Joe Biden: Genocide prevention should be 'national security priority'April 24, 2009 - 00:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States needs to see genocide prevention "not just as a moral imperative," but also as a "national security priority," said the vice president of U.S. In a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's National Tribute Dinner in Washington, Joe Biden added that he and President Obama believe that "preventing genocide is not only a representation of who we are as a people but also a very high national priority."Responding to genocide is not required in a moral context, but also "strategically necessary," he said. "When genocide goes unchecked America's credibility and leadership is tarnished." Biden said that the U.S. has been slow to act in the past against genocide because the issue has been presented as a choice between doing nothing and making a major military commitment. "President Obama and I reject that as a false choice," said the vice president, adding that "military might is something that is an option -- sometimes the only option" but that there are a "wide range of effective strategies." "We have to reclaim the words 'Never again,'" he said. Too often, he said, those words have been used as a "true lament" or "expression of shame over responses that were insufficient." But "never again" should be "assertive," he said, JTA reports. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |