This article explores the lesser-known aspect of Jimmy Carter's presidency: his commitment to ending white rule in Rhodesia and facilitating its transition to independent Zimbabwe. It highlights the realpolitik considerations behind his actions, driven by the Cold War dynamics and the threat of Soviet expansion in Africa.
Former US president Jimmy Carter , who died on Sunday aged 100, was well known for his diplomatic skills and commitment to respecting human rights - much less so for his Africa n legacy. And yet he was the first US president to visit sub-Saharan Africa and during his short term in office from 1977 to 1981 he worked hard to enable the transformation of racist Rhodesia into an independent Zimbabwe .
Jimmy Carter in Africa, Race and the Cold War - said reams of documents detailing his commitment to end white rule in Rhodesia and help bring about its independence as Zimbabwe backed up the former president's claim. Carter's involvement in Rhodesia during his four-year stint in office was based largely on realpolitik.had sent Cuban troops to Angola in 1976 to protect the leftist MPLA from a US-backed invasion by apartheid South Africa, and Mozambique had fallen to left-leaning Frelimo. South Africa faced the prospect of being surrounded by hostile black-ruled states.and the USSR. Washington knew that if the conflict did not end, Cuban troops risked crossing the continent to help the rebels. According to Mitchell, the Carter administration's emphasis on human rights meant it was unthinkable to intervene in Rhodesia to support Ian Smith's racist government. But equally, the US could not stand by and allow another Soviet-backed Cuban victory in Africa. In a memorandum on southern Africa signed just a week after taking office, the Carter administration stated that in terms of urgency the Rhodesian problem was'highest priority
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