attitude. 150 His administration was willing to cut economic and military aid in an attempt to squeeze change from governments. In South Africa, the Carter administration suggested that ‘without a peaceful change of policy of apartheid now, any venture in South Africa is a risky and insecure investment.’ 151 Although previous administrations had voiced concerns in regards to South Africa’s policies, Carter’s was first to stop aid to an ally over concerns for its human rights. His willingness to cut ties with pro-American states, especially ones that mined plutonium, attests to the commitment of the administration to ensure American allies adhered to American policies as it promoted its morality in the international arena. Similarly, Carter refused to aid the Somoza government in Nicaragua. Here he used human rights ‘as a yardstick and rejected American intervention.’ 152 The Somoza regime had been long-term allies of the U.S., but he was also an oppressive ruler. In the wake of an uprising by the Sandinista guerillas, Carter explained that ‘our effort was to let the people of Nicaragua ultimately make a decision on who should be their leader, what form of government they should 150 Douglas Brinkley, The Rising Stock of Jimmy Carter: The ‘Hands on Legacy” Legacy of Our Thirty-ninth President, Diplomatic History , Vol 20:4 (Fall, 1996), pp.505-529, (p.521). 151 Jimmy Carter, Public Papers of the President of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 1978: Book I – January 1 To June 30, 1978 (United States Government Printing Office: Washington, 1979), p.657. 152 David F. Shmitz, Vanessa Walker, Jimmy Carter and the Foreign Policy of Human Rights: The Development of a Post-Cold War Foreign Policy , p.142.
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