Diplomacy needed to soften up Sudan on peacekeepers - UN

[ECH1969]

A senior United Nations official said Thursday the Sudanese government has been able to reject the proposed deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur because the United States and Britain have not done enough to sell the idea to countries around the world.

Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown credited President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the lead role they have taken in highlighting the suffering in Darfur. But he gave them low marks in their efforts to persuade countries to pressure President Omar el-Bashir to accept U.N. peacekeepers.

Speaking to a gathering at the Brookings Institution, Malloch Brown said pressure must be applied to African and Asian nations to convince el-Bashir to change course. The United Nations wants to deploy 20,000 troops and police in Darfur but el-Bashir has been inflexibly opposed.

Malloch Brown said el-Bashir may be resisting out of concern that deployment of U.N. peacekeepers could lead to the arrest of Sudanese officials indicted by the International Criminal Court.

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article18098

[ECH1969]

1. I am hoping by next year the UN can convince Sudan to let peacekeepers in

[Solo_in_MD]

2. What excuse is Brown going to have when we run the repukes out

and he still can't get anything done.

I have been open here about my frustration with the UN as of late, but this bubba seems to be the worst of the blame anybody but us crowd. Its quite tiring.

I dearly love and support what the UN stands for, but any balanced assesment would it has been losing ground steadily for some time, and the blunders have been embarrassing. Yet there have been no changes, no one taking responsibility, and things continue to stumble along, giving the repukes and necons more and more ammunition of why the US should abandon it entirely. Its disheartening and digusting.

Annan and others should have taken responsibility, made some changes and tried to get things headed the right way. Instead they blame others and things continue to decline.

While I have to be deeply suspicious of anyone that has Bolton's endorsement, I don't think Ban Ki-Moon could do any worse, and perhaps coming from Korea will understand the need for personal accountablity better than the current crew.

[pampango]

3. Good job, but the slackers are your fault?

"Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown credited President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the lead role they have taken in highlighting the suffering in Darfur." Meaning - Bush and Blair (for once) have done more than anyone else to get something done about the genocide in Darfur.

"But he gave them low marks in their efforts to persuade countries to pressure President Omar el-Bashir to accept U.N. peacekeepers." Meaning - It's your fault that other countries have refused to do as much as you have done.

Analogy: At my job: My boss tells me, "Pampango, Tony and you have done more than anyone else here to deal with this crisis. But, despite all of your good work, these slackers sitting around the table haven't done anything and I have to blame you, not only for their inaction, but for their apparent lack of concern for the crisis."

See Pampango scratching his head.