A Record of Hawkish Intervention: Biden Picks Samantha Power to Head USAID
Samantha Power has been an outspoken advocate of US humanitarian
intervention, promoting the Iraq war and defending human rights abusers like
Israel and Saudi Arabia.
by Alan Macleod Mint Press News
January 13th, 2021
By Alan Macleod
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President-elect Joe Biden has selected longtime Democratic insider Samantha
Power to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). "There
is simply no one better to ensure our development agenda is a core pillar of
our foreign policy," the 78-year-old Delawarean said in a video statement,
claiming that, under previous Democratic administrations Power, "fought
tirelessly to prioritize human rights."
USAID styles itself as a human rights organization, a Washington-sponsored
group promoting democracy and development around the world. But if one
delves deeper than merely the surface level, the organization has been
crucial in financing a number of regime change operations across the globe.
USAID money has been used to back opposition insurrections in Venezuela and
Nicaragua, for example, while it continues to use its grants to provide
leadership training for its preferred political candidates worldwide. Allen
Weinstein, a co-founder of the National Endowment for Democracy, an
organization USAID funds, told the Washington Post, "A lot of what we do
today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."
Power's appointment was warmly endorsed by Biden's vice-president, Kamala
Harris. "One of the most pressing challenges facing our nation is restoring
and strengthening America's global leadership as a champion of democracy,
human rights, and the dignity of all people," she said, adding that, "Few
Americans are better equipped to help lead that work" than the former U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations.
Others were not so sure. Journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote,
"This is a good choice in the sense that as the head of USAID, an agency
*ostensibly* devoted to assisting other countries, Samantha Power can work
to repair the damage to all the countries she helped destroy the last time
she was in government with her unhinged militarism."
"A Problem from Hell"
Power came to national attention with the publication of her book, "A
Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide." The book was published
in 2002, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Afghanistan and
in the run up to the Iraq War. Unlike other critics of U.S. foreign policy,
Power castigated Washington for not intervening enough in other countries,
arguing the U.S. has a responsibility to protect the weak in the world. She
was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her work.
In general, Power supported the Iraq War, stating on television that, "An
American intervention likely will improve the lives of the Iraqis. Their
lives could not get worse, I think it's quite safe to say," although she
criticized the Bush administration harshly for not effectively managing the
conflict.
A Humanitarian Hawk Heads To The UN
In many ways, Samantha Power is the liberal mirror image of Paul Wolfowitz
and his neoconservative ilk., ambassador to the UN, Humanitarian
intervention, liberal imperialism, Libya, neoconservatives, Samantha Power,
Syria,
MintPress News | Jeffrey Cavanaugh | Jun 7, 2013
She got her chance in government once Bush's years were over, being
appointed to a number of positions in President Obama's State Department and
National Security Council, before being appointed Ambassador to the U.N. in
2013. Power presents herself as someone who stopped genocide in Central
Africa and was strongly in favor of military interventions in Libya and
Syria for the same reasons. Yet in her roles in the Obama administration,
Power was a key promoter of some of the worst violence of the twenty-first
century.
Power goes to bat for human rights abusers
Yemen is the clear standout example. Described for years by the U.N. as the
"world's worst humanitarian crisis," the Saudi-led onslaught on the country
has led to 80% of the country needing humanitarian assistance, including
some 20.5 million lacking access to clean water and sanitation, as Saudi
planes target medical, water and sewage facilities. As Ambassador, Power
defended Saudi Arabia from criticism and helped block international efforts
to respond, even focusing the blame for the violence on Houthi rebel groups.
Millions of Yemenis have died or been displaced due to the violence.
Power also strongly defended Israel from criticism at the U.N., despite the
country's bombing campaigns against the civilian population of Gaza. She
excoriated the institution for their "unequal treatment" of the Jewish state
and for their, "indefensible silence in response to terrorist attacks on
Israelis."
In her latest memoir, "The Education of an Idealist," there is no mention of
Yemen, Israeli attacks on Gaza, or drone warfare, subjects she seemingly
edited out of history for convenience. Her "education" already appeared
complete by 2014, however, when she attended a baseball game with Henry
Kissinger, one of the world's worst human rights abusers and a man she had
previously harshly criticized.
Two years later, she accepted the Henry A. Kissinger Prize from the man
himself, a sign that she had earned his respect and admiration.
In a sense, Power could be seen as the perfect pick for the Biden
administration; a woman who continues to use the language of human rights,
but completely committed to the U.S. imperial project and is every bit as
hawkish as her Republican counterparts. With groups close to the president
already advising him to push for increasing tensions with Russia and China,
Biden might have found the right person for the job.
