Posted on 12/15/2006 9:35:17 PM PST by traumer
Actor George Clooney has spoken of the horrors he witnessed when he visited the Sudanese region of Darfur, saying the area urgently needs peacekeepers.
The Hollywood star told the BBC that the levels of murder and rape convinced him ethnic cleansing was occurring.
At least 200,000 people have died in the region and some 2.5 million are homeless after three years of fighting.
The sharply deteriorating security has led to the withdrawal of 250 relief workers, leaving many vulnerable.
Pressure
Mr Clooney told the BBC's Laura Trevelyan, in New York, that everyone he met in Darfur told of several family members who had been victims of targeted violence.
"That's not just a war," he said.
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Clooney lobbies on Darfur Q&A: Peacekeeping in Darfur
"That is actually ethnic cleansing."
He said a larger peacekeeping contingent was immediately needed and called on all rebel factions to sign up to a May ceasefire agreement.
Mr Clooney also spoke of a recent trip to both Egypt and China - two countries which he said could do more to encourage Sudan to increase the number of peacekeepers, a proposal that Khartoum rejects.
"We think that China has quietly been doing some negotiations; Egypt has been participating in the peace process - we think they can do a lot better," he told reporters in New York.
Accountability
In Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Sudan would be held accountable if it refused additional troops.
The violence has intensified despite the presence of some 7,000 African Union peacekeepers.
"The Sudanese need to be convinced that if they are not willing to accept help from the international system, then they're going to be held accountable for anything that happens," she told Reuters.
Also on Friday a group of six aid agencies said they had been forced to withdraw from Darfur because of the "unprecedented difficulties" of working in the region.
The group - which included Oxfam, the International Rescue Committee, Goal, Concern, World Vision and the Norwegian Refugee Council - said they were becoming direct targets of violence.
The conflict began in early 2003, when a rebellion by local groups triggered a counter-offensive by the army and government-backed Arab militias.
We ought to run everything by Clooney before we do it.
"Afghanistan? No. Iraq? No. Iran? No. North Korea? No. DARFUR! DARFUR!"
"The Sudanese need to be convinced that if they are not willing to accept help from the international system, then they're going to be held accountable for anything that happens,"
Oh, my goodness. Better get your act straight Sudan, or the U.N. will...pass a resolution against you. Oh, the horror!!!!
Yep- Dafur is the chic new buzzword these days for celebs- no Jews there, so the suffering is unnaceptable to them. http://sacredscoop.com
Who does he speak for... ?
Hollywood or Washington?
According to Liberals we should get out of Iraq because it's turning into a civil war. According to Liberals we should go into Dufar even though it's a civil war.
Clooney's got cash. Let him put his money where his mouth is and hire some mercenaries.
"That's not just a war," he said.
Oh, and just what the hell is it then?
According to Liberals we should get out of Iraq because it's turning into a civil war. According to Liberals we should go into Dufar even though it's a civil war.
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Good Point.
Liberals are Frauds.
They didn't care about Saddam's atrocities against his own people either.
On Darfur, I agree with G. Clooney if he means that good men and good nations should sweep away thugs, tyrants, genocide. It ain't UN peacekeepers going to do it. In these "neighborhoods", there should be mature, democratic countries whose people refuse to tolerate unspeakably evil murderers in their midst.
And if the West--for which read "the US"--sends troops into Darfur, who but the leftists and liberals like Clooney will fault us as warmongers? It's ever the way: America is begged to intervene in some bloodbath and if we finally break down and do it, we are considered worse than the original bandits, murderers, and slavers who started it.
"There's no threat to our national security in Iraq! Instead, we should send troops to Darfur!"
To be fair, Clooney's too big a weenie to even call for US troops. He'd rather pansy UN "peacekeepers" go over there and kill 'em with kindness, or whatever the hell they do.
Or ask for a little assistance from the French...they're not doing much these days.
This is ISLAM in action, doing what it does best - mindless violence.
As for Cluney, he would be FIRST in line to criticize US if we started butchering the butchers.
Sure, lets intervene in Darfur, but on one condition. We kill those responsible for the genocide. Not arrest, kill. Would Clooney be down with that?? Would the UN?? Nah, I didn't think so either. Smug bastards like to hear themselves talk and then they pat themselves on the back. I despise them.
Allow it to continue until the liberals accept there is one force behind ALL these conflict, Islam, and the liberals pony up to fight them.
IF Clueless Clueny is so concerned then why doesn't he spend his millions and do something about it? Hey George! step up to the plate and swing. He is so good wearing the US Army uniform when he gets payed to portray an officer. Hey George, why not wear a uniform of your own and dodge real bullets instead of John Wayne bullets! Coward! Idiot!
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