Obama at Holocaust: 'Never again'

Obama at Holocaust: 'Never again'

President Obama pledged today to do whatever he can to prevent future holocausts, from speaking out against human rights abuses to stopping Iran from obtaining the means to make nuclear weapons.

"Preventing genocide is an achievable goal," Obama said during remarks today at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

To that end, Obama talked about a new executive order that will allow U.S. officials to impose sanctions on foreign governments that use modern technology, such as cell phones and the Internet, to abuse human rights -- an action aimed specifically at Iran and Syria.

Iran and Syria have cracked down on dissenters by blocking access to Internet, and using the web themselves to maintain surveillance on protesters.

The new order is part of what the White House calls "a comprehensive strategy and new tools to prevent and respond to atrocities." It includes creation of an Atrocities Prevention Board, which is composed of officials from throughout the government and holds its first meeting today.

In another discussion of Iran, Obama cited U.S. diplomatic efforts to dissuade Tehran from seeking the means to make a nuclear weapon.

Obama, who has clashed with Israel's leadership over Iran policy, said today that "I will always be there with Israel."

Repeating the p hrase "never again," Obama spoke not only in terms of the Holocaust against Jews in World War II, but of modern mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

"Remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture," Obama said. He later added: "We are haunted by the atrocities we did not atop."

Obama also talked about other things his administration is already doing to prevent genocide, including the military intervention in Libya, creation of the new state of South Sudan, increased diplomatic pressure on Syria, and the ongoing manhunt of African warlord Joseph Kony.

"National sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your people," Obama said.

Before the speech, Obama toured the Holocaust museum with director Sara Bloomfield and Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

In introducing Obama, Wiesel questioned why Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is still in power, and condemned Iran's nuclear-tinged threats against Israel. He called Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "the world's number one Holocaust denier."

Obama and Wiesel lit candles and paused for a moment of silence in the Hall of Remembrance.

The president placed a candle in front of a section devoted to Buchenwald, the concentration camp his great-uncle helped liberate at the end of World War II.