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Thursday, February 8, 2007 - 9:30am Bill Richardson Pushes for Troops in Darfur I guess you have to be running for something before you lift a finger to take any action in the world. Presidential candidate and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson declared that the Darfur region of Sudan needs United Nations troops to control the violence and bloodshed. Richardson went to Sudan earlier this year and was able to free an American journalist. He also tried to broker a cease-fire. Richardson was promised a ceasefire from three warring factions, but one group reneged on the deal the next day.
Give Bill Richardson credit for going to Sudan and making an effort. It is more than President Bush has ever done. However, what did Richardson do with regard to Darfur before he decided to run for President? My guess is not a whole lot. He does have a long history of peace efforts, but I have not seen many people going out of their way to help in Darfur until now.
Darfur has seen over 200,000 people die for no other reason than they are not the same race as the government. Another 2.5 million people have been left homeless. The government of Sudan is exterminating people, yet the American government does nothing. The United Nations wants to place 17,000 troops into the country to protect Darfur, but nobody has pressured the Sudanese government to allow them.
If George Bush is so intent on bombing someone, why not drop a couple on the home of Sudanese President Omar Bashir? I'm betting Bashir or his successor would allow United Nations troops into Sudan immediately thereafter. If we bomb Iran, we face the distinct possibility of a regional war that could last a decade. If we bomb the Sudanese government, we could save hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur. The answer seems pretty clear to me.
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