A new Tour of Duty? Sudan this time.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070422/2/1372c.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sunday April 22, 02:32 PM
<b>We must consider Darfur deployment: Rudd</b>
Opposition leader Kevin Rudd says Australia should seriously consider joining a United Nations-backed peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region.
<b>The United States and Britain last week threatened Sudan with sanctions and other punitive measures unless it agreed to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, scene of a humanitarian disaster.
African Union peacekeepers have been unable to stem the violence in the region, where</b> <b>at least 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million made homeless since 2003 in ethnic and political conflict triggered by a rebellion.</b> <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Speaking in New York, Mr Rudd said the African Union force lacked the resources to protect people in the region.
<b>"It is a rolling humanitarian tragedy. We need action," he told reporters.</b>
(Why is it that 4 years had to pass for these countries to accumulate enough crocodile tears to do something?
Because it's taken these 4 years for the west to realise that the islami Arabians in Sudan are winning and getting closer to putting j-hadi hands on all the $$$$ lovely Sudanese oil...
For a moment there they had me convinced that people had finally started caring about the Sudanese populace... a lovely delusion that lasted all of 3 seconds.)
"On the question of Australian contribution to that action, I'd like to look at whatever proposals came forward from the United Nations and to see whether we've got the capacity to assist in some way or another."
Any Australian involvement would have to be modest, Mr Rudd said, as the government was already committed to deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Fiji.
"Therefore, we've got to operate within those constraints," he said.
"Let's see what comes forward from the United Nations on this."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo--> When 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 mil made homeless over the last 4 years, why in the world isn't Sudan in the main news everyday. Yet I notice that a few British soldiers who'd been snooping in disputed Iraq-Iran waters were never out of the news for long? So much media time to spend on them and barely anything on Africa - except when something like World Vision wants to raise money to <i>save</i> the 'starving (heathen) children', of course.
Go meddle in Darfur to claim the precious oil, then - as a side-effect, it might even have some positive effect for the Sudanese. But just don't tell me that it's because so many people have died. They've been dying there for a long time. And if there was no oil involved in the matter, you can bet no one would be showing up now.
Time for the west to play Soldiers of Fortune again - I mean 'heroes' of course.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070422/2/1372c.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sunday April 22, 02:32 PM
<b>We must consider Darfur deployment: Rudd</b>
Opposition leader Kevin Rudd says Australia should seriously consider joining a United Nations-backed peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region.
<b>The United States and Britain last week threatened Sudan with sanctions and other punitive measures unless it agreed to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, scene of a humanitarian disaster.
African Union peacekeepers have been unable to stem the violence in the region, where</b> <b>at least 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million made homeless since 2003 in ethnic and political conflict triggered by a rebellion.</b> <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Speaking in New York, Mr Rudd said the African Union force lacked the resources to protect people in the region.
<b>"It is a rolling humanitarian tragedy. We need action," he told reporters.</b>
(Why is it that 4 years had to pass for these countries to accumulate enough crocodile tears to do something?
Because it's taken these 4 years for the west to realise that the islami Arabians in Sudan are winning and getting closer to putting j-hadi hands on all the $$$$ lovely Sudanese oil...
For a moment there they had me convinced that people had finally started caring about the Sudanese populace... a lovely delusion that lasted all of 3 seconds.)
"On the question of Australian contribution to that action, I'd like to look at whatever proposals came forward from the United Nations and to see whether we've got the capacity to assist in some way or another."
Any Australian involvement would have to be modest, Mr Rudd said, as the government was already committed to deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Fiji.
"Therefore, we've got to operate within those constraints," he said.
"Let's see what comes forward from the United Nations on this."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo--> When 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 mil made homeless over the last 4 years, why in the world isn't Sudan in the main news everyday. Yet I notice that a few British soldiers who'd been snooping in disputed Iraq-Iran waters were never out of the news for long? So much media time to spend on them and barely anything on Africa - except when something like World Vision wants to raise money to <i>save</i> the 'starving (heathen) children', of course.
Go meddle in Darfur to claim the precious oil, then - as a side-effect, it might even have some positive effect for the Sudanese. But just don't tell me that it's because so many people have died. They've been dying there for a long time. And if there was no oil involved in the matter, you can bet no one would be showing up now.
Time for the west to play Soldiers of Fortune again - I mean 'heroes' of course.