Friday, October 5, 2007
Well, that settles that: CSM: 'Elders' criticize West's response to situation in Darfur
As the Darfur peace mission of the retired statesmen known as the Elders came to an end, two of their number - former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and former US President Jimmy Carter - chastened the West for its handling of the violent situation in Sudan. The BBC reports that Mr. Brahimi - a member of the group of Elders that includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu, rights advocate Graca Machel, and entrepreneur Richard Branson - chastised the West for pandering to Sudanese rebel groups that may not represent the people of Darfur.
"The international community has acted rather irresponsibly on all this in the past by pampering a lot of these people around - not really wondering whether they really represented anybody and whether they were acting responsibly," said Mr Brahimi.
The BBC adds that although he praised the plans for UN-sponsored peace talks later this month in Libya, Brahimi warned that the West needs to ensure that the people of Darfur are properly represented at the talks. Brahimi's criticism of the West's handling of Darfur was joined by that of Mr. Carter, who singled out the United States government for its use of the term "genocide" to describe the Sundanese conflict. Reuters reports that Carter called Washington's use of the term "genocide" was both legally inaccurate and "unhelpful."
"There is a legal definition of genocide and Darfur does not meet that legal standard. The atrocities were horrible but I don't think it qualifies to be called genocide," he said. Washington is almost alone in branding the 4 1/2 years of violence in Darfur genocide. Khartoum rejects the term, European governments are reluctant to use it and a U.N.-appointed commission of inquiry found no genocide, but that some individuals may have acted with genocidal intent. Carter, whose charitable foundation, the Carter Center, worked to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC), said: "If you read the law textbooks ... you'll see very clearly that it's not genocide and to call it genocide falsely just to exaggerate a horrible situation I don't think it helps."
Brahimi's and Carter's comments come at the end the Elders' two-day mission to Sudan. Voice of America reports that during their visit, the Elders found that "people in Darfur were desperate for protection, despite the Sudanese government's insistence that the situation in the region is getting better."...
What do you make of this guy Charles Levinson at Conflict Blotter he seems almost happy to post Google Earth images of top secret Israeli places including the Dimona Nucleur Facility as well as he describes "the site where Israel fires anti missile interceptors!!
http://conflictblotter.com/2007/10/05/google-earth-zooms-in-on-israel-military-sites/#comments
HE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE HOW GOOGLE EARTH HAS LABELED JERUSALEM OCCUPIED AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT MUSLIM -
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Culture/10389.htm
Google Earth team of course says they appreciate advisement and take it under consideration"
LOL... like how Islamist sites are on their news index and right of center sites aren't.
Dhimmi Carter.
No genocide in Darfur.
Aparthied in Israel.
Dhimmi, you're batting 0 for 2.
No wonder you are a ONE-TERM PRESIDENT.
Concupiscent Carter. Intellectually preposterous, morally repugnant, and he's made a career of it; his latest forays, with his preposterously contemptuous "apartheid" charge and now this are merely the most absurd and reprehensible.
Are revolting pretense and presence.
Mike, Levinson has an interesting blog. Beyond that I don't have much analysis of it. It's not like if he doesn't post the Google images then no one else will know about it.
Amazing. Everytime I think that President Peanut Farmer has hit a new low, he gets out a shovel and starts digging.
BHG
Meryl Yourish did a pretty good cover of this bunch of anti Semites in July:
http://www.yourish.com/2007/07/18/3446
May I add - Graca Machel- a patron of this lot:
http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=314_0_1_0_C
And Lakhdar Brahimi:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE3DA103AF935A15757C0A9629C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fB%2fBrahimi%2c%20Lakhdar
How can it be so hard for these people to say what everyone knows about Darfur?
Is it because they won't blame the enemies of Israel and the US because it would give comfort to Israel & the US? They are all despicable.
Right and he posts pictures of the nucleur facility as well as the site where Israel fires defensive intercepting missiles - with descriptive details...
I'm sure those would be the first 2 things I would post with details..
I'd point out that he's a journalist - he's not employed by the state of Israel. If Israeli doesn't like what he's doing on his blog, they can kick him out of the country. He has done some truly excellent reporting from Gaza (scroll down to his reporting on the Hamas takeover of Gaza this summer) and does not to me seem to have a political axe to grind.
Re: The Peanut Farmer It certainly is interesting that he and the crew are so caught up and officious when it comes to the exact and precise definition of the legal term of art "genocide," but when it comes to the word "apartheid," that he's willing to spray around simply for the effect of it.
Great point Sol, provides a formidable view into Carter's psyche and moral sense. Genocide and rampant murder, rape and atrocities of the most heinous kind can be delicately finessed - but the problems related to the intergenerational Arab "refugees" aka Palestinians, long cossetted by the U.N. and other transnationalist orgs, require a bludgeon.
Carter can grow peanuts and build houses passably well, but he seemingly possesses this need to be of world historical importance, and therein becomes an albatross and a profound moral repugnance. Of little or great consequence remains to be seen, but a decided cancer on the global stage.
Jimmy Carter recently gave an interview on NPR where he endorsed the policy of "blood for oil" and claimed that the human rights situation in China is much improved because the Chinese people are now allowed to have bibles. I kid you not.