Is Samantha Power the next Secretary of State?

Samantha Power the next Secretary of State?

This idea is being floated and is a very scary thought for anybody who cares about the State of Israel. Samantha Power is known as a powerful advocate in the Obama Administration for military intervention when genocide may be occurring or about to occur. But what about her ideas about Israel? Is Israel committing "genocide" against the Palestinians?



We find her thoughts clearly articulated in an interview with the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley in April 2002.

Power: I don't think that in any of the cases, a shortage of information is the problem. I actually think in the Palestine - Israel situation, there's an abundance of information. What we don't need is some kind of early warning mechanism there, what we need is a willingness to put something on the line in helping the situation. Putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import; it may more crucially mean sacrificing -- or investing, I think, more than sacrificing -- billions of dollars, not in servicing Israel's military, but actually investing in the new state of Palestine, in investing the billions of dollars it would probably take, also, to support what will have to be a mammoth protection force, not of the old Rwanda kind, but a meaningful military presence. Because it seems to me at this stage (and this is true of actual genocides as well, and not just major human rights abuses, which were seen there), you have to go in as if you're serious, you have to put something on the line.

Unfortunately, imposition of a solution on unwilling parties is dreadful. It's a terrible thing to do, it's fundamentally undemocratic …. And, unfortunately, it does require external intervention, which, very much like the Rwanda scenario, that thought experiment, if we had intervened early.... Any intervention is going to come under fierce criticism. But we have to think about lesser evils, especially when the human stakes are becoming ever more pronounced. [emphasis added]

Power has been deeply involved in the United States military involvement in Libya on humanitarian grounds. Knowing that she believes that intervention is a real option - and believes that the Palestinians are under threat of genocide... what keeps Power, as Secretary of State, from suggesting to a possible second Obama administration that the Palestinians need United States protection from Israel?

Is this a far fetched idea? I don't believe so.

This September the United Nations, the same body that spends more time condemning the democratic State of Israel than any other country, may be voting to welcome the new State of Palestine into the family of nations. This new state would include Gaza, Judea/Samaria (the West Bank) and East Jerusalem as its capital.

Considering that Gaza is run by Hamas, an established and known terrorist organization that targets civilians in Israel daily and the Palestinian Authority running the West Bank continues to honor the "martyrs" that have murdered Jews and giving financial support to their families - it's a wonder how their application to the UN can possibly be taken seriously.

While their application is a wonder to most of us - it will not be laughed out of the General Assembly. In fact, it will most probably be voted on and the State of Palestine will come into being. What will happen next is a worry. Since Israel is "occupying" most of the new state - what will the World do to rectify the situation? Delegitimize Israel like they did to South Africa some years ago? Levy sanctions? Send United Nations military forces? We don't know.

What do we know?
* We know that Hillary Clinton will not serve as President Obama's Secretary of State in a possible second presidential term.
* We know that Samantha Power has President Obama's ear when dealing with foreign affairs.
* We know that Samantha Power believes that a genocide is being perpetrated against the Palestinians.
* We know that President Obama has a history of pro-Palestinian positions and having pro-Palestinian advisors.

It shouldn't be a surprise to us come September if we see a future Secretary of State Powers pushing for admission of the new State of Palestine into the United Nations.

Everyone who cares about Israel and her security must contact their senator and let them know that the United States should not impose any peace "solution" on Israel and must not confirm Samantha Power as Secretary of State in a possible Obama second term. The Middle East is not the middle west - and while we in the United States and other democratic countries assume that everyone wants the same thing - real peace - true peace must come from those involved in the conflict. We have yet to see the Palestinians do anything other than attack the civilian population in Israel. Real peace is unfortunately far off - to impose a solution, especially on a democratic nation, is a dangerous precedent for anyone who believes in the rule of law and the legitimacy of a people to elect their leaders to represent them. We must not let this happen.