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THE US SENATE has confirmed Irish-born Samantha Power as ambassador to the United Nations, giving bipartisan approval to President Barack Obama’s nominee.
The genocide expert and human rights champion sailed through on a 87-10 vote.
Power, 42, replaces Susan Rice, whom Obama named in June to be his national security advisor.
Rice became a lightning rod for criticism against the Obama administration last year.
She left under a cloud for her role in the administration’s public explanation for the deadly attack on the US mission in Libya last September 11 that left four Americans dead including ambassador Chris Stevens.
Power, a Harvard Law School graduate and former special assistant to Obama, enjoyed widespread support during the confirmation process as someone who would be an effective and eloquent advocate for US interests.
Obama issued a statement thanking the Senate for its bipartisan support of “one of our country’s leading foreign policy thinkers.”
“As a long-time champion of human rights and dignity, she will be a fierce advocate for universal rights, fundamental freedoms and US national interests,” the president said.
During her Senate hearing, Power berated the United Nations’ “unacceptable bias” against Israel, and pledged to lobby hard to get America’s closest Mideast ally a seat on the Security Council.
But in articulating the position of the Obama administration, Power, who was born in Ireland but raised in the United States, will likely seek to be more diplomatic than on certain occasions in earlier years when she made harsh comments about Israel and the United States.
Syria and Venezuela
She came under criticism for a number of remarks she made a decade ago, including speaking of “crimes committed” by the US government.
In her book “A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide,” Power laid out the difficult choices faced by western democracies when they are confronted with internal genocides committed abroad.
“Why does the United States stand so idly by?” she wrote in her Pulitzer-Prize winning book.
At her confirmation hearing, she pointedly noted the failure of the international community to take tangible steps to end the crisis in Syria.
“We see the failure of the UN Security Council to respond to the slaughter in Syria – a disgrace that history will judge harshly,” Power told the Senate panel.
Power also raised the ire of Caracas when she told the hearing she would stand up to “repressive regimes” like Venezuela’s and challenge the “crackdown on civil society” in the oil-rich South American nation.
Washington and Caracas were often at odds during the 14-year rule of president Hugo Chavez.
A rapprochement had begun following Chavez’s death, but Venezuela called it off due to the “interventionist agenda” put forward by Power.
Republican Senator John McCain, a staunch supporter of more muscular intervention in Syria, said Power would do well in her new role.
“I am confident that Samantha believes that America is an exceptional nation with an indispensable role to play in the world, and I trust that she can provide a strong voice on behalf of America’s interests and democratic values,” he said in a statement.
I wonder if someone did take him out 30 years ago, would Zimbabwe be the basket case he turned it into, or would some other “leader”, equally malingnant have just taken his place.
It’s tempting to write Africa off, but these things are not inevitable. The neighbours in Botswana were a landlocked, diamond rich former colony. Not an obvious candidate for success. And yet they were, partly because of Seretse Khama’s leadership, but also because people kept voting for him.
Unfortunately, for every relative success story there are 50 failed states. Nation building is hard and requires guts, enterprise, selflessness and vision. Mugabe wasn’t even asked to nation build. He was handed a fully functioning, very rich and successful country and managed to level it in less than a generation. That takes mean spiritness, stupidity, and the most crass selfishness and myopic vision, which, unfortunately, seems to be the calibre of most African leaders. Take and destroy is what they do and in the meantime, the west continues to do what the west does best. Assuage our feelings of western guilt by feeding, clothing and vaccinating the Africans left behind by their very own “leaders”.
We can write much of Africa off if the Chinese economy falters, And also, we can take Australia with it.
Problem with africa is its full of africans
“Unfortunate event”
In who’s eyes ????
Funny that at Mandela’s memorial when the camera would go to different world leaders the crowd would cheer or boo depending on who it was on. Mugabe got a massive cheer and Bush Jnr got a massive boo. Ya no your screwed when Mugabe gets a bigger cheer than ya!
It was an ANC crowd at the funeral & Mugabe was a big supporter if the ANC during apartheid times so I’d be sure that’s why he was cheered rather than for his recent policies.
That says a lot more about the crowd than it does about Bush Jr.
Whatever you can accuse Bush Jr. of, laying waste to his country, starving his people, killing the productive farmers and having an ugly greedy, mean wife isnt among them. An ANC crowd can turn into a vicious mob at the turn of a hair. Being rational abd discerning is not their thing.
Hurricane Katrina anyone? ;)
Sadly, probably the latter.
Problem with Africa is the tribal government system, and the mentality of it’s people.
@coom
Same could be said for a lot of countries..including ours!
Christina who wrote that paper? Dept of the Taoiseach?
While it is true that Robert Mugabe has a few character flaws, it cannot be denied that he is an active leader who stands up for his people. Much better than the shower we have running this country, he is. You can bet Robert Mugabe would have burned the bondholders and sent the IMF home with a flea in their ear.
Pity he didn’t have a fatal “accident” here.
Proably after totruring them first…Thing is we can elect another incompetant shower to govern us.Mugabe is there forever like a big black blood sucking tick on Zimbabwae.But then thats what happens if you let Marxist gun waving loons loose on a perfectly functioning and producing ,albeit not without is fault state.Turn it into a dictatorship that makes the previous oppression by whomever look like paradise.
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