Jimmy Carter Provides Putin With Maps for ISIS Strikes

Claiming that he knows Russian President Vladimir Putin "fairly well" because they once discussed their "common interest in fly fishing," former President Jimmy Carter took the initiative to provide maps of Islamic State positions in Syria to the Russian embassy in Washington — a move at odds with the Obama administration, The Washington Free Beacon reports.

"I sent [Putin] a message Thursday and asked him if he wanted a copy of our map so he could bomb accurately in Syria, and then on Friday, the Russian embassy in Atlanta — I mean in Washington, called down and told me they would like very much to have the map," Carter said at his Sunday school class in Georgia, according to a video of his remarks first aired on NBC News.

"So in the future, if Russia doesn't bomb the right places, you'll know it's not Putin's fault but it's my fault," he added.

The Carter Center claims that they sent maps of the Islamic States location to Russia in an attempt to help improve their airstrike accuracy where U.S. officials have said that Russia has bombed rebels and CIA-backed groups rather than the Islamic State terrorist group.

"We are not prepared to cooperate on strategy which, as we explained, is flawed, tragically flawed, on the Russians' part," said U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, earlier this month.

According to The Washington Free Beacon, neither the White House nor the Carter Center have commented on Carter's recent actions and Cmdr. Elissa Smith, the spokeswoman for the Department of Defense said in an email, "I can't speak to whether anyone in the Pentagon was aware the Carter Center provided maps to the Russia Embassy."

The Washington Free Beacon notes that this is not the first time Carter has shown his support for Russia.

Last year, he said that the United States should not impose more sanctions on Russia and that "Putin is not going to use military force" in eastern Ukraine.

He also said, "I don't think there is anything we can do that is going to deter Putin."

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the U.S. signed an agreement with Russia to avoid incidents in Syrian airspace where American planes are also bombing Islamic State positions.

However, the memorandum with Russia "does not establish zones of cooperation, intelligence sharing, or any sharing of target information in Syria" and does "not constitute U.S. cooperation or support for Russia's policy or actions in Syria," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

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