Politics | 12/11/2008 9:35 am

Bush's Darfur Meet and Greet Worth 1,000 Words

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

George W. Bush obviously wants to go out on a high note.

The president yesterday blasted Sudan for its ongoing inaction on genocide in the Darfur region. "I am frustrated with the pace of activities," said the outgoing president, who went on to insist that "the United Nations must expedite on sending troops, peacekeepers to provide security." Bush also stressed that the United States “must continue to rally the international community to put pressure on the government.” (Because we’ve been so effective thus far — Darfur’s been blood-soaked since 2003, when rebel clans took on the Sudanese government and sparked a war that has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives. Bush basically sat back and watched the mess unfold.)

Sudanese national Dr. Halima Bashir, who covered herself to prevent being targeted by enemies, also spoke out against the crisis, albeit with less force than the president: "We do not need to wait any more. We need real action,” said the well-placed Bashir. The soft-spoken intellectual chronicled her own tribulations in the book, Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur.

Now, we don’t want to question Bush’s commitment to Sudanese peace, but his stern warning yesterday, which was international human rights day, comes off as a publicity ploy more than anything else. He is, after all, trying to paint the best picture of his presidency as possible. And this one, which shows his deep interest in Bashir, speaks volumes.

Read more about: Africa, Darfur, Genocide, George W. Bush, Halima Bashir, News, Sudan, White House

31 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Well, better late than never, but then again, too little, too late.

By JJ GB on 12/11/2008 11:18 am

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Too little too late is exactly what this is. Georgie you’re an embarrassment to the world.

By f p on 12/11/2008 11:46 am

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Dr Bashir’s book was critiqued in the London Times weeks ago and she was interviewed in the same paper; the book is an important document for understanding the genocide being waged by the Sudanese government in Darfur. Her experiences were horrific; I have a strong stomach but what happened to her not only perpetrated by the Janjaweed killers fostered by the Sudanese Government but also by Sudanese military men nearly turned mine. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

By f p on 12/11/2008 11:53 am

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fp: You and Diana should stop hating your country. Or do you just hate Bush? How much of Obamas lying will you put up with before you see the light. Bush is the reason you haven’t been killed by a Muslim terroist. Since Clooney and Obama know each other, they email each other, lets see if Obama will stop the raping and killing in Darfur. I hope he does, but I doubt it.

By Frank Key on 12/12/2008 12:06 am

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No one even said ANYTHING about Obama (seriously, WTF??? You are like an obsessive, propagandist robot with the anti-Obama agenda), and since when is criticizing the sadistic power-abusing monkey in office considering hating one’s COUNTRY? Especially if we didn’t even VOTE for the guy in the first place? Just because YOU can’t separate a country from its politicians doesn’t mean everyone else is just as intellectually challenged. Flawless logic as usual, Frank (version 2.5)! “Bush is the reason you haven’t been killed by a Muslim terroist.” That is hilariously irrational. I see the Bush Regime’s brainwashing fear tactics have successfully worked their magic on you.

By Kryssi K on 12/12/2008 2:10 am

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considerED*

By Kryssi K on 12/12/2008 2:10 am

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Responding to you is like talking to a brick wall as you have all the intelligence of a brick wall. Go away little boy.

By f p on 12/12/2008 6:22 am

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I love my country just not the idiot knucledragging bigots like you.

By f p on 12/12/2008 8:59 am

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Some people fail to remember that this country was FOUNDED on dissent; not only that, our founders ENCOURAGE it!

By Kryssi K on 12/12/2008 5:09 pm

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How nice that Bush is “frustrated” with the Sudanese government. Gee, he must have been talking to Sting or George Clooney (and dad), who have been trying to keep this horror in the public eye for years. And so, what does he think he will do about it at this point? Cry? This inaction during Bushs’ watch is both shameful and disgusting at best, and it goes far beyond “too little, too late.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/opinion/11thu1.html?scp=2&sq=darfur&st…

By Diana T on 12/11/2008 11:56 am

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Thanks Diana for the article. Our country was so obsessed with the election that we (citizens) took our eye off the ball. I wonder what would happen if people in the US would start an email assault on the UN and Chinese and Russian politicians? Hmmmmm? Maybe start to throw in the EU - Why aren’t they doing anything? France usually votes with Russia in the Security Council instead of us, maybe we could turn that.

By Frannie Em on 12/11/2008 12:48 pm

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We need to take the lead in this like we used to do things before the Bush administration started outsourcing its diplomacy. And, this is an older problem than the election. I think this country has become so self-absorbed on several levels over the past few years that we need to re-engage with the rest of the world and discover the compassion we used to have. And, the administration took its eye off the genocide ball when it decided to max out our military and resources in Iraq. On the AIDs subject, I must say that Bush has been pro-active in that realm for some time, and I commend him for it.

By Diana T on 12/11/2008 1:11 pm

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Right now, we don’t have the money to do anything, and American philanthropists had better start supporting American’ needs, fast. The EU is doing something about Darfur, though. Bush is merely grand-standing, again, and his exit-strategy is sickening. As for his aid on AIDS, it was restricted only to abstinence programs - a lot of good that did. The world’s AIDS leaders tried to convince him, but it did no good (how quickly he forgot that he was “dried out” by his father’s money, and I suspect the only ultimatum was “dry out” no buts, ifs, etc. Perhaps had Laura traveled around reading to those populations about the facts of life as the First Lady … at least she would depart with something to her credit as a person who occupied our home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave - though, it is a shame that she’s had to put up with him all this time. As before he ran for president, he gave us his pre-campaign for pres phony rhetoric, “compassionate conservative” lies and bs. Something about “America is strong enough to help uninsured and poverty children, head start education, assist seniors, unemployed, etc, etc, etc (you know his mouth) and STILL afford to help the abused extremely wealthy and give them a “reasonable tax break” which would “trickle down” to benefit the middle class and the economy. I shot out of there when I heard the term “tickle down” but no one else did; in fact, they’ve all told me since “where were you when I was taken in by his B—- S—-?” Well, they all knew him, too. People don’t change.

By C jay on 12/11/2008 5:42 pm