Enough Project Applauds President's Promotions of Susan Rice and Samantha Power
Posted by Akshaya Kumar on Jun 05, 2013
President Barack Obama stands with UN Ambassador Susan Rice and Samantha Power.
On June 5, President Obama announced that two dynamic women, Samantha
Power and Susan Rice, will be moving up the ranks of the government’s
foreign policy establishment. Ambassador Susan Rice, who has led the
United States mission at the United Nations for the past four and a
half years, has been appointed to the White House to head the National
Security Staff. Power, who has previously worked at the NSS on
multilateral affairs and human rights, will be moving to New York to
take on Rice’s post as ambassador at the United Nations.
These new appointments amplify the Obama administration’s longstanding
commitment to foreign policy decisions that prioritize human rights
and atrocity prevention. Rice and Power are outspoken supporters of a
pragmatic humanitarian approach to international affairs animated by a
special commitment to act against atrocity. The decision to elevate
both women is a strong signal that in spite of competing strategic,
political, and economic imperatives, the White House remains committed
to listening to its moral compass. In sending a strong multilateralist
back to Turtle Bay, the President also reaffirms America’s belief in
the international system, which was undermined during John Bolton's
controversial tenure.
John Prendergast, Co-founder of the Enough Project, states:
“Two extremely committed public servants will be assuming two of
the most important positions with an ability to affect human rights
and peace around the world. President Obama could not have chosen two
more effective advocates for human rights and human dignity. Susan
Rice and Samantha Power will have a tremendous impact on America's
ability to effect positive change in the places where people are
hurting the most.”
In her new role as the president's national security adviser, Susan
Rice will hold one of the most influential positions in Washington
D.C. A Rhodes Scholar and career civil servant, Rice will craft U.S.
foreign policy and guide the administration as it struggles to deploy
appropriate responses to crises in Syria, Mali, Sudan, Congo, and
Burma. While her proposed appointment as Secretary of State stirred a
firestorm in Washington last year, the position of national security
adviser will not be subject to a grueling Senate confirmation.
Power, a liberal academic, is best known as the author of A Problem
from Hell, a powerful study of American inaction in the face of
genocide. Power’s book is a call to action and a challenge of historic
indifference. She articulately objects to the indifference of the
traditional American foreign policy establishment, which “brand as
'emotional' those U.S. officials who urge intervention and make moral
arguments in a system that speaks principally in the cold language of
interests." While in government, Power put this plan into action by
establishing administration’s cutting edge Atrocity Prevention Board
initiative, which seeks to increase inter-agency coordination and
responsiveness to atrocity around the world.
Rice, who was working in the White House while the genocide in Rwanda
unfolded, is quoted in Power's book as promising that “if I ever faced
such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action,
going down in flames if that was required." When confronted with
impending crimes against humanity in Libya, Defense Secretary Robert
Gates warned that the U.N.-proposed no-fly zone would not stop the
atrocities. Rice and Power were convinced that more could and should
be done. Together, Rice and Power are credited with convincing then
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to change her position on
intervention in Libya. In March 2011, Rice dramatically secured
multilateral consent at the U.N. for Resolution 1973, which allowed
broader intervention—including the ability to attack armor and ground
troops.
We are profoundly encouraged by President Obama’s recent staffing
decisions. We hope that Rice and Power's promotion is the beginning of
a second-term commitment to raising the profile of human rights and
atrocity prevention in our foreign policy.
Photo: President Barack Obama stands with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice
and Samantha Power at the White House (AP).
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