Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Wins Election! Genocide? What Genocide?

Sometimes it's appropriate to let bygones be bygones. Sometimes, not.

Take the example of a small country whose military ruler likes to be called "president," and who had an election recently to prove his point. Several years ago, natives in a backward part of this small country dropped dead in large numbers. Rather abruptly, in many cases.

"Genocide" is such a harsh word. And, just because the International Court indicted this gentleman regarding those dead natives: well, can't we just forget the past and move on?

Looks like that's what's happening.

And I'm not comfortable about the situation. At all.

'Genocide' is Such a Harsh Word

The small country is Sudan. The leader is Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. He won an election recently. The official poll numbers say so.

The BBC didn't, as far as I could tell, mention the little matter of dead natives in the Darfur region on Sudan. CNN did, in the 14th paragraph of their article:

"...Al-Bashir, a former military officer who took power in a bloodless coup in 1989, has been indicted over allegations of war crimes by the International Criminal Court...." (14th paragraph, CNN)

Genocide? CNN didn't bring up that little matter. It's such a harsh word, anyway.

Besides, it's those Americans who claim that lots of black people dropping dead in Sudan was genocide:

"...When rebels took up arms in Darfur, he armed militias to crush the uprising, unleashing a wave of violence Washington still calls genocide -- a charge dismissed by Khartoum...."
(Reuters)

The concentration camps? Hey, those kids were "rebels" who "took up arms" - and besides, it's the American government that's fussing about it. 'Everybody knows' what those Americas are like.

And anyway, they weren't called "concentration camps." Millions of people were displaced - a nice way of saying "forced out of their homes" - and humanitarian aid was easier to deliver if the refugees were mostly in a few places. Then, convoys carrying food and other supplies to the camps were attacked.

Genocide, Oppression, and All That

Not everybody is on the same page as the American government, when it comes to that little oopsie in Sudan. News, quoted in an earlier post, from 2008:

"Sudan President's Arrest Sought by ICC Over Darfur (Update5)"
Bloomberg (July 14, 2008)

"The International Criminal Court's prosecutor is seeking the arrest of Sudan's President Umar al- Bashir, alleging he bears 'criminal responsibility' for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur....

"...The ICC is the only permanent tribunal for prosecuting individuals responsible for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Its first judges were installed in 2003.

"The ICC has approved 12 arrest warrants that resulted in the custody of four people, said Dicker.

"The court was modeled on temporary tribunals set up to try war crime cases stemming from conflicts in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia as well as the first such trials held in the German city of Nuremberg after World War II...."

CNN wasn't quite as reticent about that little matter of genocide back then:

"CNN exclusive: ICC prosecutor on Darfur charges"
CNN (July 14, 2008)

"The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide in a five-year campaign of violence in the country's Darfur region. Luis Moreno-Ocampo spoke exclusively to CNN's Nic Robertson ahead of his announcement on Monday of the charges.

"Nic Robertson: What exactly are you accusing President Bashir of?

"Luis Moreno-Ocampo: We request a warrant for the crime of genocide -- 6a, b and c -- basically massive rapes and the condition of 2.5 million people -- in addition we charged him with crimes against humanity and war crimes.

"Q. For genocide though -- attempt to destroy an ethnic group in whole or in part -- which is an intent -- how do you prove intent?..."

"Sudanese president charged with genocide"
CNN (July 14, 2008)

"The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudan's president for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.

"Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia...."

Not everybody sees what happened in Sudan quite the same way, though:

"Arab parliament slams ICC move against Sudanese president "
Xinhua (July 15, 2008)

"The Interim Arab Parliament (IAP) on Monday criticized the plan of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.

"The IAP is 'amazed and dismayed' by reports of the ICC move, which is stirring Arab nations' concern, head of the parliament Mohamed Jassem al-Saqr said in a statement.

"The ICC move raises the fear that the international court could become a tool of major world powers to intimidate smaller countries, al-Saqr was quoted as saying...."

Well, we wouldn't want those "major world powers" to get in the way of national leaders purging their lands of people they don't like, would we?

Seriously, the possibility of a judicial system used for coercive purposes is real. But I think the Interim Arab Parliament might have chosen a better paragon to defend.

Still, with Saudi Arabia setting the standard of excellence for Islamic nations - - - well, that's another topic.

Islam has No Monopoly on Whack Jobs

This would be a good time to highlight a post that's in the "related posts" section:

• "Islam, Christianity, Culture, and Kooks"
  (November 26, 2007)

Related posts:

• "Darfur and the United Nations: Something's Happened"
  (July 14, 2008)
• "Darfur: Overview of the Current Mess, and Some Background"
  (April 23, 2008)
• "Good News for Infidel Teacher:
  Still No News on Anti-Islamic Teddy Bear"
  (December 3, 2007)
• "Sudan Defends Islam Against Blasphemous Teddy Bear"
  (November 28, 2007)
• "Islam vs. the Blasphemous Teddy Bear"
  (November 27, 2007)
• "Islam, Christianity, Culture, and Kooks"
  (November 26, 2007)

In the news:

• "Sudan president wins election, officials say"
  CNN (April 26, 2010)
• "President Omar al-Bashir declared winner of Sudan poll"
  BBC (April 26, 2010)
• "NEWSMAKER-Election win poses test for Sudan's Bashir "
  Reuters (April 26, 2010)

Darfur and the United Nations: Something's Happened

The International Criminal Court wants to arrest Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The charge is genocide.

I have little doubt that al-Bashir is responsible for much of the death and suffering in southwestern Sudan.

• If
  • President al-Bashir is arrested
  • He's brought to trial
  • The trial goes smoothly
• Then
  • There might be some relief for the people in Darfur
  • Al-Bashir's supporters might start starving, raping, and killing more often then they are now
  • What the ICC is doing might cause more suffering in the short term, but help end the Darfur problem

The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm very glad I don't have to make decisions for the ICC.

The matter of placing a head of state under arrest is rather new in international law. The International Criminal Court is a new organization, with roots going back only a little over a half-century, to the Nuremberg trials.

What we're seeing could be as important as the Magna Carta. But I'm not looking forward to what's likely to happen in the short run.

Previous post on this topic:

• "Darfur and the United Nations: Something's Happening"
  (July 11, 2008)

Sudan's President and the ICC in the news:

• "Sudan President's Arrest Sought by ICC Over Darfur (Update5)"
  Bloomberg (July 14, 2008)
  • "July 14 (Bloomberg) -- The International Criminal Court's prosecutor is seeking the arrest of Sudan's President Umar al- Bashir, alleging he bears 'criminal responsibility' for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur....
  • "...The ICC is the only permanent tribunal for prosecuting individuals responsible for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Its first judges were installed in 2003.
  • "The ICC has approved 12 arrest warrants that resulted in the custody of four people, said Dicker.
  • "The court was modeled on temporary tribunals set up to try war crime cases stemming from conflicts in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia as well as the first such trials held in the German city of Nuremberg after World War II...."
• "CNN exclusive: ICC prosecutor on Darfur charges"
  CNN (July 14, 2008)
  • "(CNN) -- The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide in a five-year campaign of violence in the country's Darfur region. Luis Moreno-Ocampo spoke exclusively to CNN's Nic Robertson ahead of his announcement on Monday of the charges.
  • "Nic Robertson: What exactly are you accusing President Bashir of?
  • "Luis Moreno-Ocampo: We request a warrant for the crime of genocide -- 6a, b and c -- basically massive rapes and the condition of 2.5 million people -- in addition we charged him with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
  • "Q. For genocide though -- attempt to destroy an ethnic group in whole or in part -- which is an intent -- how do you prove intent?..."
• "Sudanese president charged with genocide"
  CNN (July 14, 2008)
  • "(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudan's president for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.
  • "Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia...."
• "Arab parliament slams ICC move against Sudanese president "
  Xinhua (July 15, 2008)
  • "CAIRO, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Interim Arab Parliament (IAP) on Monday criticized the plan of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.
  • "The IAP is 'amazed and dismayed' by reports of the ICC move, which is stirring Arab nations' concern, head of the parliament Mohamed Jassem al-Saqr said in a statement.
  • "The ICC move raises the fear that the international court could become a tool of major world powers to intimidate smaller countries, al-Saqr was quoted as saying...."

Darfur and the United Nations: Something's Happening

The International Criminal Court (ICC) may - or may not - issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. If that happens, it will be the first time that a head of state has been indicted by the ICC while in office.

The Darfur region of Sudan is a mess, and Sudan has been a prime example of weirdly Islamic bullying ("Sudan Defends Islam Against
Blasphemous Teddy Bear" (November 28, 2007)).

I think that what the ICC is expected to do Monday makes sense, and is just.

• This could be as big a change how global affairs work, as the Magna Carta was, in the way national governments work.
• Or, it could be a flash in the pan, with little long-term significance.
• Worse, it could be the start of trouble on a global scale: United Nations leaders, using the authority of the ICC and the power of 'peacekeepers,' to purge ideologically impure regimes from the world - or turn a profit, making the Oil for Food scandal look like stealing petty cash.

I'm no huge fan of the United Nations. My opinion is that the delegates and officials of the global body are just as human and prone to weakness as anyone else. And almost a half-century of United Nations squabbles has done nothing to change that opinion.

However, it's the closest thing we've got to a global legal authority that's competent to deal with situations like Darfur.

I think it's time to give the rule of law a test-run on the global stage.

In the news:

• "Ambassador: Sudanese president may be charged with genocide"
  CNN (July 11, 2008)
• "ICC prosecutor likely to name Sudan's Bashir-UN envoy"
  Reuters (July 11, 2008)
  • "UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is likely to seek the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in a new war crimes case he will open on Darfur on Monday, a senior European envoy said on Friday.
  • "The prosecution said in a statement on Thursday Luis Moreno-Ocampo would submit to judges "evidence on crimes committed in the whole of Darfur over the last five years" and seek to charge an individual or individuals but gave no details.
  • "Sudan has said any such move could undermine the peace process in Darfur and aid officials fear a potential backlash. The Darfur investigation also could embarrass China, Sudan's close ally, just weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics...."
  • "China has advised Sudan to cooperate with U.N. efforts to resolve the Darfur crisis but has faced Western criticism as Khartoum's biggest arms supplier and for not using its oil and investment stakes to press harder for an end to the conflict.
• "Sudan condemns UN Darfur attack"
  BBC (July 10, 2008)
  • "...Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the attack, and urged Western governments to deal more firmly with Darfur rebels.
  • "UN officials have said they suspect the government-backed Janjaweed militia were responsible for the assault, which also left 22 troops wounded...."
• "ICC to seek arrest of Sudan's Beshir: report"
  AFP (July 11, 2008)
  • "THE HAGUE (AFP) — Prosecutors on the International Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir next week for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, reports said Friday.
  • "ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will request the warrant on Monday in the first-ever bid before The Hague-based tribunal to charge a sitting head of state with war crimes, said the Washington Post, citing diplomats and UN officials...."
  • "UN officials in Sudan said the Janjaweed -- state-backed Arab militia -- were suspected of carrying out the attack, while Sudan's government blamed the attack on rebels in Darfur.
  • "According to the Washington Post, representatives of the UN Security Council's five permanent members -- China, Britain, the United States, France and Russia -- met UN officials Thursday on the safety of Darfur peacekeepers in the wake of the attack...."
  • "Beshir's regime has refused to allow the deployment of Nepalese, Scandinavian and Thai soldiers and remains reluctant about any non-African troops reinforcing the mission.
  • "In talks with UN Security Council ambassadors in Khartoum last month, after Moreno-Ocampo accused the Sudan state apparatus of war crimes in Darfur, Beshir slammed what he called a vicious campaign against his country.
  • "Sudan rejects the ICC's jurisdiction and refuses to surrender two war crimes suspects already named.
  • "NGO Human Rights Watch said the possibility of Beshir's arrest was 'very exciting'.
  • "If the rumours were true, 'for us this is what the institution was created for ... the fight against impunity' at the highest level, spokeswoman Geraldine Mattioli told journalists in The Hague...."

---

Update July 11, 2008
Another news link:
"Sudan Leader To Be Charged With Genocide"
Washington Post (July 11, 2008)
(Link provided by cooper in a comment on "Darfur - Heads Up!" (BlogCatalog discussion thread, started July 11, 2008)))

Darfur: Overview of the Current Mess, and Some Background

• Bad news:
  People are still dying in Darfur. And, the situation isn't getting any better
• Good news:
  More people are becoming aware of Darfur.

At first glance, Darfur doesn't seem to have much to do with the War on Terror. Despite this Sudanese borderland's position outside the Middle East, I think that the humanitarian disaster in Darfur is very much part of the 21st century's first major conflict.

Sudan is run by Islamic Arabs, but isn't an Arab country:

• Black 52%
• Arab 39%
• Beja 6%
• Foreigners 2%
• Other 1% ¹

It is an "Islamic" country, but not the way Saudi Arabia, for example, is:

• Sunni Muslim 70% (in north)
• Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)
• Indigenous beliefs 25% ¹

The presence of Islam and Arabs isn't what makes Sudan a part of the War on Terror. It's what Islamic Arabs are doing to the blacks. And, the way that Sudan recently protected Islam from a blasphemous teddy bear.

Since Darfur is still relatively unfamiliar, I thought it might be helpful to pull together a little of what's happening, and what led up to the current situation.

Darfur in the News This Week

"U.N.: 100,000 more dead in Darfur than reported"
CNN (April 22, 2008)
Excerpts:

• "... 300,000 are believed to have died in the tribal conflict in the past two years, said John Holmes, who also is the United Nations emergency relief coordinator.
  "Holmes said that sexual violence has increased and that food allotments for civilians affected by the civil war will be halved in a few days."
• " 'Darfur today is still characterized by insecurity, lawlessness and impunity,' he said. 'A particularly worrying feature is evidence of high levels of sexual violence and exploitation in the northern corridor of west Darfur over the past two months.'
  "This is shown by the increased number of women and girls seeking treatment after sexual brutality, Holmes said."
• "Six aid workers have been killed this year, and 42 humanitarian posts have been attacked.
  "The supply line also is hurt by soaring food prices: The price of staples such as millet has doubled since April 2007, Holmes said.
  "While expressing gratitude to the Sudanese government for improved cooperation under various agreements, Holmes said there still is no physical access to internally displaced persons and some other groups.
  "He said he was 'saddened and angry' that after five years, there has been no lasting solution to the suffering."

"U.N. Says Darfur Conflict Getting Worse With Perhaps 300,000 Dead"
FOXNews (April 22, 2008)

Excerpts:

• "The conflict began in early 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. Many of the worst atrocities in the war have been blamed on the janjaweed militia of Arab nomads allied with the government."
• "Darfur's main rebel chief said Tuesday he told Security Council representatives last month that no peace talks can be held until security is restored.
  " 'Wrong negotiations will only complicate the matter and prolong the suffering of the people of Darfur,' Abdulwahid Elnur, head of the Sudan Liberation Movement, told The Associated Press during an interview in Paris, where he lives in exile.
  "When former U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland brought the Darfur conflict to the Security Council's attention in April 2004, he said approximately 750,000 people were in danger.
  "Today, Holmes told the council, 'of Darfur's estimated 6 million people, some 4.27 million have now been seriously affected by the conflict.' "
• "The U.N. World Food Program announced last week that it will have to halve the amount of food provided to Darfur's needy next month because humanitarian convoys are being attacked. The cut "could not come at a worse time ... as the rainy season approaches," Holmes said.
  "Egeland, the former U.N. humanitarian chief, estimated in 2006 that 200,000 people had lost their lives because of the conflict, from violence, disease and malnutrition. He said this was based on an independent mortality survey released in March 2005 by the U.N. World Health Organization.
  " 'That figure must be much higher now, perhaps half as much again,' Holmes said Tuesday.
  "Sudanese Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed countered that 'in our own calculations, the total number does not exceed 10,000.'
  "He said his government counts only people killed in fighting, saying there are no dead from malnutrition and starvation 'because in Darfur there is no epidemics, no starvations.' "

Sudan's Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed's remarkable statement reminded me of Iran's President Ahmadinejad's remarks about homosexuals in Iran in 2007. The Iranian president's claim was so outrageous that even Columbia University students laughed.

Maybe, Sunni or Shi'a, Islamic regimes that don't approve of the post-Magna Carta world have a common way of dealing with facts they don't like: pretend the facts aren't there.

Darfur: What's Happened in the Last Half-Century

I found a somewhat more complete background at another website:

"Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese."

• First civil war ended, 1972
• Civil war broke out again, 1983
  • More than 4,000,000 people displaced
  • Rebels say 2,000,000 people died
• Peace talks with several signed accords, 2002-2004
• Final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005
  • Granted southern rebels autonomy for six years
  • Referendum for independence is to be held after those six years
• A different conflict broke out in the western region of Darfur, 2003
  • Almost 2,000,000 people displaced in this conflict
  • An estimated 200,000 to 400,000 people died as a result of this second conflict
• Command of Darfur peacekeeping operation transferred from the African Union to the UN, December 31, 2007
• Peacekeeping troops struggling to stabilize the situation, early 2008
• The Darfur/Sudan mess is becomming increasingly regional
  • Eastern Chad is becomming unstable
  • Sudan has entered the Central African Republic
  • Refugees, mostly from Ethiopia and Chad, entered Sudan

"Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations."¹

---

¹ Unless otherwise noted, quotes and data are from "The World Factbook, Sudan," CIA

Carter Meetings Proof: Hamas a National Liberation Movement? Reality Check, Please

Former President Jimmy Carter's one-man peace initiative continues today.

This morning's news had some remarkable items. For starters, Hamas now has legitimacy, the American administration's policies are crumbling, and Palestinians are worse off than any group in Africa.

Reality Check, Please!

There's more to discuss in the news than what I'm going to write about, but another wave of, ah, information, is coming, and I've got to get ready to deal with that. So, here are my highlights.

Hamas: a Legitimate National Liberation Movement?

I don't think it's much of a surprise that the Carter meetings prove that Hamas is a National Liberation Movement. At least, according to prominent leaders in the region.

That's what Gaza Hamas leader, Mushir Al-Masri, said:

"Hamas officials have said the meetings with Carter have accorded the group legitimacy. Mushir Al-Masri, one of the group's leaders in Gaza, said the meetings with Carter were proof that Hamas was not a terrorist group, but a national liberation movement. According to him, countries and groups are beginning to understand that Hamas is a power to reckon with and the region will not have calm or stability without engaging the group. 'It confirms the failure of the US and European policies of ignoring Hamas,' he said. 'It confirms that all the countries that assume Hamas is a terrorist group should reconsider.' "
("Carter Defies Israeli & US Warnings, Meets Khaled Meshaal in Damascus" Arab News (April 19, 2008)) [emphasis mine]

But Carter is just a private citizen, right?

He doesn't represent the American government, right?

Or Israel, either, right?

Right. Just the same, this is what we're reading:

Carter-Hamas Meeting Proves American Administration's Policy Failure?

"Muhammad Nazzal, a top figure in the group's [Hamas] political bureau, endorsed Al-Masri's comments.

" 'Political isolation of Hamas by the American administration has begun to crumble,' he told reporters after the Carter-Meshaal meeting.

"Carter earlier met Syrian President Bashar Assad. Syrian news agency SANA said they discussed the peace process and relations between the two countries.

"The two men expressed 'their support for dialogue in arriving at political solutions to problems' and considered it important to 'mobilize efforts to reduce the suffering of the Palestinians and to lift the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.'

"Carter insists he is not acting as a mediator and has been urging talks with Hamas and Syria, saying peace cannot be reached without them.

" 'I think it's absolutely crucial that in a final dreamed-about and prayed-for peace agreement for this region that Hamas be involved and that Syria be involved,' he said in Tel Aviv.

"Carter in Cairo on Thursday described Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip as a crime and an atrocity. He said Palestinians in Gaza were being 'starved to death,' receiving fewer calories a day than people in the poorest parts of Africa.

" 'It's an atrocity that is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza,' he said."
("Carter meets top Hamas leader" IRNA (April 19, 2008)) [emphasis mine] [Comparison of the Arab News and IRNA articles show interesting parallels.]

It doesn't matter that "Carter insists he is not acting as a mediator and has been urging talks with Hamas and Syria, saying peace cannot be reached without them."

" 'Political isolation of Hamas by the American administration has begun to crumble,' " according to a VIP in the Middle East - and that's the line that the news is taking.

Former President Jimmy Carter's meetings with Hamas leaders, including Khaled Meshaal, proves that the American government is unwilling to use force against a former president. Whether the meetings prove that "Political isolation of Hamas by the American administration has begun to crumble," as Muhammad Nazzal said: that remains to be seen.

I do think that these remarkable proclamations of legitimacy and crumbling were predictable consequences of Mr. Carter's actions.

Reality Check: Calories per Day

Former President Jimmy Carter is, clearly, a compassionate man.

As that article in IRNA said:

"Carter in Cairo on Thursday described Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip as a crime and an atrocity. He said Palestinians in Gaza were being 'starved to death,' receiving fewer calories a day than people in the poorest parts of Africa.

" 'It's an atrocity that is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza,' he said."

Here's a bit of advice for persuasive speakers: Don't mix facts and emotion, unless the facts support your view!

Mr. Carter is, I think, genuinely compassionate. He is not, however, very well informed.

Someone made a serious mistake last month, in "Slaughter in Gaza- the Warsaw Ghetto of the 21st Century" (UNITYblogNZ.com / Hosted by Socialist Worker-New Zealand in the interests of broad left unity (March 2, 2008)). The post itself is a well-done example of persuasive writing, described - among other things - the appalling and horrible manner in which the Jews are oppressing and starving the Palestinians.

There was the usual:

"ALL OUT-
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION
AGAINST WAR AND OCCUPATION
12 noon MARCH 15th
AOTEA SQUARE, AUCKLAND

(a) End the occupation of Iraq
(b) Freedom for Palestine
(c) No NZ Troops in Afghanistan"

Then, in a section headed, "Warsaw Ghetto and Gaza: Disturbing Parallels Commentary: Steve Hutcheson, Arab News," I read a heartfelt appeal for the poor, suffering Palestinians. It included this paragraph:

"The Nazis reduced the average calorie intake of the Jewish inhabitants of the ghetto to 241 calories per day. So too have the Israelis reduced the calorie intake of the Palestinians in Gaza. According to a UN report, it is presently at 61 percent of the average daily requirements."

Big, big mistake. It's a well-written post: plenty of pathos; gobs of gut-wrenching descriptions of human misery heaped on oppressed masses by Jewish (and American) oppressors.

That paragraph is acceptable, in the context of that post. However, it contains numbers, and a comparison.

The post itself doesn't suffer. But, by introducing facts into a discourse on the plight of the Palestinians, it put a spike strip on the information highway: one that Former President Carter hit.

Sub-Standard Diets: Some Facts

I put a little chart together, based on resources I found today, about people with sub-standard diets:

		K. Calories/Day
	WFP Minimum Daily Requirement	2,100
	Ghetto Jews	241
	Palestinians	*1,281
	Darfuris, 2006	1,050
	Darfuris, 2008**	1,242

* 1,281 is 61 percent of 2,100.
** The situation in Darfur has changed since 2006. It's now about 1,242 kilocalories per day per person. ("UN cuts food rations in Darfur" Thaindian News (April 18, 2008))

Okay. Palestinians are getting about as many calories as an Americans on some freak diet, and Darfuris. Not good. And, maybe it is the fault of the Jews: although I don't entirely buy that.

Numbers for the minimum daily requirement, and the Darfuris' diet, are from the Environment News Service:

"U.S. Lawmakers Arrested at Sudanese Embassy Protesting Darfur Genocide"
Environment News Service (May 1, 2006)

"The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said Friday that a severe shortage of funds has forced it to make drastic cuts in food rations to displace Darfuris starting today.

"By reducing the daily rations to as little as 1,050 kilocalories, half the minimum daily requirement of 2,100 kilocalories per person, WFP says its limited food stocks will last longer during the 'hunger season,' the annual period from July to September when needs are the greatest before the next harvest."

Darfuris? Who's That? Darfur is a part of western Sudan, where people are being starved to death. It's a major scandal, or it should be.

There is, however, an important difference between Darfur and Gaza. "The Jews" can be blamed for the Gaza problems. The Darfur region is part of Sudan, and Sudan is not run by Jews.

I can't help think that this may part of the reason why it took so long for Darfur to get in the news, and why we hear so much about Gaza and the Palestinians.

Now, there's more in the news about Carter the Peacemaker.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

The War on Terror: It's Not Just the Middle East

Just a reminder: The war on terror isn't limited to the Middle East. There's trouble all over. And, the situation is complicated. These are excerpts: headlines and the first two or three paragraphs from today's news.

"Somalia sinks into greater chaos as Islamist insurgents gain ground"
International Herald Tribune (March 28, 2008)

"MOGADISHU, Somalia: The trouble started when government soldiers went to the market and, at gunpoint, began helping themselves to sacks of grain.

"Islamist insurgents poured into the streets to defend the merchants. The government troops got hammered, taking heavy casualties and retreating all the way back to the presidential palace, supposedly the most secure place in the city. It, too, came under fire."

---

"For victims of Tibet riots, a complex fate"
International Herald Tribune (March 28, 2008)

"SHANGHAI: In life, the five young women who burned to death in a Chinese clothing store during rioting in Tibet on March 14 were not the types who would make headlines.

"One had received permission from her family to follow her fiancé to Lhasa; another sent home most of her wages to support 13 relatives; several sent text messages in the minutes before they died, warning loved ones to stay indoors as violence erupted.

"In death, though, the women are being treated as martyrs. The Chinese government has been using their deaths to support its version of what happened on "3/14," when Tibet experienced its worst day of violence in 20 years. In that version, broadcast by state-controlled media, ethnic Tibetans took to Lhasa's streets, unprovoked, burning and looting shops that were owned by Han Chinese."

(I think that China is going to be involved in the war on terror, if it isn't already. The Chinese government has much to gain by exploiting instability in its part of the world. I doubt that Chinese leaders will ignore the opportunity.)

---

"Hollywood stars help sustain Darfur aid flights-WFP"
Reuters (March 28, 2008)

"GENEVA, March 28 (Reuters) - Money from Europe and a charity co-founded by Hollywood actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle will help maintain humanitarian flights in Darfur through April, the United Nations said on Friday.

"The $6 million donated by Ireland, the European Union and the Clooney-backed Not On Our Watch will allow the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) to hire helicopters and aircraft to ferry aid workers to Sudan's war-torn region for 30 days."

Darfur, Sudan's western region, is a mess. I wrote about it, back in November of 2007. It doesn't look like much has changed: except that some Hollywood celebrities collected enough money to fly food to people there for another month. Which does help.

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As I said: the war on terror isn't just in the Middle East.

Last year, Sudan's Islamic leaders seemed more focused on a blasphemous teddy bear, than on the chronic disaster in Darfur.

Today, Somalia is still without anything that could be called a stable government. Or a "government," period. So, Somalis have a situation where "government" soldiers loot grain, and insurgents try to protect the merchants from the soldiers.

Meanwhile, China is trying to look as if it isn't the overlord of an unwilling Tibet. There aren't any Muslims involved: but I'm still inclined to see that situation as part of the current global conflict.

Osama bin Laden: Something Old, Something New

Excerpts from Osama bin Laden's latest audio tape played on Al-Jazeera television yesterday: along with a still photo of the Islamic philosopher and apparent spiritual leader of Al Qaeda.

There was a surprise in the excerpts, and something that wasn't so surprising.

First, the non-surprise.

"It is the duty of the people of Islam in the Sudan and its environs, especially the Arabian Peninsula, to perform jihad against the Crusader invaders and wage armed rebellion to remove those who let them in," a translation and transcript provided by IntelCenter. (Hats off to the Boston Herald for telling where they got the information. IntelCenter monitors extremist Web sites.)

Bin Laden is talking about U.N. 'peacekeepers' in Darfur, trying to slow down the genocide there. This 'death to the peacekeepers' thing is hardly news. Bin Laden deputy, Ayman al-Zawhiri, did a jihad cal for Darfur in a September 20 video. Bin Laden
did about the same thing back in 2006, telling his followers to fight a proposed U.N. force in Sudan.

Another tape, another jihad: Not really news.

An article in the Sudan Tribune pointed out something unusual in the latest audio recording released by bin Laden. "In the sections of the message broadcast Monday, bin Laden took the highly uncharacteristic step of acknowledging that al-Qaida had made mistakes and chiding followers for not uniting their ranks — a reference to the squabbles among various insurgent groups in Iraq.

" 'Everybody can make a mistake, but the best of them are those who admit their mistakes,' " he said. "Mistakes have been made during holy wars but mujahideen have to correct their mistakes."

Osama bin Laden's very unusual criticism of his followers may be more than "the squabbles among various insurgent groups in Iraq." It could be that Al Qaeda and company in Iraq did such an effective job bombing and beheading their way out of the hearts and minds of Iraqis, that bin Laden believed that a public reprimand was called for.

It's not good news for Al Qaeda, when an AP article says, "October is on course to record the second consecutive decline in U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths and Americans commanders say they know why: the U.S. troop increase and an Iraqi groundswell against al-Qaida and Shiite militia extremists."

Major General Rick Lynch pointed out that Shiites and Sunnis have joined Americans in defending Iraq: 20,000 "Concerned Citizens" in the past four months.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.