Samantha Powers is AWOL in the UN on Syria: A Perfect Fit for the Obama Administration

Samantha Power has been the United States Ambassador to the United Nations for 19 days, during which time the Assad regime in Syria used chemical weapons against its people – most recently a few days ago. The United Nations Security Council held a special meeting yesterday on the Syrian use of chemical weapons. Ambassador Powers tweeted yesterday: “Reports devastating: 100s dead in the streets, including kids killed by chem weapons. UN must get there fast & if true, perps must face justice.” She stated in her confirmation hearings that the Security’s Council’s failure to act on Syria is a “disgrace that history will judge harshly.” What did Samantha Powers do at the session? Nothing. She wasn’t there, and no one has disclosed her whereabouts. The State Department simply said she was on a pre-arranged trip. Ambassador Powers is picking up where her predecessor Susan Rice left off. Ambassador Rice was notorious for missing UN sessions. Ambassador Powers, the supposedly strong advocate of international human rights was strangely absent during the debate on one of the great human rights issues of today – the use of chemical weapons against civilians. The strong opponent of genocide is continuing President Obama’s policy of benign neglect of Syria. The President did not interrupt his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard or his current campaign on college campuses to impose federal controls on our colleges to address the Syria issue. President Obama said a year ago that if chemical weapons were used in Syria, then that would be a red line. Syria crossed that line months ago with everyone but the President seeing it. The President blinds himself to “inconvenient” international problems that don’t interest him or go against his core beliefs. Thus he was silent on the Iranian suppression of the hundreds of thousands of student protestors against the stolen Presidential election 4 years ago. He has been silent on the militant Islamist terror throughout Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, and elsewhere in the Mideast and North Africa of Christians and churches in a manner reminiscent of Kristellnacht. He turned a blind eye to the Moslem Brotherhood’s attempt to turn Egypt into an Islamic Republic like Iran, but is upset with the Egyptian military throwing out the Brotherhood. The President himself was AWOL during Benghazi while the cover-up continues. Admittedly the Security Council would not do anything substantial against Syria in light of the strong China and Russia support of the Assad government. However, the absence of Ambassador Powers reinforces the international image of a feckless United States and President Obama. Once again the world sees that the United States is led by a leaderless President.