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Mission Impossible: Negroponte Goes To Sudan

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte arrived in Sudan yesterday to attempt to convince the Sudanese government to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur. Darfur is wracked by genocidal violence between the government and the Janjaweed militia, against several rebel groups operating in the region. The Janjaweed are basically privateers on horseback, paid a stipend by the Sudanese army and keeping whatever plunder they can take. While the Sudanese government denies any sponsorship, the State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun is under indictment by the International Criminal Court for atrocities committed in Darfur (Humanitarian Affairs? How Orwellian is that. War is peace, freedom is slavery and all that.)

Negroponte hopes to convince President Omar al-Bashir to allow UN peacekeepers approved by UN Security Council Resolution 1706 which calls for 22,500 UN troops to support the 7,000 African Union peackeepers already in Sudan. The AP reports that "Sudan's government has agreed to the initial stages of the proposed deployment. But President Omar al-Bashir has rejected full deployment, concerned that Sudanese sovereignty will be violated and the troops will arrest Sudanese officials suspected of authorizing war crimes."

Meanwhile, Senator Joe Biden said this week that it was a 'moral imperative' for the U.S. to send troops also, adding that 2,500 troops could "radically change the situation on the ground now."

Dear Joe, it may already be too late:

Click to enlarge. This image is a public domain product of the U.S. Government.

Posted by Ken McCracken · 13 April 2007 01:33 AM

Comments

Posted by: zsa zsa at April 13, 2007 10:13 AM

Posted by: zsa zsa at April 13, 2007 10:15 AM

Posted by: Ken McCracken at April 13, 2007 04:46 PM