Sudanese Army Antonov military plane and bombs photographed in Darfur last month with UN markings on its wingBoth President Bush and British PM Tony Blair have had some strong statements to make about the Sudan's on again, off again acceptance of a UN force to protect the civilian population of Darfur and end the genocide and ethnic cleansing by Sudan in the region.
Things have heated up considerably since a UN report came out proving that the Sudanese government has been lying in characterizing the depredations of the Janjiweed militia as `a civil war' it has nothing to do with. In fact, the Sudanese government has not only been arming the Janjiweed and coordinating their attacks, but using its military planes , painted white and with UN markings to bomb civilians in Darfur and ferry fresh weapons to the Janjiweed.
Bush issued a sanctions warning for Sudan, saying that it was Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir's `last chance' to cooperate with the UN, while Blair warned that America and Britain would begin consultations on a new resolution for sanctions in the UN Security Council against Sudan if it did not stop its violations in Darfur.
“What is happening is unacceptable. It is appalling,” he said. “The international community will not allow the scandal that is Darfur to continue.”
Ah, but it will, Mr. Blair.
Oil hungry China is not about to let a little thing like simple justice and humanity get in the way of its petroleum contracts with the Sudanese government. China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s oil exports and makes a fortune selling the Sudanese government weapons and military aircraft...the very tools of the trade it's using in Darfur.
China has said it opposes any Sudan sanctions and put the UNSC on notice that it will veto anything the US and Britain come up with.
Russia, of course also opposes sanctions for the same reasons.
Egypt also weighed in on behalf of the Arab bloc, issuing a warning to the five permanent UNSC members against threatening the Sudanese government with sanctions.
The Sudan knows that with oil to sell, Russia and China in its corner and its fellow Arab nations opposing any halt to its jihad, it is free to continue the ethnic cleansing, mass rape and slave taking in Darfur.
The US is still operating under the fantasy of creating Arab allies against Iran and is unwilling to do anything that might upset the Arab bloc, and Britain has already shown its weakness even when confronted with overt acts of war. Neither country is likely to risk anything much " because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing”, as another long ago British Prime Minister once said.
Of course, as he later found out, things usually don't stop there.
1 comment:
No blood for oil eh. Apparently blood for oil is okay when China and Russia are involved. Where are the anti war critics or the human rights groups? Where are the environmental groups to block Chinese oil drilling. They are no where to be found. They are not really interested in opposing war, fighting for the environment, or supporting human rights. They are simply a shill for Russia and Chian and act as a front for Russian and Chinese interests.
Your last sentence is spot on. Things seldom stop there. Even if the US and the UK withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, this war will still follow them home.
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