ABSTRACT
Foreign policy problems consumed the latter stages of Jimmy Carter's third year. These problems included the seizure of American diplomats in Teheran by Iranian students and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The faltering Middle East peace process contributed to the negative assessments of Carter's leadership. As a Washington Post editorial observed in late February, "the search for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel is in a state of extraordinary fragility." James Fallows, in his well publicized articles for the Atlantic magazine, blames Carter for failing to inspire his own staff with a sense of mission. In a June 4 article, "Carter: Song of Woe," Time magazine portrayed the Carter presidency as on the verge of faltering. One week later Time presented a most gloomy analysis of Carter's plight, "The Sky Is Falling On Washington!" The Wall Street Journal blasted the SALT process in general and Carter's dedication to securing a new peace treaty in particular.
