Rice Visits Darfur Camp, Pressures Sudan

ABU SHOUK, Sudan, July 21 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Thursday with women who had been raped during a campaign of ethnic violence in Sudan's Darfur region, as she sought to pressure the government to deal with a problem that has persisted despite an apparent easing of the humanitarian crisis.

Rice heard the women's stories during a 90-minute stop at this sprawling camp of mud-brick homes, a showpiece that has become required stop for dignitaries visiting Darfur. Dozens of children greeted her with welcoming chants of "Marhab, marhab, ya Condoleezza," but other camp residents were kept outside a compound of seven huts while she spoke with aid workers and the group of women, and gave a succession of interviews.

Rice met with about 15 women, who were shielded from public view in one of the huts, and emerged looking moved by their plight. She called their stories "unbelievable but . . . true," though she declined to discuss the details because she said she feared the women were vulnerable to retribution.

Surrounded by children clutching soccer balls in the blazing heat, Rice said she had a new appreciation for what she called "a devastating crisis for so many people," especially the women and children who told her "how hard life is here."

"... Forgive me if I repeat something I just wrote on another thread.

We should be arming the South Sudanese. We should be sending trainers in, we should be handing out rifles and RPG's like candy."

I believe you're mistaking the two seperate conflicts ongoing in the Sudan. The first and oldest conflict is in the Southern Sudan between the Animist Africans and the Muslim government in Khartoum.

Next is the ongoing genocide in Darfur (a 'state' in West Sudan) where the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia is eradicating villages of 'African' blacks. In that case, both sides can be Muslim, but the distinction is purelay racial -- the villagers being slaughtered are dark-skinned, as opposed to the 'Arab' government forces of Khartoum. That war has been going on for generations too, made worse with creeping desertification swallowing up arable farmland. What's new about it is that the Janjaweed are now well-equipped trained soldiers by African standards, and now they receive air support directly from the government of Khartoum. They're practically indistinguishable from the government army. The modernized ordnance they use is all Chinese and Pakistani, as if we should be surprised. If there's one thing both sides have enough of over there, it's small arms.

The Sudanese government erases Darfur African villages by sending in their vintage Soviet cargo aircraft to drop bombs, followed by HIND-D attack helicopters to strafe the fleeing civilians. The Janajaweed militia then moves in to slaughter the survivors and erase their village.

If the United States wanted to do something cheap that would help a lot, we'd take thirty minutes out of our day and turn the 22 or so attack helicopters and planes that Sudan has into smoking scrap aluminum with one simple air raid. Maybe if we're lucky we could kill their aviators as they sleep in their barracks.

For more information, read the firsthand report of Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA):

http://www.house.gov/wolf/issues/hr/trips/sudanrpt_web.pdf (Adobe Acrobat .PDF link)

Also, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a special report with graphic pictures of the ongoing conflict.

http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/alert/darfur/steidle/

I believe you're mistaking the two seperate conflicts ongoing in the Sudan. The first and oldest conflict is in the Southern Sudan between the Animist Africans and the Muslim government in Khartoum.

Your post #6 is an excellent description of what is happening there. In the South, the war is against African animists and Christians, who have fought a long armed struggle, and have been decimated.

Absolutely no one cares.

In the southwest the war is against African muslims, and only in this case has the world managed to feign interest. In this case, the fighting is entirely one-sided. It is a mistake even to refer to it as fighting, as there is no fight. There is only slaughter and mayhem.

My point is that charitable relief can't stop the killing because it isn't designed to stop it, it is designed only to care for the survivors, those few that survive.

And the Sudanese do not hesitate to enter the refugee camps, to threaten and beat the survivors and even to threaten and assault the workers in those camps. The troops there who provide security are insufficient to even protect the camp workers.

It wouldn't take much, as you say, to eliminate the Sudanese air support, a few RPG's in the hands of determined fighters would do it. And a few rifles in the hands of a few thousand determined fighters would take care of the rest.

In another thread, a Sudanese official remarks that "If you only disarm one side in the conflict the result is going to be genocide." He was referring to the proposed disarming of the Janjaweed militia. But obviously, he has a point. The Africans in the Darfur are disarmed and have no chance. The Africans in the South are inadequately armed and trained and have little chance for a convincing victory. Charity has its place, but a few trainers and a few rifles could change the situation on the ground. Let the Janjaweed worry if they are going to wake up tomorrow, for a change.

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