When last we looked at the
Darfur Accountability Act, it had passed the Senate and looked to be a genuine start for effective American help for besieged innocents in Sudan. Now President Bush is trying to scuttle the bill. This from
Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times:
Finally, finally, finally, President Bush is showing a little muscle on the issue of genocide in Darfur.
Is the muscle being used to stop the genocide of hundreds of thousands of villagers? No, tragically, it's to stop Congress from taking action.
Incredibly, the Bush administration is fighting to kill the Darfur Accountability Act, which would be the most forceful step the U.S. has taken so far against the genocide. The bill, passed by the Senate, calls for such steps as freezing assets of the genocide's leaders and imposing an internationally backed no-fly zone to stop Sudan's Army from strafing villages.
The White House was roused from its stupor of indifference on Darfur to send a letter, a copy of which I have in my hand, to Congressional leaders, instructing them to delete provisions about Darfur from the legislation.
Mr. Bush might reflect on a saying of President Kennedy: "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."
Bush's attempt to ignore the genocide occuring on his watch gives neutrality a bad name.
Public response is urgently needed; Congress must be persuaded to keep the bill's provisions to aid Darfur intact. The Save Darfur Coalition provides an email letter form that will send your message of concern to the leaders of the House conference team dealing with the bill, as well as to President Bush and your representative and senators. Contact them today.