Analysis: Jimmy Carters foreign policy legacy is far more complex and successful than he gets credit for CNN Politics

In early December, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned members that the international alliance must shift to a “wartime mindset,” predicting years of conflict with Russia as the superpower batters down Ukrainian forces. The U.S. national security advisor defended the administration’s approach to allies and adversaries alike. Rich nations pledged to contribute at least $300 billion annually to the global fight against climate change as UN climate talks came to a contentious end early Sunday morning in Baku. Developing nations who had sought over $1 trillion in assistance called the agreement “insulting” and argued it did not give them the vital resources they required to truly address the complexities of the climate crisis. A record number of oral statements are expected to be presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as highly awaited public hearings on States’ legal obligations with respect to climate change got underway on Monday.

Carter would say later that the most significant decision of his presidency was the establishment of diplomatic relations with China in 1979. Seven years earlier, President Richard Nixon and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger had set the United States down the path toward normalization, yet relations remained limited. Progress toward full normalization had stalled because of disagreements over Taiwan, Republican opposition, and the distraction and tragedy of Vietnam. Nixon’s resignation and Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s death sucked the remaining life out of the process. The last time the two countries’ leaders had met was in December 1975, when President Gerald Ford visited Mao in Beijing. In September 1978, Carter gathered the leaders of Israel and Egypt at the presidential retreat in the hills of Maryland.

On North Korea, U.S. and South Korean officials just expect Pyongyang’s seventh nuclear test as a matter of when, not if. By December 2022, North Korea had launched a record-shattering 63 ballistic missile tests, far outpacing its previous annual record of 25. Expect to see more joint U.S.-South Korea military drills next year and efforts to condemn North Korea’s nuclear weapons program at the United Nations. But given the toxic state of Washington’s relations with two other major U.N.

His record largely reflects this effort – but the Iran hostage crisis has tended to obscure that Carter was otherwise a successful commander-in-chief on the foreign policy front. This was a sharp break from the foreign policy practiced by Carter’s predecessor, President Richard Nixon, who, during the Vietnam War, stepped up the secret American bombings of Vietnam’s neighbors Cambodia and Laos, causing untold misery in those countries. Nixon’s secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, successfully pushed to overthrow the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. Three years later, Kissinger also secretly gave a green light to the military junta in Argentina to carry out what’s known as the “Dirty War” to kill between 10,000 to 30,000 of its political opponents.

How China Could Quarantine Taiwan

The band Franz Ferdinand formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2002, then released their self-titled debut album two years later. Their fame skyrocketed, and in the past 20 years, they’ve released five studio albums and been nominated for Grammy Awards. Their sixth album, “The Human Fear,” is set to be released next week.

The death of Livye Lewis: A party, a murder, and a man on the run

• CBS News political reporter Taurean Small has more on how the deal came about and what it means for the countries’ relationship.
• Ironically, Carter had initially fiercely opposed letting the Shah into the US, but he was persuaded by Kissinger and other supporters of the Shah that the Iranian monarch was close to death from cancer and urgently needed medical treatment that only the US could provide.
• At a time when China threatens to change the status quo, including by force, it is worth noting that the framework that Carter put in place has delivered peace across the Taiwan Strait for more than 40 years.
• Major international organizations condemn Israel’s conduct in Gaza—and they’re not getting enough attention.

The family of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by a member of Israel’s security forces back in September in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is demanding a U.S. investigation into her death. Her sister, Ozden Bennett, and Eygi’s widower, Hamid Ali Aysenur, speak to “The Daily Report.” A diverse array of countries held national votes this year—but a single storyline stood out. FP Live’s annual tradition of recounting the biggest highlights and trends of the year. The U.S. president-elect’s second term will begin in a vastly different global landscape than his first. Major international organizations condemn Israel’s conduct in Gaza—and they’re not getting enough attention.

Washington’s efforts to decouple from China’s technology industry have already prompted pressure to escalate further, and the focus is back on some familiar targets. The Federal Communications Commission has already banned the import of telecommunications equipment from Huawei. Calls to ban TikTok from lawmakers and security officials have also gained momentum.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party remained in power, but with a diminished mandate that caught pollsters by surprise, Devesh Kapur wrote in June. At a time when China threatens to change the status quo, including by force, it is worth noting that the framework that Carter put in place has delivered peace across the Taiwan Strait for more than 40 years. It has also allowed Taiwan to become a vibrant democracy and home to one of the most dynamic high-tech economies in the world. On December 15, 1978, he announced a deal to normalize relations with the People’s Republic of China. Carter had personally managed the final negotiations by sending detailed instructions to U.S. envoys.

More simply put, the court is being asked to provide clarity on international law with respect to climate change. The legal advice it provides may in turn influence any multilateral processes involving climate action. Days before the U.S. launched a military operation in Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney joined Face the Nation. He spoke about the possibility of invasion and international reaction to International Policy news American foreign policy. North Korea warned its enemies with its highest and longest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile ever. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the nation also sent 10,000 troops to Russia, including 8,000 near Ukraine’s border.

Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs. Brush up on global goings-on by subscribing to World Brief, Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter. Brazil’s courts have stepped up their moderation of online activity in recent years due to concerns about anti-democratic movements, FP’s Catherine Osborn wrote in Latin America Brief in September. The assassination—claimed by Israel—demonstrated a “colossal intelligence failure” on the part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Kasra Aarabi and Jason M. Brodsky wrote in August.

American will not be made great again by those who simply want to manage its decline. The challenge of rescuing 52 American hostages held by fanatical revolutionaries inside the US embassy in downtown Tehran, a city of many millions of people, and then successfully getting them out of the country would have been formidable. Carter authorized a rescue operation in April 1980 to free the American hostages in Tehran. Operation Eagle Claw, sometimes called Desert One, was doomed almost as soon as it started. Several of the rescue helicopters encountered a fierce sandstorm, and one of them collided with an American transport plane during a refueling in the Iranian desert, killing eight American servicemen.

CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata reports. Russian and North Korean foreign ministers met in Moscow for a public display of the countries’ diplomatic ties on Friday. The U.S. said North Korea sent around 10,000 soldiers to Russia to aid in its Ukraine combat. CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd discusses the move’s significance, the Middle East conflict and election security concerns.