Senate sees little progress in Darfur

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing this morning to discuss “The Continuing Crisis in Darfur.” A long line awaited entrance to the hearing half an hour before it commenced, which Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE) cited as a testament to the resonance this issue has with the public. Biden, along with many other senators, said he believed the situation in Darfur is little improved since last year’s April hearing about a “Plan B” to stop the slow-motion genocide.


Jane Holl Lute, officer in charge of the United Nation’s Department of Field Support, cited in her briefing the proliferation of militia groups such as the Jingaweit who are motivated either ideologically or by the widespread lawlessness, as well as the food crisis as main contributors to the problem. She said she expected 80% of the U.N.’s ultimate troop deployment goal to be reached by the end of 2008.

A recurring theme at the hearing was the failure of the international community to contribute the 24 helicopters deemed necessary in Darfur. Biden said that he told President Bush to manufacture 8 new ones domestically if they could not be acquired elsewhere, and said that with a military budget of half a trillion dollars the U.S. should be able to get them. Lute said that there are 4,000 helicopters currently in NATO countries, and the fact that 24 have not been spared for Darfur shows that the genocide is not a high priority for most countries. Richard Williamson of the president’s special envoy to Sudan contrarily said he did not believe the helicopters were within the top three or four concerns, but that deploying troops to get “more boots on the ground” would be a greater help. He also said that President Bush feels “deeply” about the genocide.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said he believes that the U.S.’s lack of greater involvement in Darfur is due to overextension and “waste” in Iraq.

Biden asked if Darfur’s Muslim government is related to U.S. reluctance to intervene more, for fear that it will be perceived as yet again imposing its view on another Muslim culture. Lute replied that this has not been expressed as a significant concern.

Katherine Almquist, assistant administrator for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said that a military no-fly zone, seen as a possible solution by some, would be seen as a hostile act by the Sudanese government and could interfere with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Darfur.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) mentioned the recent Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe and the Sudan, and questioned whether or not the U.S. should pressure China to stop as these weapons will likely be used for repression of civilians and violations of human rights. Williamson said he “continues to be disappointed in China” for these reasons. Sen. Robert Menendez suggested that the U.S. might be allowing China to “get away with” so much because they own so much of its debt, and speculated as to what would happen if the Darfur genocide were occurring in Europe or some other part of the world not in Africa.

Discussion Examines the Role Diminishing Resources Play in World Affairs

The Council on Foreign Relations held a discussion entitled, "The Race for Resources: Conflict in the 21st Century" cosponsored by the Council's Center for Preventive Action. The discussion examined the consequences climate changes have on nations and their foreign policies, China's involvement in Darfur, and the diminishing supply of "usable" water in the world.

Participants in the discussion included Leon Fuerth, Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School for International Affairs, and Paul Kern, Senior Counselor of The Cohen Group. Kern argued that there is a connection between scarcities of resources throughout the world, particularly water, and conflicts between nations. Fuerth backed Kern's argument by discussing how aggravation in World War II and the Cold War was heightened by arguments over resources between participating nations.

David Victor, Director of the Energy and Sustainable Development Program and Professor of Law at Stanford University, talked about how "energy sources in Sudan have funded their war." He commented on China and India's dependency on Sudanese resources, although also mentioned that the Chinese have made progress in decreasing their dependency.

Students and teachers protest the genocide in Darfur

A student demonstrates shelters in refugee camps


Protest participants stage a "die-in" in a demonstration against genocide in Darfur

American University students participate in Darfur awareness

During an impassioned speech by Mohamed A. Yahya, Founder and Executive Director of DAMANGA, students at American University participated in the “die-in,” where they lay on the ground to symbolize the dead in Darfur.

At the Eric Friedheim Quadrangle on the main campus of AU, a mock refugee camp was set up, and groups concerned with Darfur had tables with information set up nearby. Among the groups was SaveDarfur.org, a group that says they want students to “Learn More and Take Action.” They said they encourage students and the public to visit their website and send messages to President Bush. They were selling Save Darfur t-shirts and green wrist-bands emblazoned with “Save Darfur. org” and “Not on Our Watch.”

Amnesty International was present as well, handing out buttons that said “End the Killing in Darfur,” and postcards that were pre-addressed to Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State. The postcards, they said, are designed to be mailed by concerned citizens to the office of the Secretary, because hopefully the mass amounts of them might catch some attention. The postcards are preprinted about the concern for Darfur, but included a section to write in the person’s name and address. Amnesty International also said they have an email campaign.

A group from Solar Household Energy, Inc. was prominently displaying different forms of inexpensive solar cookers to be used in preparing meals utilizing heat from the sun. Although it was overcast and drizzling, the pot that was sitting in the middle of the solar display was warm. Patricia McArdle, a member of the Board of Directors, explained that the solar cookers were like ‘crock-pots from the sun’ and not only were they inexpensive to buy, but they could actually be made by people using cardboard and mylar. Mylar, she said, could be something like a balloon or a solar blanket. The solar cookers are inexpensive and would keep the inhabitants of the poorer countries from cutting down so much of their forests.

In addition to the solar cookers, Solar Household Energy was displaying a basket that would hold a boiling pot of water (which would keep it warm for hours, in effect doing the same thing as a crock pot) and a coffee can that had been converted into a tiny stove, called a Rocket Stove. The Rocket was simply a coffee can that had been sliced, bent, and reshaped to harness the power of physics and make it possible for a few burning twigs to be able to boil a pot of water.

A history of genocide at a save Darfur demostration at American University