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| U.S. Envoys See a Rwanda Moment in Syria’s Escalating Crisis | |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Speaking at the State Department after being sworn in on Tuesday, Tom Malinowski, the new assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said his daughter quizzed him recently about what role he had played 20 years ago, when the Clinton administration failed to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. | WASHINGTON — Speaking at the State Department after being sworn in on Tuesday, Tom Malinowski, the new assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said his daughter quizzed him recently about what role he had played 20 years ago, when the Clinton administration failed to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. |
| Mr. Malinowski, then a speechwriter for Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher, realized that he had not written the word Rwanda into a single public statement delivered by his boss. | Mr. Malinowski, then a speechwriter for Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher, realized that he had not written the word Rwanda into a single public statement delivered by his boss. |
| “What will our kids and grandkids ask us about our time here 20 years from now?” Mr. Malinowski asked. “No matter what we do, our answer probably won’t satisfy them completely.” | “What will our kids and grandkids ask us about our time here 20 years from now?” Mr. Malinowski asked. “No matter what we do, our answer probably won’t satisfy them completely.” |
| Left unsaid, but obvious to everyone in the ornate Benjamin Franklin room, was the Obama administration’s fitful response to the great humanitarian tragedy of this era: the Syrian civil war. | Left unsaid, but obvious to everyone in the ornate Benjamin Franklin room, was the Obama administration’s fitful response to the great humanitarian tragedy of this era: the Syrian civil war. |
| The shadow of Rwanda has long hung over the Obama administration, with its roster of Clinton alumni, several of whom took part in debates over how to respond to it. But with the 20th anniversary of the genocide coming amid a new wave of diplomatic setbacks in Syria, the Obama administration is clearly having a Rwanda moment. | The shadow of Rwanda has long hung over the Obama administration, with its roster of Clinton alumni, several of whom took part in debates over how to respond to it. But with the 20th anniversary of the genocide coming amid a new wave of diplomatic setbacks in Syria, the Obama administration is clearly having a Rwanda moment. |
| Two weeks ago, Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, drew an explicit link between the two cases in a speech at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She had recently returned from leading a presidential delegation to Rwanda for events marking the anniversary of the killings. | Two weeks ago, Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, drew an explicit link between the two cases in a speech at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She had recently returned from leading a presidential delegation to Rwanda for events marking the anniversary of the killings. |
| Ms. Power, who made her name with a searing critique of the Clinton administration’s failure to act in 1994, credited President Obama with creating a White House committee to respond more swiftly to violence before it mutates into mass atrocity. She ticked off some of the administration’s responses, from the NATO-led air campaign in Libya to the dispatch of American military advisers to hunt for the murderous Joseph Kony in Africa. | Ms. Power, who made her name with a searing critique of the Clinton administration’s failure to act in 1994, credited President Obama with creating a White House committee to respond more swiftly to violence before it mutates into mass atrocity. She ticked off some of the administration’s responses, from the NATO-led air campaign in Libya to the dispatch of American military advisers to hunt for the murderous Joseph Kony in Africa. |
| “But against all of this,” she said, “there is Syria.” | “But against all of this,” she said, “there is Syria.” |
| After reciting the horrors of the three-year-old conflict — the barrel bombs, starvation campaigns and “systematic industrial torture” — Ms. Power bluntly declared that the world’s response had been inadequate and that “all of us must do more.” She also rejected the arguments of some that American engagement in the conflict is an all-or-nothing proposition: disengagement or American boots on the ground. | After reciting the horrors of the three-year-old conflict — the barrel bombs, starvation campaigns and “systematic industrial torture” — Ms. Power bluntly declared that the world’s response had been inadequate and that “all of us must do more.” She also rejected the arguments of some that American engagement in the conflict is an all-or-nothing proposition: disengagement or American boots on the ground. |
| To some observers, that constituted a rebuke of her boss, since Mr. Obama himself has characterized American military engagement in similarly all-or-nothing terms, most recently during a visit to the Philippines. Other friends of Ms. Power said she frequently talks about the need to weigh a range of responses to atrocities. | To some observers, that constituted a rebuke of her boss, since Mr. Obama himself has characterized American military engagement in similarly all-or-nothing terms, most recently during a visit to the Philippines. Other friends of Ms. Power said she frequently talks about the need to weigh a range of responses to atrocities. |
| What makes Rwanda so fraught for this administration is that its officials played roles on opposite sides of that drama: Ms. Power, then a journalist, was a fierce critic; Susan E. Rice, now the national security adviser, was then a junior staff member on Mr. Clinton’s national security council and later expressed regret to Ms. Power for American inaction. | What makes Rwanda so fraught for this administration is that its officials played roles on opposite sides of that drama: Ms. Power, then a journalist, was a fierce critic; Susan E. Rice, now the national security adviser, was then a junior staff member on Mr. Clinton’s national security council and later expressed regret to Ms. Power for American inaction. |
| “I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required,” Ms. Rice told Ms. Power. | “I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required,” Ms. Rice told Ms. Power. |
| Ms. Rice has not spoken about Rwanda recently. But she has defended Mr. Obama’s refusal to get more involved in Syria. “If the alternative here is to intervene with American boots on the ground, as some have argued,” she said on “Meet the Press” in February, then the president’s judgment was that it was not in the nation’s interests. | Ms. Rice has not spoken about Rwanda recently. But she has defended Mr. Obama’s refusal to get more involved in Syria. “If the alternative here is to intervene with American boots on the ground, as some have argued,” she said on “Meet the Press” in February, then the president’s judgment was that it was not in the nation’s interests. |
| That might constitute the kind of false choice that Ms. Power labeled “an accompaniment only to disengagement and passivity” in her speech. | That might constitute the kind of false choice that Ms. Power labeled “an accompaniment only to disengagement and passivity” in her speech. |
| Mr. Malinowski, the former Washington director of Human Rights Watch, is less identified with Rwanda than either Ms. Rice or Ms. Power. But that does not mean the episode has not left its mark. | Mr. Malinowski, the former Washington director of Human Rights Watch, is less identified with Rwanda than either Ms. Rice or Ms. Power. But that does not mean the episode has not left its mark. |
| In a speech to the Truman National Security Project earlier this month, Mr. Malinowski mused about the lack of public fervor to do more about Syria, a mood he contrasted to the anguished debates over Rwanda, Kosovo and Bosnia during the Clinton years. | In a speech to the Truman National Security Project earlier this month, Mr. Malinowski mused about the lack of public fervor to do more about Syria, a mood he contrasted to the anguished debates over Rwanda, Kosovo and Bosnia during the Clinton years. |
| He cited Ms. Power’s book, “A Problem From Hell,” in which she recounted that Clinton officials had told human-rights activists that if they wanted to stop the killing in Rwanda, they needed to fan more public outrage. “I’ve promised myself I would never shift responsibility like that if I ever had responsibility in government again,” he said. | He cited Ms. Power’s book, “A Problem From Hell,” in which she recounted that Clinton officials had told human-rights activists that if they wanted to stop the killing in Rwanda, they needed to fan more public outrage. “I’ve promised myself I would never shift responsibility like that if I ever had responsibility in government again,” he said. |
| As a human-rights activist, Mr. Malinowski called for the White House to do more to deliver humanitarian aid and stop the cycle of killing in Syria. But he also expressed sympathy for the hard choices that Mr. Obama faced there. Now, as the State Department’s in-house advocate for human rights, he will have to apply pressure from inside. | As a human-rights activist, Mr. Malinowski called for the White House to do more to deliver humanitarian aid and stop the cycle of killing in Syria. But he also expressed sympathy for the hard choices that Mr. Obama faced there. Now, as the State Department’s in-house advocate for human rights, he will have to apply pressure from inside. |
| While Mr. Malinowski did not mention Syria in the context of Rwanda, people in the room made the connection. “It seemed to me that he threw out a challenge there,” said Elliott Abrams, who served as assistant secretary of state for human rights under Ronald Reagan. “As you look around the world, nothing else seems to qualify.” | While Mr. Malinowski did not mention Syria in the context of Rwanda, people in the room made the connection. “It seemed to me that he threw out a challenge there,” said Elliott Abrams, who served as assistant secretary of state for human rights under Ronald Reagan. “As you look around the world, nothing else seems to qualify.” |
| Mr. Malinowski’s former colleagues suggested he has been encouraged to speak out by Secretary of State John Kerry, who is more forward-leaning on Syria than Mr. Obama or his closest aides. | Mr. Malinowski’s former colleagues suggested he has been encouraged to speak out by Secretary of State John Kerry, who is more forward-leaning on Syria than Mr. Obama or his closest aides. |
| As the Obama administration approaches its twilight years, there is clearly a bit of legacy-building underway. All these officials are concerned about protecting their reputations for after they leave government. But at root, their motivation seems more personal. | As the Obama administration approaches its twilight years, there is clearly a bit of legacy-building underway. All these officials are concerned about protecting their reputations for after they leave government. But at root, their motivation seems more personal. |
| In the anecdote about his daughter, Mr. Malinowski noted that she had been reading Ms. Power’s book, which described a key meeting in which the Clinton White House rejected action on Rwanda. “What were you doing at this time,” she texted. “I’m so curious.” | In the anecdote about his daughter, Mr. Malinowski noted that she had been reading Ms. Power’s book, which described a key meeting in which the Clinton White House rejected action on Rwanda. “What were you doing at this time,” she texted. “I’m so curious.” |
| Flashing forward to the great debates of today, he said, “I imagine our answer will still disappoint them.” | Flashing forward to the great debates of today, he said, “I imagine our answer will still disappoint them.” |