Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Bush sets sanctions, Democrats spar

A lot of happened recently with regards to the US response to my friends dying in Darfur. First of all, the anticipated Plan B from President Bush arrived with much fanfare and sanctions. I personally was extremely pleased to see Bush talking about Darfur in a major speech. However, the flood of emails from activist organizations post-speech suggest they believe he is still not doing enough. I believe that as long as America is going alone in this, my friends are still going to die.

On the other side of the political spectrum, the Democratic presidential nominees sparred in a recent CNN debate over what they would do in Darfur. Joe Biden came across the most resolute in his desire to stop the violence and Bill Richardson once again demonstrated his real concern for the area. The other candidates seemed more intent on not committing anything or not getting tricked by the "all raise hands" questions than on saving my friends. At one point, when asked about military force they all balked in a loud cacophony of protest.

The truth is, the Democrats have one message to use to beat the Republicans - that Iraq was a mistake and we must pull out - that even considering using force in Darfur could "hurt" their race. It was sad to see them squabble over petty differences and avoid standing up for my friends.