U.S. says envoys found Darfur conditions worsening

[Nikos]

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCan.../idUSN23458080

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday its diplomats had found worsening conditions, including water shortages, at camps for displaced people in Darfur and urged Khartoum to reverse a decision to expel 13 aid groups.

The State Department repeated it would hold Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir responsible for each death caused by the expulsion of the major aid groups this month.

The U.S. Embassy's charge d'affaires in Khartoum, Alberto Fernandez, and officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development, traveled over the past week to El Fasher in northern Darfur and visited the Zam Zam camp to get a first-hand look at the impact of the expulsions, the department said.

"This crisis has been exacerbated by the March 4 and 5 expulsions," concluded the department, providing details of the trip by Fernandez and other U.S. officials.

The U.S. officials found resources, particularly water, at Zam Zam had been further strained by the recent arrival of 36,000 people fleeing fighting in the past two months between armed groups and the Sudanese government in Darfur.

It's like Rwanda all over again. The world sits back and does nothing.

[Da Skinna]

Unfortunately the American government understands what a dangerous step it is to arrest war criminal presidents...

It's too bad a stronger, no-nonsense UN doesn't exist.

[Grof]

no way conditions can get better in a refugee camp that is as big as the ones in Darfur.

[Arjun]

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCan.../idUSN23458080

It's like Rwanda all over again. The world sits back and does nothing.

Yes.


Its high time the International Court of Justice gets more supporters.

[Farnan]

Its time for the world to do SOMETHING. The issue of water can be solved if we sent some water purification teams and got some bottled water donated. The Janjaweed are tougher. Ground troops would be a difficult sell. A squadron of F-22s could keep the Sudanese Air Force out of the game, but the Janjaweed are tougher.

[Arjun]

Its time for the world to do SOMETHING. The issue of water can be solved if we sent some water purification teams and got some bottled water donated. The Janjaweed are tougher. Ground troops would be a difficult sell. A squadron of F-22s could keep the Sudanese Air Force out of the game, but the Janjaweed are tougher.

This is the fate of oppressed minorities the world over, be it the Darfurians, the Kurds the Tibetans the Ceylonese Tamils or the Cypriots.

Nations do not want to bother getting into places where they do not stand to gain something. The United Nations is fast becoming another league of nations. Countries that oppress can get away with it cos they clearly see that no one is going to lift a finger against their atrocities.

[Vince Noir]

Its time for the world to do SOMETHING.

I agree we shall be judged by our inaction in Darfur, it is something we are indeed all guilty of.

But let us examine this under the microscope for second. You tap into something far more scheming and depraved than just Darfur. We (the West) ignored the slaughter campaign in Sudan and Rwanda in the 1990s too. Most people dont know that if the UN decrees genocide, it’s legally obligated to act and as a result of the Truman Police Act, that of which the UN fully endorses. In this, the US is singled out as an obligated force from the rest. Arguably, the true mission of the UN is not to help the suffering. But it is to prevent wars no matter the cost and no matter how many suffer under the status quo (keep in mind that most entwine their morals into this).

While the savagery and chaos of the 1990s in Africa was beginning to die down and we silently, albeit secretly, thanked the UN for its apathy and its desire to keep out, a genocide began in Europe. America hopped on the boats and planes and crossed the seas. Good old Clinton was clever enough to boot the UN out of the mission in Bosnia and Kosovo (after a UN force literally stood by and watched hundreds line up and be slaughtered) and bring in N.A.T.O to obligate Europe to assist its ‘own’ mess. However even this saw an American effort while there was little endeavor from those who live on the same continent. Europe was seemingly worthy, so Africa is not?

Fast forwarding to when Bush and Blair were calling on the UN to deal with Darfur, the UN finally accepted that ‘further investigation’ was required and sent a team to decide what everyone already knew for years. And once the slaughter and apparent danger subsided, the UN flexed its puny muscles and was more than happy to shed fake tears for the deceased. But the accusation of genocide and the international arrest warrant for Bashir had the UN worried over the ‘stability’ of the area and what justice for the deceased and the living may actually bring. Thus as usual, the UN proved that it is more interested in its ‘prime directive’ over justice and moral strength.

However – many seem to tie their morality to this organisation. An organisation full of hypocrites with oversight. And the rest of this organisation is comprised of free nations who prefer indifference to action and secretly breathe a sigh of relief every time the selfish few dictate the premise or hold up an ancient international law to cower behind. And as the West being the larger part of the humanitarian or military force to stand, it is safe to say that the West is a appreciative when the lazy and depraved part of the UN insists that it is merely ‘investigating’ until the crisis eventually dissolves by itself

Think about it. We should have just as well of held on to the League of Nations as our answers to the post-WWII era. This is my opinion on the matter.

[Nikos]

Arjun and Farnan are correct, we need to do SOMETHING immediately. The UN does not work, it needs to be reformed or abolished to make way for a more effective organization.

[Intralude]

Arjun and Farnan are correct, we need to do SOMETHING immediately. The UN does not work, it needs to be reformed or abolished to make way for a more effective organization.

No, the UN is fine as it is. When darfur becomes a problem then I'm sure the US will intervene when they need to.

[ShADoW]

No, the UN is fine as it is. When darfur becomes a problem then I'm sure the US will intervene when they need to.

Uhm no....The UN is not as fine as it is. Also Darfur is already a problem, so we should do something about it now.

[Nikos]

No, the UN is fine as it is. When darfur becomes a problem then I'm sure the US will intervene when they need to.

Are you serious? What is a problem then? Is 300,000 innocents dead not a problem to you?

[Arjun]

No, the UN is fine as it is. When darfur becomes a problem then I'm sure the US will intervene when they need to.

@topic

If only The US did not invade Iraq based on the now disprove Bush&co's WMD claim....it could have easily afforded to send troops not only to Darfur but to many other parts of the world where similar things are happening


And not only we would have no need to spend anything near as much as we are wasting in Iraq now; we would have had much much less casualties and would have gained the Support of Millions worldwide. The Iraq invasion while so many real human tragedies await our attention is a crime


Thanks to the Iraq invasion we have made Millions more enemies and have brought us down to such a level that we have to say "America will not torture again"........ God...Osama would be rolling with glee...we walked right into his trap.



If we had saved the Darfurians we could have earned the eternal gratitude of millions of people.......This is what happens when stupid religious Neocon fanatics are allowed to run any government...

[Scar Face]

We had some song and dance [literally] the other month about Darfur in my school. Presentation, demanding we contribute donations. I could only shake my head. No amount of donations, dancing, or awareness messages are going to do anything to stop Darfur from happening. Our Governments wont and cant move in, because our militaries and economies are stretched to the brink. Donations mean nothing. Sorry to say it folks, but the slaughter shall continue.