Daily Darfur: Obama Defends His Record

President Obama was forced to defend his fledgling record on Darfur in a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel today. With a question that now makes him my favorite reporter, ABC News senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper asked the President:

"But then regarding your visit to Buchenwald, since the Holocaust, a constant refrain in the United States has been ‘never again,' but U.S. President after U.S. President has sat back and let genocides happen over and over, whether Cambodia or Rwanda.  What does ‘never again' mean to you as a U.S. President, especially given the fact that genocide is going on right now in Darfur?  There were accusations of genocide in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago.  What does it mean to you?  And are you doing everything you can to make sure ‘never again' is not a hollow refrain?"

NICE.

The President responded only briefly, noting that he's assigned one of his closest advisers, Scott Gration, as special envoy, and that he discussed Darfur with the president of Egypt on his trip. He added:

"So we've been very active on this issue.  It may not have received the attention in the press that some of the other issues have, but we are spending a lot of time trying to make sure that we make progress and that the people of Darfur are able to return to their homes and live in peace."

Dear Mr. President,

I like you. I really do. I think that, on many issues, you're doing a stand up job. I would like to believe that you've been "very active" on Darfur --- but please understand, I can't take that on faith. We're friends, but now that you're on the inside of the walls of government, I can't, as a concerned citizen, just sit back and assume that you're taking care of everything. The fact that more and more of your constituents are raising concerns over your Darfur agenda should show you that somethin' ain't right. We're all ready to support you, but you need to do a better job of letting us know what you're up to.

Because, frankly, I'm all for multilateral, open-handed approaches to engagement, even with nasty people like Bashir, if it will solve the problem, but they way your envoy cowboyed into Khartoum with promises of engagement, but failed to comment on bombings in Darfur or the cancellation of the Mandate Darfur conference, or the fact that this supposed deal to allow a few humanitarian agencies back into Darfur isn't moving very quickly, has all the appearance of destructive naïveté, rather than ‘smart power' diplomacy.

Hugs,

Michelle

Quickies

The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan said that the Sudanese government needs to improve its record on human rights, citing reports of arbitrary arrest, torture, and press censorship, in addition to the ongoing conflict in Darfur.

UN humanitarian chief John Holmes discusses conditions on the ground in Darfur.

The vice-president of Kenya raised concerns with mediators in Qatar that the collapse of the peace process in Darfur (if you can really call it that) could have serious implications for fragile peace in South Sudan.

The Justice and Equality Movement dismissed reports that the Sudanese air force conducted a bombing raid in Chadian territory, commenting:

"JEM has no bases in Chad and that airstrikes referred to are a figment of bizarre imagination of the sources quoted by ST," said a press release issued by the rebel movement on Wednesday in reaction to the report.

[Photo from AP: US President Barack Obama observes a moment of silence after laying a white rose at the memorial of the former Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald. ]