Today, Obama gave an address at a Holocaust Days of Remembrance ceremony at the Capitol rotunda.
President Barack Obama stood Thursday with Jewish leaders at a solemn Holocaust remembrance in a cavernous Capitol hall, proclaiming: "Never again."
Obama warned against what he called the dangers of silence, saying that every day, somewhere in the world people must resist the urge to turn away from scenes of horror, hate, injustice and intolerance.
All people, he said, have to "fight the impulse to turn the channel" from distressing TV images of suffering, the sort of inhumanity known not only in the time of Nazi Germany, but more recently in Northern Ireland, Rwanda and Darfur.
This strikes me as incredibly hypocritical on Obama's part.
What has he done in his first 100 days, the greatest 100 days in the history of the world according to some hacks, to combat genocide in our time?
Obama declared that people cannot wrap themselves "in the false comfort that others sufferings are not our own." The president also called for people to "make a habit of empathy, to recognize ourselves in each other."
The risk of genocide has not been eliminated since about 6 million Jews were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II, he noted. Many Jews were gassed in death camps while others were killed en masse in other ways, including shooting and starvation.
..."We've seen it, in this century, in the mass graves and the ashes of villages burned to the ground and children used as soldiers and rape used as a weapon of war," Obama said.
When Obama talks about mass graves and rape, does he realize that he's making the case for the removal of Saddam Hussein?
Without naming names, he noted some still deny the Holocaust. At the same time, Obama said that apathy in the face of such a mind-set must be fought at all times.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently caused a stir at a U.N. conference by accusing Israel of being a racist nation. Earlier in the ceremony, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel noted his disgust with Ahmadinejad's comments and thanked the Obama administration for boycotting the conference.
Obama called it a grim irony that modern tools were used by the Nazis for barbaric savagery. "Science that can heal, used to kill. Education that can enlighten, used to rationalize away basic moral impulses," he said.
Obama said part of the responsibility for the Holocaust rests with people who "accepted the assigned role of bystander."
I think it's a grim irony that Obama says, "Science that can heal, used to kill."
I think of his assault on innocent human life around the world, using our tax dollars to fund abortions in foreign countries.
I think of his support of the destruction of human embryos, genetically complete human beings, in the name of science and healing.
Obama should not be lecturing about rationalizing "away basic moral impulses."
I find it stunning that Obama is condemning people who "accepted the assigned role of bystander" during the Holocaust. When it comes to speaking out forcefully against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Obama is serving as BYSTANDER IN CHIEF.
Obama has not been strong in expressing that the U.S. won't stand for the sort of hatred and anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust -- the millions and millions of murders, the horrors, the suffering.
Earlier this month, Joe Biden warned Israel to back off Iran.
Reporting from Washington -- Vice President Joe Biden issued a high-level admonishment to Israel's new government Tuesday that it would be "ill advised" to launch a military strike against Iran.
Biden said in a CNN interview that he does not believe newly installed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would take such a step. Even so, his comment underscored a gap between the conservative new Israeli government and the Obama White House on a series of questions, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Iran.
While the Obama administration has made a series of recent overtures to Tehran, the Israelis have grown more confrontational out of concern that the Islamic Republic's increasing nuclear know-how could one day become an existential threat.
Netanyahu signaled several times during his election campaign that he would not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. "I promise that if I am elected, Iran will not acquire nuclear arms," he said in one appearance, "and this implies everything necessary to carry this out."
In addition to Obama and his administration failing to strongly advocate for Israel and showing signs of appeasing Iran, there has been a lack of urgency in dealing with the genocide in Darfur. Obama is weak on potential genocide as well as ongoing genocide.
There's also that uncomfortable reality that Obama spent 20 years as a member of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church, where anti-Americanism and hatred and anti-Semitism were spewed from the pulpit. This is the church that honored anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. Obama considered Wright, an anti-Semite, to be his spiritual mentor and like a member of his family. That's troubling.
He also cited stories of hope, in places where vicious conflict has given way to forgiveness.
"Our fellow citizens of the world, showing us how to make the journey from oppression to survival, from witness to resistance, and ultimately to reconciliation," Obama noted. "That is what we mean when we say, `Never again.' "
"Never again."
Those are empty words from Obama, teleprompter stuff.
On the matter of Darfur--
While Obama mentioned the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, which the State Department has called a genocide, advocacy groups called today on Obama to do more to stop the killing.
The open letter from the groups, including the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, urges the Obama administration to embark on a "public diplomacy blitz" to get more countries to demand that Sudan not interfere with humanitarian relief, conduct a private diplomatic effort to explore how governments could force out Sudan's president, and to pressure Sudan to implement a peace agreement.
Here's the full text of the letter:
Dear Mr. President:
Today you will deliver the keynote address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony. This year’s theme is “Never Again: What You Do Matters.” The undersigned, representing organizations and individuals from all over the United States, write to you with concern about what your Administration is doing to end the Darfur genocide and bring peace to Sudan.
Today is also the 93rd day since your inauguration as President, after pledging as a candidate to "make ending the genocide in Darfur a priority from Day One," of your Administration.
Today is also the 49th day since Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir expelled 13 humanitarian aid agencies from Darfur and other regions of Sudan. Since then: Darfuris in IDP camps have died from meningitis, children have died from malnutrition, pregnant women lack medical care, and shelters in camps were burned. The rainy season has started, and in some camps thousands live without the shelters destroyed by rain and wind. Several aid workers have been kidnapped; at least two remain in captivity and are reportedly ill. The Government of Sudan (GoS) executed nine Darfuris accused of killing a journalist after a “trial” condemned by Amnesty International. Sudanese NGO workers are reported to have been harassed, detained and tortured by GoS forces attempting to force their silence. Please see www.WhileWeWaitSudan.org for daily updates directly from Darfuris.
Today is also the 36th day since you appointed Maj. Gen. Scott Gration as your Special Envoy to Sudan. In one of his first public statements he observed that chances were “not very high” that the expelled aid workers would return. He is reported to have discussed the possibility of normalizing the Sudan-United States relationship and to have admitted upon his return from Sudan that he obtained no concessions.
You, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, Ambassador Rice, and other members of your Administration acknowledged before your election that a very different approach was necessary to end the Darfur genocide. Notably, in April 2008, in response to the reports of Bush Administration offers of normalization talks to the GoS, you stated, "This reckless and cynical initiative would reward a regime in Khartoum that has a record of failing to live up to its commitments." Your remarks gave hope to Darfuris that as President you would take decisive action and lead the international community in finally taking effective measures, such as those you had advocated for years.
Last week, upon General Gration’s departure from Sudan, a Darfuri resident in the U.S. and a tireless advocate for his people stated,
“The U.S.A. in the eyes of the Sudanese is losing its strength. Not the military strength, but the moral strength. The election of Obama gave hope to many victims that finally their prayers were answered. Today the mood is sadness and disappointment in Darfur because America seems back to the 50s and 60s when it sponsored many dictators. Today the mood is jubilation and relief in Khartoum also because America is back to the 50s and 60s when it sponsored many dictators and allowed them to wheel and deal with Washington.”
We respectfully urge you to take the course recommended by Jim Wallis and John Prendergast on April 12 at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123958504474112427.html :
(1) Embark on a public diplomacy blitz to ensure that as many countries as possible will demand that humanitarian aid be unfettered by politics. The focus should be on isolating President al- Bashir for starving his own citizens -- as he has done before in Southern Sudan, leading to the deaths of two million people there -- and on ensuring that aid is no longer subject to deadly restrictions.
(2) Conduct a private diplomatic effort to explore how governments could downgrade relations with Sudan's indicted president and eventually end his 20-year presidency. There must be a consequence for orchestrating violence. There also must be an end to the cycle of impunity that has allowed 2.5 million people to die during Bashir’s presidency.
(3) Forge a coalition that can both negotiate with and pressure Sudan to seek peace in Darfur as well as implement the existing peace agreement for the South.
If the GoS does not take concrete measurable actions in a very short period of time to restore the necessary humanitarian aid, engage in meaningful peace talks, disarm and disengage the Janjaweed militia, and genuinely implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, we respectfully request that you make it a top personal priority to escalate US action and leadership to do whatever it takes to bring peace and protection to Darfur.
Never has it been more true for Darfur and for all of Sudan that “what you do matters.”
Very truly yours,
It's not enough for Obama to deliver an address calling for the world's people to resist hatred and racism. Talk can be empty.
Concrete action is necessary to halt ongoing genocide in places like Darfur and prevent Iran and Islamic extremists from embarking on the annihilation of Israel.
Obama needs to walk the walk.
_________________
Transcript of Obama's remarks
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