Sudan update

Our answer to the Janjaweed terrorism in Darfur is to threaten the Sudanese government with sanctions if they don't put a stop to it.

"Sudan is not afraid of the threat of sanctions by the United States, which is using the crisis in Darfur to weaken and destroy the government of Sudan in a similar fashion in which they devastated Iraq and Somalia," said Angelo Beda, Deputy Speaker of Sudan's parliament.

CNN article

These things are always so complex. I don't pretend to know what's really happening. I've read that the Sudanese government is actually supporting the Janjaweed. I've read a lot of lies about the Venezuelan government (which we have been covertly trying to overthrow) supporting Colombian drug lords (when actually the CIA is involved with them) in American press, too. And about the former Haitian government (which we successfully overthrew) supporting terrorists in their country. To name two.

I have this constant nagging suspicion that when anything like this is happening anywhere in the world, the U.S. has its hands in it for its own advantage. Paranoid? Or am I just recognizing a pattern? We eventually learned that our country created the Taliban in Afghanistan to defeat the Russians. We eventually learned that our country illegally, covertly funneled money to the Contras in Nicaragua. In light of this statement by Mr. Beda, I can't help but wonder if we have been supporting the Janjaweed as well.

Don't forget Sudan has oil.

U.S. Ambassador John Danforth has warned that the threat of sanctions was not going to go away and the European Union said on Saturday it would draw up sanctions against Khartoum, including possible measures against its oil industry, which could be enacted at the request of the United Nations.

Khartoum has said it does not control the Janjaweed, who it brands as outlaws, and is not responsible for their actions.

"Sudan has done everything humanly possible to meet the demands of the United Nations and the international community within the given 30 days," Beda said.