Political Quotes

“this summer and fall, a lot of us have been drawing comparisons between Sudan today and Rwanda a decade ago. The October 4, 2004 edition of the New York Times contains a piece furthering this argument by one who is uniquely qualified to do so: retired General Romeo Dallaire, who was the commander of the United Nations forces in Rwanda during the genocide. Ten years ago, General Dallaire pleaded for more troops to stem the rising tide of murders that were sweeping across Rwanda. Instead of sending reinforcements, the United Nations cut his peacekeeping force from 3,000 to 500, leaving Dallaire and his troops to witness the mass killings that they did not have a prayer of stopping. In the aftermath of this decision, 800,000 people died in 100 days. Ten years ago, the African Union promised battalions to stop the killing but lacked the equipment and logistical support to come to the assistance of Dallaire and the people of Rwanda. Those forces never arrived in any numbers. Today, genocide is again taking place, this time in Sudan. Secretary General Kofi Annan has recognized it. President Bush has recognized it. But again the world is essentially standing by.”