Having worked at the White House three months, I had observed that government habits and processes tended to be institutionalized reflections of human nature. In life, when we feel uncomfortable about something, we often prefer to avoid discussing it. In government, because there is so much going on, it is especially easy to escape unappealing conversations. Indeed, even when people fully intend to make time to debate a vexing issue, they often get consumed by the crises of the day. On the Armenian genocide, the key players had little incentive to schedule a meeting since any White House
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