Secretaries Albright and Cohen Should be Removed from Genocide Task Force

How hypocritical of Madeleine Albright and William Cohen, former Secretaries of State and Defense, to announce the formation of a task force on prevention of genocide, when two months ago they wrote a letter to the U.S. Congress against a resolution on the Armenian Genocide!

One would have thought that genocide denialists would not be the most qualified people to lead an effort on averting future genocides. Yet, this is exactly what happened last week.

Albright and Cohen shamelessly stood in front of TV cameras at the National Press Club in Washington on November 13 to declare that they are co-chairing a new "Genocide Prevention Task Force." The other members of the task force are Sen. John Danforth, Sen. Tom Daschle, Amb. Stuart Eizenstat, Michael Gerson, Secretary Dan Glickman, Secretary Jack Kemp, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, Amb. Tom Pickering, Julia Taft, Vin Weber and General Anthony Zinni. This effort is jointly sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the United States Institute of Peace. The task force has five working groups dealing with early warning, pre-crisis engagement, preventive diplomacy, military intervention, and international institutions. It is expected to issue its report in December 2008.

Cohen told members of the media with a straight face that the task force is going "to look certainly to the past for lessons" in order to prepare a set of recommendations to the U.S. government on how best to respond to future threats of genocide. He stated that mass violence is "inimical to human behavior, to human decency, [and] to our sense of humanity....We can no longer live in a state of denial or willful indifference." These bold words are from a man whose company, The Cohen Group, is affiliated with DLA Piper, one of the major lobbying firms hired by the Turkish government, at a cost of $100,000 per month, to deny the facts of the Armenian Genocide.

As soon as the two former high-ranking officials finished delivering their opening remarks at last week's press conference, they were confronted by skeptical members of the press and Armenian activists who questioned their sincerity and pointed out their hypocrisy. This accusatory exchange was covered extensively by CNN, AFP, AP, and The Jerusalem Post.

Albright and Cohen were asked by a reporter: "How do you reconcile your work in trying to build a moral American sentiment, an unconditional consensus against genocide, when just very recently both of you signed letters urging America not to recognize the Armenian Genocide?" Albright, forgetting her earlier words about learning from the past, quickly shifted the mission of the group to the future. Carefully avoiding the term "Armenian Genocide," she acknowledged that "terrible things happened to the Armenians -- a tragedy.... While we were Secretaries, we recognized that mass killings and forced exile had taken place, and we also said that the U.S. policy has been all along for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia on this particular issue." She also said that her earlier letter to Congress against the genocide resolution merely questioned whether "this was an appropriate time to raise the issue." Secretary Cohen, in his turn, referred to the Armenian Genocide as "the human suffering that took place between 1915 and 1923." He said he was concerned that the Armenian resolution "might result in reactions on the part of the Turkish government that could place our sons and daughters in greater jeopardy [in Iraq]." The two officials gave evasive answers when another reporter asked whether they were advocating that "for political expediency purposes we shouldn't be taking action on future genocides because of what it could mean to U.S. interests."

A third reporter then pointedly asked if Albright and Cohen were in fact saying: "If our friends do it, it's not genocide; if our enemies do it, it is genocide.... If you are going to define genocide by who does it, not by what it is, your task force is in trouble."

Exposing his ignorance on the issue of the Armenian Genocide, Secretary Cohen said: "I don't know that the UN has declared that genocide occurred in the Armenian situation." He must not be aware that back in 1985 the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, by a vote of 15-1, adopted a report which included a section acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. "The experience of the Armenians does indeed conform with the UN Convention," a fourth reporter shot back at Cohen and added: "The two of you have personally worked toward ensuring that the United States government does not take a stand recognizing the Armenian Genocide. However, taking on this new role, how can you reconcile your positions and the U.S. foreign policy?"

Given their repeated attempts to block the reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide resolution, both during and after their tenure in government, Secretaries Albright and Cohen should be removed from the leadership of the Genocide Prevention Task Force. They have undermined their own credibility and lost the moral standing to speak on the topic of genocide. One cannot deny a genocide and then turn around and act as a defender of its victims. Furthermore, Secretary Cohen has a personal conflict of interest due to his firm's affiliation with a company that lobbies for Turkey against the congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide. This fact alone should disqualify him from membership, let alone leadership, of the genocide prevention group.

Comments

[Plowshare]

People who deal in fact, not denialist fantasies, may wish to read the following comprehensive letter by the premier organization of specialists that studies genocide, the International Association of Genocide Scholars:

http://www.genocidewatch.org/TurkishPMIAGSOpenLetterreArmenia6-13-05.htm

[bagraduni]

I write to express my utter disbelief and disgust at the appointment of (former) State Secretaries Albright and Cohen to the leadership of the otherwise admirable idea of a genuine Genocide Task Force.

I completely fail to see how such an outrageous idea could even be contemplated! Not even two months have passed since both Ms Albright and Mr Cohen publicly denounced and denied the Armenian Genocide when they signed the infamous letter addressed to the US Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs opposing recognition of the Armenian Genocide, HR 106. It now transpires one of them, namely Mr Cohen, is affiliated to a “public relations” outfit which is paid a $100,000 per month by the Turkish government to put out propaganda denying the Armenian Genocide! As such there is a direct conflict of interest, were Mr Cohen allowed to stay at this appointment.

Genocide deniers leading the Genocide Task Force? Surely this is the title of a new Orwellian novel, and not a serious proposal for the study and prevention of Genocide/s in future?

If, nevertheless, the sponsoring institutions are going to carry on with this, I’m afraid to say, really barmy and daft idea and keep these two Armenian Genocide deniers (Albright and Cohen), then for the sake of consistency may I suggest that they also appoint President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran (Holocaust denier) and David Irving (Holocaust denier and Nazi sympathiser)if not to the leadership of this Orwellian organisation then at least as senior consultants as the next ‘logical’ step to completely ruin its credibility and reputation.

[AppoJabarian]

May be pconnally should look at himself in the mirror to see the "real hypocrite!" It's amazing how far denialists like him are willing to go in order to cover up the genocidal crime of premeditated mass murder at the hands of Turkey against innocent Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Arab and other civilians in Turkish-occupied Western Armenia, Constantinople, Greek Smyrna, Greek Pontus and other areas.

It's also unacceptable that pconnally is attempting to mislead the unsuspecting readers of HuffingtonPost by twisting and manipulating the facts of history.

The fact that our capital Washington is full of spinners, liars, and corrupt politicians and diplomats is not new. What is new is the brazenness of the strategy to con fellow Americans into thinking that these wolves should be "commissioned" as the shepherds for the defenseless sheep of this world.

I agree with Sassounian. Secretary Albright and Secretary Cohen should resign, and let the Genocide Prevention Task Force focus on its real mission by first starting off with condemning 1) Turkey's unabated denial of the Armenian Genocide; 2) Armenia's blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan; and 3) In the absence of a just solution for the first two issues, it should call for cutting off U.S. Foreign Aid to Turkey and Azerbaijan for their continuous belligerence and war-mongering vis-à-vis Armenia.

Only then will the "Task Force On Prevention Of Genocide," be effective in stopping the present genocide in Darfur and future ones looming on the horizon. Otherwise, the "Task Force" will be recognized as a noble concept that was ruined by duplicitous former politicians now serving the highest bidders.

Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher/Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine

Los Angeles, California, USA

[vaho]

I think that such a task force should have the chance to succeed. Unfortunately, by having leaders like Albright and Cohen the “Genocide Prevention Task Force” is doomed to failure and futility, simply because its leaders don’t have the moral standing to lead such a noble mission.
The Armenian Genocide can not be brushed aside by saying that it is a thing of the past, since its denial is a current issue. It is taking place now. You can not prevent genocide by allowing the denial of those who have already been committed. That will send the message that “if genocide prevention fails all you have to do is to deny it, and you can get away with it”. In order to make prevention work the perpetrator of the crime should know that if he doesn’t stop now, he will inevitably face the consequences of his action. “Inevitable consequences” means that there should be no precedent of someone getting away with it. If there is a precedent how can you prevent someone from trying? Isn’t it the precedent set by the Armenian Genocide which encouraged Hitler?

[hovsep]

I shudder at the thought that the likes of Albright and Cohen have "served" our country...
No wonder we are in the shape we are in.
How could ANYONE with a scintilla of conscience
be able to sleep at night, ignoring, even worse denying, the FACTS of the first genocide of the 20th century, and at the same time "serve" on such a committee? On what basis did Raphael Lempkin (these two clowns' ethnic brother) coin the term GENOCIDE, for martyrs' sake?!
Hehehehelp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[youzaho]

Who had the audacity to ask these genocide deniers to lead a task force on genocide prevention? Are we being punked? Where's Ashton?

[youzaho]

Shameless hypocrisy! Bravo, Harut. Let's start a petition for their ouster. Albright and Cohen running this task force is like having Ted Nugent run PETA or George Bush run Mensa. This is classic bush doctrine: never learn the past so doom oneself to repeat it.

[pconnolly]

Sassounian's article accuses Albright and Cohen of "denial" but the real denial is coming from Sassounian, not from Albright and Cohen. What he failed to tell you was that the event in question cannot be labeled "genocide" due to the fact that tens of thousands of innocent Turkish women and children suffered terrible atrocities at the hands of Armenians. It was an atmosphere of chaos and civil unrest. Impartial historians have chronicled the events but Armenians have been waging a fierce campaign of hatred and denial to cover up the facts. See this article for some details:
http://mvdg.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/armenian-atrocities-against-muslim-turks-part-ii/
Turkey doesn't deny these deaths as Sassounian so falsely claims. They only object to the “genocide” label – and with good reason!

The article's charges about lobbying firms hired by the Turkish Government are misleading. The fact of the matter is that the Armenian Lobby spent Ten Million dollars in a deceitful campaign against the Turkish People. See this link for details on the spending:
http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2007/10/2111-armenian-assembly-of-america-tax.html
The Turkish Government's spending is dwarfed by the Armenians' budget for their disinformation campaign. They need to defend themselves because of the amount of lying involved!

Sassounian claims that Albright and Cohen were -in effect- saying that "If our friends do it it's not genocide; if our enemies do it it is genocide" but that's not true at all. The issue is that Moslem lives must be counted too - not just Christian lives. What the Armenians are saying is that "If Moslem Turks do it it is genocide but if Christian Armenians do it it isn't genocide".

Accusations of Hypocrisy? Who's the real hypocrite here?

[Pdubya]

CFR wants to stop population growth.

Are you surprised?

[NetParrot]

You know what? I'm a bit more concerned with preventing genocide in the here and now than I am with getting Turkey to 'fess up about the first world war. It's kind of funny to see how many of the same political leaders pushing each other out of the way to denounce Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide were the same ones who "expressed concern" (but did nothing to stop!) an actual genocide going on in Rwanda.

It's easier to have a teary photo op expressing regret at "missed opportunities", or to express outrage for something that happened a hundred years ago than it is to actual take the political risks involved in stopping an actual genocide, isn't it? Act in leisure, repent in haste.

[dzho]

This is the same Madeleine Albright that thinks the deaths of half a million Iraqi children "was worth it"?