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ALL POWER AND NO INTEGRITY
EDITORIAL | JUNE 13, 2013 1:27 PM
________________________________
By Edmond Y. Azadian
When Samantha Power published her award-winning book, A Problem
from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, Armenians - along with
human rights activists globally - believed that she had been sent
from heaven to defend the underdogs - victims of genocides and human
rights abuses. She was so factual, legalistic and passionate as not
to leave any shade of doubt that she was the apostle of human rights
and justice.
During President Obama's first election campaign, she approached the
Armenian community with written statements as well as You Tube videos
that once elected, Mr. Obama would recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Rallying support from the Armenians and from different groups with
human rights agendas, she helped Mr. Obama's election and she was
rewarded with a job at the White House, as special assistant to the
president and senior director of multi-lateral affairs and human
rights. She could have landed at a higher profile position had it
not been for her earlier fallout with Hillary Clinton, whom she had
called a "monster" in an interview with The Scotsman.
Today, as she is nominated as US representative to the United Nations,
replacing the beleaguered Susan E. Rice, Ms. Power is a completely
different political animal. She did not deliver on her pledge on
the Armenian Genocide nor did she remind her boss of his solemn
commitment on the issue. Instead, she resorted to the ruse of putting
in Mr. Obama's mouth the term used by the late Pope John Paul II, of
blessed memory, "Medz Yeghern," to avoid the use of the word genocide
which has finite legal determinants. In his turn, Mr.
Obama continued harping that he has not changed his stance on the
issue, without, once again, defining that issue.
The Armenian Assembly issued a press release on June 7 outlining Ms.
Power's earlier activities and statements, which could portray her as
an honest academic and human rights advocate, without any reference
to her later dishonest political gymnastics, to be able to continue
climbing on the ladder of political power. The above-mentioned press
release concludes with the following statement: "The Assembly expects
a robust US Senate confirmation process in the coming weeks."
This kind of lopsided presentation is a disservice to the Armenian
community.
The fact that a hawk and warmonger like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz)
has endorsed her nomination says a lot about Ms. Power's turn-around.
More objective characterization about her and about Rice was made by
Edward C. Luck, dean of the School of Peace Studies at the University
of San Diego and former senior United Nations advisor on peace-keeping
issues. He said, "Five years ago you might not have been able to
predict where they are now. They were both idealists, but they have
both become practical idealists. Time in government does that to you."
The same could be said about Obama.
As a senior member of Mr. Obama's team we do not have a full account of
what Ms. Power has said to Turkish leaders and what commitments she has
made to them on behalf of the US government, but her betrayal of trust
says much more about her selling her soul for career advancement. Her
reversal of position on the Genocide issue and her steering of the
president away from his pledge are all one needs to know about her
character. The rest can be extrapolated from her activities which
are in public records.
It is believed that Samantha Power and Susan Rice are the architects
of the White House's "humanitarian intervention" policy, which
has convinced Mr. Obama to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya on
"humanitarian grounds." How much humanity Ms. Power has lost to
advocate the invasion of a sovereign country, which to this day is
gripped by carnage and political instability, even if we discount
the assassination of the US Ambassador Chris Stevens, which was the
direct outcome of that "humanitarian intervention."
Eccentricities of Gaddafi aside, he had created the most egalitarian
society in the Middle East, distributing oil income to his people,
unlike the Aliyev dynasty which spends oil income on its opulent
lifestyle, while millions of refugees are confined to the misery of
shanty towns.
Mercenaries were sent to begin an uprising and NATO bombing completed
the task by Genghis Khan-style assassination of Gaddafi on the TV
news and the country was consigned to blood baths, which continue
to this day. Thus, Ms. Power's "humanitarian intervention" policy
mission was accomplished.
The true test of humanitarian intervention was presented in 1994, when
the UN peacekeeping commander warned that a genocide was imminent in
Rwanda. The warning was ignored as 800,000 Tutsis were killed by their
Hutus neighbors in a matter of 100 days. President Bill Clinton's trip
to Kigali - on whose watch the genocide was committed - to apologize
for his non-intervention was disingenuous, too little and too late.
The most revealing opportunism of her political flip-flop was
her reversal on the Israeli-Palestine issue. Before entering the
government, she had stated that the US would need to make "mammoth"
commitment to secure a Palestinian state," "a move that could mean
alienating American Jews," according to the New York Times, a group
she described as having "tremendous political and financial import."
Ms. Power later on apologized for her comments about the human
rights of the Palestinians to absolve herself in the eyes of Israeli
lobbyists.
It is a sad commentary that any politician would stoop so low as to
curry favors with lobbyists for career advancement. And indeed, she
has won the nod of Israeli ambassador in Washington, Michael B. Oren,
and Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation
League. The latter has stated, "She has matured and moved on, and I
look forward to working with her in the UN."
The New York Times article suggests that by abandoning her views
on Palestinian rights, she has paved her way for comfortable votes
in the US Senate. "Ms. Power has also cultivated American Jewish
groups, meeting in 2011 with 40 leaders of these groups, where she
expressed her regret for some of her remarks and defended herself in
emotional terms against charges that she had an anti-Israel bias,"
the article reads.
If she has dropped Palestinian rights, there is no guarantee that
she has not apologized to the Turkish leaders about her position on
the Armenian Genocide.
It looks like Ms. Power will win an easy victory in the US Senate
hearings and at best, we will send a hypocrite to the UN to represent
US interests.
If we needed any additional proof that politics and morality are
mutually exclusive, Ms. Power's case will provide that.
- See more
at:http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2013/06/13/all-power-and-no-integrity/#sthash
.mE5p5ASB.dpuf
From: Baghdasarian
EDITORIAL | JUNE 13, 2013 1:27 PM
________________________________
By Edmond Y. Azadian
When Samantha Power published her award-winning book, A Problem
from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, Armenians - along with
human rights activists globally - believed that she had been sent
from heaven to defend the underdogs - victims of genocides and human
rights abuses. She was so factual, legalistic and passionate as not
to leave any shade of doubt that she was the apostle of human rights
and justice.
During President Obama's first election campaign, she approached the
Armenian community with written statements as well as You Tube videos
that once elected, Mr. Obama would recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Rallying support from the Armenians and from different groups with
human rights agendas, she helped Mr. Obama's election and she was
rewarded with a job at the White House, as special assistant to the
president and senior director of multi-lateral affairs and human
rights. She could have landed at a higher profile position had it
not been for her earlier fallout with Hillary Clinton, whom she had
called a "monster" in an interview with The Scotsman.
Today, as she is nominated as US representative to the United Nations,
replacing the beleaguered Susan E. Rice, Ms. Power is a completely
different political animal. She did not deliver on her pledge on
the Armenian Genocide nor did she remind her boss of his solemn
commitment on the issue. Instead, she resorted to the ruse of putting
in Mr. Obama's mouth the term used by the late Pope John Paul II, of
blessed memory, "Medz Yeghern," to avoid the use of the word genocide
which has finite legal determinants. In his turn, Mr.
Obama continued harping that he has not changed his stance on the
issue, without, once again, defining that issue.
The Armenian Assembly issued a press release on June 7 outlining Ms.
Power's earlier activities and statements, which could portray her as
an honest academic and human rights advocate, without any reference
to her later dishonest political gymnastics, to be able to continue
climbing on the ladder of political power. The above-mentioned press
release concludes with the following statement: "The Assembly expects
a robust US Senate confirmation process in the coming weeks."
This kind of lopsided presentation is a disservice to the Armenian
community.
The fact that a hawk and warmonger like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz)
has endorsed her nomination says a lot about Ms. Power's turn-around.
More objective characterization about her and about Rice was made by
Edward C. Luck, dean of the School of Peace Studies at the University
of San Diego and former senior United Nations advisor on peace-keeping
issues. He said, "Five years ago you might not have been able to
predict where they are now. They were both idealists, but they have
both become practical idealists. Time in government does that to you."
The same could be said about Obama.
As a senior member of Mr. Obama's team we do not have a full account of
what Ms. Power has said to Turkish leaders and what commitments she has
made to them on behalf of the US government, but her betrayal of trust
says much more about her selling her soul for career advancement. Her
reversal of position on the Genocide issue and her steering of the
president away from his pledge are all one needs to know about her
character. The rest can be extrapolated from her activities which
are in public records.
It is believed that Samantha Power and Susan Rice are the architects
of the White House's "humanitarian intervention" policy, which
has convinced Mr. Obama to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya on
"humanitarian grounds." How much humanity Ms. Power has lost to
advocate the invasion of a sovereign country, which to this day is
gripped by carnage and political instability, even if we discount
the assassination of the US Ambassador Chris Stevens, which was the
direct outcome of that "humanitarian intervention."
Eccentricities of Gaddafi aside, he had created the most egalitarian
society in the Middle East, distributing oil income to his people,
unlike the Aliyev dynasty which spends oil income on its opulent
lifestyle, while millions of refugees are confined to the misery of
shanty towns.
Mercenaries were sent to begin an uprising and NATO bombing completed
the task by Genghis Khan-style assassination of Gaddafi on the TV
news and the country was consigned to blood baths, which continue
to this day. Thus, Ms. Power's "humanitarian intervention" policy
mission was accomplished.
The true test of humanitarian intervention was presented in 1994, when
the UN peacekeeping commander warned that a genocide was imminent in
Rwanda. The warning was ignored as 800,000 Tutsis were killed by their
Hutus neighbors in a matter of 100 days. President Bill Clinton's trip
to Kigali - on whose watch the genocide was committed - to apologize
for his non-intervention was disingenuous, too little and too late.
The most revealing opportunism of her political flip-flop was
her reversal on the Israeli-Palestine issue. Before entering the
government, she had stated that the US would need to make "mammoth"
commitment to secure a Palestinian state," "a move that could mean
alienating American Jews," according to the New York Times, a group
she described as having "tremendous political and financial import."
Ms. Power later on apologized for her comments about the human
rights of the Palestinians to absolve herself in the eyes of Israeli
lobbyists.
It is a sad commentary that any politician would stoop so low as to
curry favors with lobbyists for career advancement. And indeed, she
has won the nod of Israeli ambassador in Washington, Michael B. Oren,
and Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation
League. The latter has stated, "She has matured and moved on, and I
look forward to working with her in the UN."
The New York Times article suggests that by abandoning her views
on Palestinian rights, she has paved her way for comfortable votes
in the US Senate. "Ms. Power has also cultivated American Jewish
groups, meeting in 2011 with 40 leaders of these groups, where she
expressed her regret for some of her remarks and defended herself in
emotional terms against charges that she had an anti-Israel bias,"
the article reads.
If she has dropped Palestinian rights, there is no guarantee that
she has not apologized to the Turkish leaders about her position on
the Armenian Genocide.
It looks like Ms. Power will win an easy victory in the US Senate
hearings and at best, we will send a hypocrite to the UN to represent
US interests.
If we needed any additional proof that politics and morality are
mutually exclusive, Ms. Power's case will provide that.
- See more
at:http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2013/06/13/all-power-and-no-integrity/#sthash
.mE5p5ASB.dpuf
From: Baghdasarian