Carter's most famous foreign policy actions was the Camp David Accords. After personally meeting with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, US President Jimmy Carter came to the conclusion that he must intervene to ease the conflict. The days of September 5 to 17, 1978 were among the most influential days of Jimmy Carter's presidency (Hargrove 243). Meeting at Camp David in the forested hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, the two great powers of the Middle East worked hard,.