Muslim civil rights and advocacy group says ex-Biden aide would have never been hired if he enabled the slaughter of more than 40,000 blonde-haired, blue-eyed Europeans
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called a new statement issued by the Carsey School of the University of New Hampshire reaffirming its decision to appoint former national security adviser Jake Sullivan to an honorific professorship shows a “callous and racist” disregard for the thousands of Palestinians whose slaughter Sullivan helped enable in violation of federal law and international humanitarian law.
Last night, in response to hundreds of emails from concerned Americans and a letter from CAIR, the Casey School of the University of New Hampshire issued a statement reaffirming its appointment of Mr. Sullivan while clarifying that his role is honorific and unpaid. The statement completely ignored concerns raised about Mr. Sullivan’s role in human rights abuses.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“Sadly, the University of New Hampshire’s statement about Jake Sullivan shows a callous, racist disregard for the countless Palestinian Americans whose family members were slaughtered by American weapons in Gaza with Mr. Sullivan’s direct complicity.
“Everyone knows that if Mr. Sullivan had enabled the slaughter of more than 40,000 blonde-haired, blue-eyed Europeans instead of 40,000 mostly Muslim people of color, the Casey School would never praise his government experience or even invite him to speak on a panel, much less give him an honorific position.
“UNH’s position also completely ignores the other victims of Mr. Sullivan’s disastrous foreign policy decisions, including the innocent Afghan family murdered in a U.S. drone strike. Under Mr. Sullivan, no one faced accountability for that crime.”
“Although we welcome the university’s clarification that it is not paying Mr. Sullivan to teach students about his war crimes, he should not hold any position whatsoever unless and until he apologizes to his victims and the American public for his role in unleashing so much death and destruction on innocent people.”
CAIR encouraged members of the public to continue expressing their objections to UNH, as well as Harvard University, which appointed Sullivan and former White House foreign policy official Brett McGurk to professorships.
TAKE ACTION: Call on Harvard, UNH to Cancel Professorships for War Criminals from Biden Administration
BACKGROUND
On March 18, CAIR sent letters to Harvard University President Alan M. Garber and Harvard Kennedy School Dean of Faculty Jeremy Weinstein, and University of New Hampshire (UNH) President Elizabeth Chilton and UNH Carsey School of Public Policy Director Stephen Bird, calling for on both university’s to “immediately revoke” Sullivan and McGurk’s appointments.
READ: CAIR Letter to Harvard University
READ: CAIR’s Letter to University of New Hampshire
Jake Sullivan was recently appointed by the University of New Hampshire as a senior fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy and by Harvard to serve at the Kennedy School as the inaugural Kissinger Professor of the Practice of Statecraft and World Order, effective April 1, 2025.
CAIR notes that Henry Kissinger, a former U.S. national security advisor and secretary of state, is often dubbed America’s “most notorious war criminal” – a figure that is somewhat fitting for Sullivan to be associated with.
Brett McGurk has also recently joined the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School as a non-resident Senior Fellow.
CAIR believes that Sullivan and McGurk should not be rewarded for their deadly and destructive U.S. foreign policy decisions by “failing up.”
Despite mounting criticism and evidence of grave harm caused to civilians, Sullivan and McGurk have each secured influential academic posts:
- Jake Sullivan: As National Security Advisor from 2021 to 2025, he was a “chief architect” of the Biden Administration’s disastrous 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, during which a wrongful U.S. drone strike killed an innocent Afghan family. Under Sullivan’s leadership, no one was held accountable for this act, which many – including CAIR – denounce as a war crime. Simultaneously, Sullivan coordinated the Biden administration’s unwavering support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza—facilitating arms shipments, providing diplomatic cover, and consistently affirming Israel’s genocidal actions despite clear evidence of systematic violence against Palestinian civilians.
- Brett McGurk: Rose to prominence across multiple administrations, shaping U.S. drone warfare policy in Afghanistan as Senior Director for Iraq and Afghanistan under President George W. Bush, and later as a key adviser under Presidents Obama and Biden. In the Biden administration, McGurk served as the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, overseeing U.S. policy as Israel carried out genocidal attacks on Gaza. McGurk also orchestrated continued U.S. military support for Israel’s lethal operations, thereby enabling the mass killing and displacement of Palestinian civilians.
- Sullivan & McGurk: Both facilitated the U.S. government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza by continuing illegal transfers of American-made weapons to Israel. They brazenly violated domestic statutes—including the Leahy Law, Section 620I, and Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act—and disregarded U.S. policy banning weapons transfers to countries like Israel that are engaged in war crimes and the deprivation of humanitarian aid.
By granting these individuals platforms at respected universities, UNH and Harvard effectively dismiss the suffering of those who bore the brunt of Sullivan’s and McGurk’s foreign policy failures and send a dangerous message about what is tolerated and even rewarded in academia.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com