Holocaust Museum Pulls Back from Study on Obama’s Syrian Foreign Policy: Cites Failures Tempered by Political Cover, Critics Charge

Holocaust Museum Pulls Back from Study on Obama’s Syrian Foreign Policy: Cites Failures Tempered by Political Cover, Critics Charge

by Penny Starr19 Sep 2017

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/09/19/holocaust-museum-pulls-back-study-obamas-syrian-foreign-policy-cites-failures-tempered-political-cover-critics-charge/

A major study produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in late August has caused a swirl of debate and controversy among museum supporters, academics, Syrian analysts, Jewish leaders, and even U.S. lawmakers.

News of the report — which was scheduled to be officially released on September 11, came after Tablet Magazine was given portions of the study, which it shared with leaders in the Jewish community.

Those leaders were highly critical of the study, saying that while the report does reflect the failures of Obama’s Syrian foreign policy, it also seems to justify the inaction of the Obama administration to stop the genocide that has unfolded at the hands of terrorists and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the latter backed, in large part, by Russia and Iran.

It was only in the final year of the Obama administration that Secretary of State John officially designated ISIS’s atrocities in Syria as genocide while not mentioning the Assad regime specifically in his March 2016 remarks.

The Syrian Network For Human Rights reports that some 480,000 deaths have occurred during the Syrian civil war over the past six years. According to U.S. intelligence, that includes innocent civilians and children killed by the Assad regime using chemical weapons, brutal kidnapping and murders of religious minorities by the Islamic State, as well deaths across all populations from efforts by the International Coalition in Syria to end the civil war and defeat ISIS.

Although Obama famously drew his “red line” on Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people in a speech in 2013, minimal actions were taken under his administration.

“Obama’s September 2013 decision not to undertake standoff strikes to enforce his ‘red line’ against the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons stands as his most controversial policy decision on Syria, and arguably of his entire presidency,” the report executive summary states. “Conducting limited stand-off strikes followed immediately by intensive diplomacy might have led to a reduction in the level of killing.”

The study attempts to sort out the situation on the ground and the Obama’s response to it that includes assertions some inaction could have been justified.

“Using computational modeling and game theory methods, as well as interviews with experts and policymakers, the report asserted that greater support for the anti-Assad rebels and U.S. strikes on the Assad regime after the August 2013 Ghouta chemical weapons attack would not have reduced atrocities in the country, and might conceivably have contributed to them,” Tablet Magazine reported.

“The first thing I have to say is: Shame on the Holocaust Museum,” Leon Wieseltier, a literary critic and fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in the Tablet Magazine reporting, slamming the museum for “releasing an allegedly scientific study that justifies bystanderism.”

“I assume the leadership understands that it made a misstep,” Abraham Foxman, the director of the Center of the Study of Anti-Semitism at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the History, told Tablet Magazine. “I served three times on the Holocaust Commission.

“The institution is very dear to my heart,” Foxman said. “And I believe that it’s appropriate—indeed, it’s imperative—for the museum [to] deal with questions of genocide in contemporary current events.”

Foxman noted that the genocide in Syria is still ongoing and “more broadly I just don’t think it’s appropriate for the museum to issue this kind of judgement—that’s beyond its mandate. This should be a place where one meets to discuss, to debate, to question, to challenge: Could more have been done? Where? How? Not to issue judgment, especially not in this politicized atmosphere.”

“While examining the U.S.’s response to the conflict arguably falls within the Museum’s stated purpose of ‘inspiring citizens and leaders to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity,’ it is unclear how producing work that could be used to justify or excuse official inaction in the face of war crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria squares with that mission,” Tablet Magazine reported. “Since the outbreak of civil war early 2011, the Syrian dictator has repeatedly attacked civilians with poison gas, maintaining a network of prison camps where as many as 60,000 people have been tortured, murdered, and disappeared, with their bodies dumped into crematoria and mass graves.”

Tablet Magazine also points out that many former Obama administration officials are now working at the museum — although it does not document their direct involvement in the study — including former deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, who was appointed to the museum’s Memorial Council during the closing days of the Obama administration. The Council also includes Obama National Security Council alumni Grant Harris and Daniel Benjamin. Other Obama NSC alumni — Cameron Hudson and Anna Cave — have joined the Museum’s staff.

The study was commissioned a year ago by a think tank within the museum, the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, which Hudson now heads.

The New York Times weighed in on the controversy on Sunday, reporting that the museum’s study has made it “a lightning rod for the fierce debate over the Obama administration’s role in the Syrian civil war.”

“Since then, the museum has been caught in a political debate and faced questions about academic freedom and the board’s ties to the Obama administration,” the Times reported.

“Of the eight sitting federal lawmakers who are trustees, two responded,” the Times reported. “Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, had no comment on the study, a spokesman said. Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, said he supported the decision to remove it.”

“The Holocaust museum, if it stands for anything, stands for the idea that we should always act against genocide and that there’s something forever wrong and unsatisfying about the idea that we can do nothing to alleviate radical evil,” Wieseltier said, as reported by the Times. “This paper basically whitewashes the Obama administration’s inaction on Syria and says that there’s nothing we can do.”

The Holocaust Museum opened in 1993 and is funded by the federal government and private donations. It issued a brief statement on its website.

Let’s connect the dots:

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad is the president of Syria, supporting Russia politically & militarily, supporting the Syrian Electronic Army which is a hacker group, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.

Note: Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights First, and the Center for International Policy.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch, and William D. Zabel was his divorce lawyer.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the International Rescue Committee, the Human Rights First, and the Center for International Policy.

John J. Studzinski is a director at the Human Rights Watch, and was the co-head of investment banking for the HSBC Holdings plc.

James B. Comey was a director at the HSBC Holdings plc, and a director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Stuart A. Levey is the chief legal officer for HSBC Holdings plc, and a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

John L. Thornton was a director at the HSBC Holdings plc, and is the co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Norman L. Eisen is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Joshua B. Bolten is a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and a director at the ONE Campaign.

ONE Campaign is a partner with the International Rescue Committee.

Elie Wiesel was an overseer for the International Rescue Committee, and a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Tom A. Bernstein is the chairman for the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and a director at the Human Rights First.

Richard R. Verma was a director at the Human Rights First, and a member of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.

William D. Zabel is the chair for the Human Rights First, and was George Soros’s divorce lawyer, and a trustee at the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights First, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the International Rescue Committee, and the Human Rights Watch.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, William D. Zabel was his divorce lawyer, a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch, is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights First, and the Human Rights Watch.

Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.

Bashar al-Assad is supporting the Syrian Electronic Army which is a hacker group, the president of Syria, supporting Russia politically & militarily, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.

Edward P. Djerejian was a U.S. ambassador for Syria, a U.S. ambassador for Israel, and is a trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Thomas H. Kean is the chairman for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a co-author of Without Precedent.

Benjamin J. Rhodes is a co-author of Without Precedent, and was a deputy national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Lee H. Hamilton is a co-author of Without Precedent, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/commercial-club-of-chicago-members.html

Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.  

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sidley Austin LLP is the lobby firm for Israel.

Mark A. Angelson was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and a director at the Human Rights First.

James D. Zirin was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and a director at the Human Rights First.

Richard R. Verma was a director at the Human Rights First, and a member of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.

William D. Zabel is the chair for the Human Rights First, and was George Soros’s divorce lawyer, and a trustee at the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Tom A. Bernstein is a director at the Human Rights First, and the chairman for the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Bradley D. Wine was a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and a director at the Genocide Intervention Network.

Joan R. Platt was a director at the Genocide Intervention Network, and is a director at the Human Rights Watch.

Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.

Bashar al-Assad is supporting the Syrian Electronic Army which is a hacker group, the president of Syria, supporting Russia politically & militarily, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.

Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, and the Center for International Policy (think tank).

Win Without War is a Center for International Policy (think tank) program.

Thomas H. Andrews was a manager for Win Without War, and is the president of the United to End Genocide.

United to End Genocide is a Save Darfur Coalition.

Save Darfur Coalition is a merged organization with the United to End Genocide, and the Genocide Intervention Network.

Joan R. Platt was a director at the Save Darfur Coalition, a director at the Genocide Intervention Network, and is a director at the Human Rights Watch.

Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.

Bashar al-Assad is supporting the Syrian Electronic Army which is a hacker group, the president of Syria, supporting Russia politically & militarily, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.