Samantha Power’s United Nations Nomination Draws Backlash

Samantha Power, the US United Nations ambassador nominee, is coming under fire for comments critical of American military actions and foreign aid. Before becoming a political activist and White House National Security Aide in 2010, Power was a journalist.

The proposed United Nations ambassador form the United States reportedly compared some war on terrorism tactics conducted by the American military to the French support of the Hutu Militia which killed about 800,000 people during the Rwandan genocide. Samantha Power also deemed United States foreign aid “stingy” during a roundtable discussion.

Comments by the proposed UN ambassador which have also invoked a negative response include an indirect comparison between Nazi Germany and the role the United States plays in world affairs.

Power had this to say about genocide and America after the release of her new book:

“We’re about to partner with regimes that if they’re not committing genocide they are certainly committing systematic atrocities against their people. Will somebody else write a book about that and say that we abetted the Russian genocide against the Chechens because we were fighting a war on terror and needed Putin on our side? Maybe. But we know because we’re living in the time understand our mindset and why we’re doing it. I don’t think we should excuse it. I think we should change our policy.”

A report about the US ambassador to the United Nations nominee in the New Republic revealed that Samantha Power had remarked that the United States should follow the lead of post-Holocaust German leaders and apologize for war crimes. She also called for a “historical reckoning” and feels that a country ought to look back before it can move forward.

How do you feel about the Samantha Power nomination for US ambassador to the United Nations?

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