Opinion (Darfur) 8/04/2005

All ears for Tom Cruise, all eyes on Brad Pitt
July 26, 2005 – The New York Times Op-Ed, Nicholas Kristof
“Some of us in the news media have been hounding President Bush for his shameful passivity in the face of genocide in Darfur. <...> Still, it seems hypocritical of me to rage about Mr. Bush's negligence, when my own beloved institution - the American media - has been at least as passive as Mr. Bush.”

Trip to Sudan creates clarity
July 26, 2005 – San Antonio Express Editorial
“No one should have been surprised, least of all Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, when Sudanese government security forces manhandled members of her diplomatic entourage and an American reporter during her recent visit to Khartoum. [Sec. of State Dr.] Rice has probably seen more evidence of the government-supported violence in Darfur than almost any world leader. Yet she, her State Department and the White House she serves have been disturbingly silent about the ongoing genocide that has killed an estimated 200,000 people and created more than 2 million refugees. “
[This was written before the article I wrote about the "death" of Vice President John Garang]

Each of us can help Darfur: Just let the horror seep in
July 21, 2005 – Philadelphia Enquirer Opinion
“There is much we can do: Push Congress and the President, for instance, to allocate sufficient resources for the African peacekeepers so desperately needed in the region. A $50 million appropriation approved in the Senate yesterday wasn't nearly enough. For those, like myself, who have come late to this issue, who have read about it and nodded in concern but haven't felt it with that mixture of guilt and outrage that prompts action, there still is time. Unfortunately. Promises of a cease-fire notwithstanding, the suffering in Darfur continues.”