African genocide, U.S. racism

Darfur: Is it really genocide? '"I have no doubt about that," Mr. Steidle (former Marine and military adviser to the African Union) said. "It's a systematic cleansing of peoples by the Arab chiefs there. They're very blunt about it. One day we met a janjaweed leader and he said, 'Unless you get back four camels that were stolen in 2003, then we're going to go to these four villages and burn the villages, rape the women, kill everyone.' And they did." The African Union doesn't have the firepower or mandate to stop the slaughter, just to monitor it. Mr. Steidle said his single most frustrating moment came in December when the Sudanese government and the janjaweed attacked the village of Labado, which had 25,000 inhabitants. Mr. Steidle and his unit flew to the area in helicopters, but a Sudanese general refused to let them enter - and also refused to stop the attack. "It was extremely frustrating - seeing the village burn, hearing gunshots, not being able to do anything," Mr. Steidle said. "The entire village is now gone. It's a big black spot on the earth."'

Why aren't we stopping this? Not because Darfur doesn't have oil, or is strategically unimportant. Maybe because the victims are poor and black. Expect Condi Rice to do nothing.