Darfur update: NATO not anxious to "do something" serious/Dallaire nonsense
For some odd reason this sort of report is not carried by Canadian media.
The African Union has accepted a NATO offer to extend its assistance in Sudan's violent Darfur region, the Western military alliance said on Wednesday, stressing its presence there would remain small.
NATO provided training and transport to African Union troops struggling to quell the violence there earlier this year and has signalled its willingness to provide more help..
"It means a limited number of NATO personnel there. From what has been agreed now between NATO and the AU it would not require a significant expansion of the numbers we have now," he [NATO spokesman James Appathurai] said, adding NATO has had at most 15 trainers on the ground.
The United States has been a vocal backer of a significant NATO role in Darfur but other allies are cautious, with the Sudanese government resisting international involvement...
Some real clarity on NATO and Darfur, from the horse's mouth:
No NATO troops have been or will be deployed to Darfur.
They aren't wanted anyway.
UN diplomats say the force [if it is ever sent] is expected to be largely drawn from African, South Asian and Islamic nations so as to reduce opposition to the move in Khartoum, while the United States and NATO would provide logistical support behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, why are the Liberals and NDP not applauding President Bush's taking the lead on Darfur? I think the $40 million in aid that PM Harper has pledged is about right for Canada.
Update: Khartoum keeps stringing things out.
Sudan said Thursday [May 25] it would permit the U.N. to lay the groundwork for possible deployment of a peacekeeping force in Darfur, but cautioned that the world body's role would be smaller than some Security Council members want...
Shortly before Brahimi [U.N. envoy] spoke, Sudan's Foreign Minister, Lam Akol, told reporters that Sudan wants a potential U.N. force to play a far smaller role in Darfur than some members of the Security Council have envisioned.
"Any forces, if that is agreed upon, would be a force for supervision and not a force for peace implementation," he said...
That's not what Sen. Dallaire et al. want. The Globe and Mail printed a snippet only of a similar AFP story; compare that headline with this earlier misleading one.
Upperdate: Sen. Dallaire does not know what he's talking about.
...
Romeo Dallaire, the former commander of the UN peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, has said Canada should send 1,500 troops into Darfur, or at least contribute 500 soldiers to a UN rapid-reaction brigade already operating in Sudan...
I have searched the web and can find no mention that UNMIS has any such thing as a "rapid-reaction brigade".
The UN force for Southern Sudan (UNMIS) has the following strength, May 2006:
troops 8,034; military observers 635; police 596; international civilian 671; local civilian 1,242; UN volunteer 99
This is from the UNMIS site:
Of the 10,000 peacekeepers, there will be 750 UN Military Observers (UNMOs), who will carry out monitoring and verification activities in their respective areas of responsibility.
Of the 10,000, approximately 4,000 peacekeepers will make up a protection force, which will be responsible for protecting UN staff, equipment, and installations as well as helping Sudanese authorities to protect any civilians who come are in imminent danger.
Another 4,000 peacekeepers will be involved in administrative and logistical support activities, along with demining and reconstruction work.
If the protection force's main duty in protecting UN assets it can hardly be a rapid-reaction force. Helping Sudanese in only a secondary function.
The reporter, Chris Morris of CP, should do a little more work before taking Sen. Dallaire's statements at face value.
By the way, this is what the Canadian Forces are now doing for Darfur.
...
As of May 2006 the CF has 17 CF members deployed in support of Operation AUGURAL and their location is as follows:
Twelve (12), including the Commanding Officer of Operation AUGURAL, are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
Three (3) are in the Darfur region of Sudan;
Two (2) are in Khartoum, Sudan...
The Canadian Forces is loaning 100 GRIZZLY AVGPs and five HUSKY armoured recovery vehicles to assist the AU in moving its troops quickly and safely...
See: The Grizzly road to Darfur
Cross-posted to Daimnation!
The African Union has accepted a NATO offer to extend its assistance in Sudan's violent Darfur region, the Western military alliance said on Wednesday, stressing its presence there would remain small.
NATO provided training and transport to African Union troops struggling to quell the violence there earlier this year and has signalled its willingness to provide more help..
"It means a limited number of NATO personnel there. From what has been agreed now between NATO and the AU it would not require a significant expansion of the numbers we have now," he [NATO spokesman James Appathurai] said, adding NATO has had at most 15 trainers on the ground.
The United States has been a vocal backer of a significant NATO role in Darfur but other allies are cautious, with the Sudanese government resisting international involvement...
Some real clarity on NATO and Darfur, from the horse's mouth:
No NATO troops have been or will be deployed to Darfur.
They aren't wanted anyway.
UN diplomats say the force [if it is ever sent] is expected to be largely drawn from African, South Asian and Islamic nations so as to reduce opposition to the move in Khartoum, while the United States and NATO would provide logistical support behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, why are the Liberals and NDP not applauding President Bush's taking the lead on Darfur? I think the $40 million in aid that PM Harper has pledged is about right for Canada.
Update: Khartoum keeps stringing things out.
Sudan said Thursday [May 25] it would permit the U.N. to lay the groundwork for possible deployment of a peacekeeping force in Darfur, but cautioned that the world body's role would be smaller than some Security Council members want...
Shortly before Brahimi [U.N. envoy] spoke, Sudan's Foreign Minister, Lam Akol, told reporters that Sudan wants a potential U.N. force to play a far smaller role in Darfur than some members of the Security Council have envisioned.
"Any forces, if that is agreed upon, would be a force for supervision and not a force for peace implementation," he said...
That's not what Sen. Dallaire et al. want. The Globe and Mail printed a snippet only of a similar AFP story; compare that headline with this earlier misleading one.
Upperdate: Sen. Dallaire does not know what he's talking about.
...
Romeo Dallaire, the former commander of the UN peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, has said Canada should send 1,500 troops into Darfur, or at least contribute 500 soldiers to a UN rapid-reaction brigade already operating in Sudan...
I have searched the web and can find no mention that UNMIS has any such thing as a "rapid-reaction brigade".
The UN force for Southern Sudan (UNMIS) has the following strength, May 2006:
troops 8,034; military observers 635; police 596; international civilian 671; local civilian 1,242; UN volunteer 99
This is from the UNMIS site:
Of the 10,000 peacekeepers, there will be 750 UN Military Observers (UNMOs), who will carry out monitoring and verification activities in their respective areas of responsibility.
Of the 10,000, approximately 4,000 peacekeepers will make up a protection force, which will be responsible for protecting UN staff, equipment, and installations as well as helping Sudanese authorities to protect any civilians who come are in imminent danger.
Another 4,000 peacekeepers will be involved in administrative and logistical support activities, along with demining and reconstruction work.
If the protection force's main duty in protecting UN assets it can hardly be a rapid-reaction force. Helping Sudanese in only a secondary function.
The reporter, Chris Morris of CP, should do a little more work before taking Sen. Dallaire's statements at face value.
By the way, this is what the Canadian Forces are now doing for Darfur.
...
As of May 2006 the CF has 17 CF members deployed in support of Operation AUGURAL and their location is as follows:
Twelve (12), including the Commanding Officer of Operation AUGURAL, are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
Three (3) are in the Darfur region of Sudan;
Two (2) are in Khartoum, Sudan...
The Canadian Forces is loaning 100 GRIZZLY AVGPs and five HUSKY armoured recovery vehicles to assist the AU in moving its troops quickly and safely...
See: The Grizzly road to Darfur
Cross-posted to Daimnation!
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 4:13 p.m.
1 Comments:
Mike Harris of CFRA too. This afternoon he spoke of PM Harper spending "blood" in Afstan but only "money" in Darfur. He did not explain how in practical terms Canadian blood might be spent in Darfur.
But it's a genocide so Canada must "do something" more than actally try to help financially.
Mark
Ottawa
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