Be forewarned, please.
If you are interested in the humanitarian aspects of the crisis in Darfur- if you are interested in alieviating the suffering, death and disease, this is not the forum to attend.
The San Francisco forum of Kamal's tall took almost an apologist note- the colonialist history of the conflict was stressed, while the resulting suffering was minimized.
In exasperation, an audience member threw out the figures that we are all too familiar with
"10,000 every month.
200-400,000 dead already
2 million in exile.
What can we do to relieve the suffering NOW?"

Kamal's answer. "Well, those figures may be exaggerated"
He was asked "What are your best figures"?
His response "I don't know"
Politics need to be laid aside in dealing with this crisis. Kamal described the situation (denying it was a genocide, repeatedly) by saying "Genocide is to the Sudan what weapons of mass destruction were to Iraq. Its an excuse for US intervention".
No one is suggesting US military invertention in Darfur. What is necessary is to feed the hungry, and to stop the suffering now.
Kamal's apologist words defending those who slaughter his brothers are lies by ommission, and
do a tremendous disservice to the people of Darfur.

Sounds like 21st century Holocaust denial, a la Wendy

As I have long suspected, those who loudly condemn the Israelis for so-called genocide of the Palestinian people want to ignore the real genocide in Sudan because....

1. it would be too dangerous to go demonstrate in Sudan
2. who really cares about Arab on Arab violence?
3. Israel and the Palestinians look like Disneyland compared to the situation in Sudan
4. There's no way to blame the Jews!!

4. There's no way to blame the Jews!!

Didn't your mom always tell you "Where there's a will, there's a way?" There's always a way to blame the Jews!

The massive scope of the very real human rights atrocities that are happening in Darfur are perceived of having the ability to take resources away from the core issues of the "left". Kamal appears to be attempting to neutralize this.

His talk in San Francisco was sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R.and also featured Jess Ghannam and . Richard Becker.

Isma'il claimed that in the 1950's and 60's, Israel tried to destabilize Egypt through the Sudan, and still provides weapons and intelligence to the southern rebels.

A large part of Isma'il's talk dealt with the motivation of American activism in the Sudan. He stated that the main groups involved in Darfur activism were the Christian Right , Pro-Israel Organizations, liberals, and student groups. He discussed the campus divestment from Sudan campaign- he read off the names of students leading the campaign, pausing and slowly relishing and repeating the Jewish sounding names. He implied that the divestment campaign was simply a way to divert attention from Israel's divestment campaign on campus. Many of the audience members nodded their heads in agreement.

Towards the end of the presentation, Richard Becker went into a rage discussing the rally for Darfur on the Golden Gate bridge, calling it an attempt by pro-Israel groups to demonize Arabs.

There's no way to blame the Jews?
There always is, Becky....you just need to streeeeetch your imagination. And a healthy dose of paranoia helps, too.

I taped a show last month about Darfur with John Morlino of www.darfurpledge.org His statistics were very dire and put the death/homeless toll of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in this last intifada as almost peaceful by comparison.

Two and a half million lives are hanging in the balance and the relief efforts are not getting thru. This is a time for use of force--perhaps UN troops, or shore up the 7,000 ANC troops that are already on the ground and are overwhelmed with the massive scale of the need.

John Morlino is calling for an international peace-keeping force of 50,000 to go in and protect the citizens in the camps from being raped and murdered, and allow the relief to get through.

Some liberals recently protested the LACK of US action in Sudan, actually suggesting that we GO IN to fix the problems there.

I can guarantee you, if we went into Sudan we would IMMEDIATELY be acused of imperialism, war for oil, blah blah blah... by the very same people who insisted we interfere with the internal affairs of Sudan.

Perhaps the UN could show the world that they learned something from their miserable failures in Somalia, Rwandwa, Haiti and elsewhere. Perhaps its time for the UN to go into Sudan, with real guns, real bullets and real balls.

But this won't happen beccause the UN is a pacifist, socialist organization that operates under the belief that all problems can be 'negotiated' to resolution.

No... Let Africa clean its own backyard and let the UN assist. If we put boots on the ground in Sudan we'll be accused of every political sin under the sun. They created this suffering, they can fix it. We could spend 10 years trying to fix it and within a year of our departure they would surely screw it up again. This is just the way much Africa is and NO ONE in the West can fix it.

Whats been suggested by most is to increase funding for the African Union peacekeepers that are there now. (Right now there are only 7,000- that means 1 guard for every 4,000 refugees.)

And because these people are away from their homes, their animals and their crops, we need to feed them and take care of their physical needs. Many of their villages were destroyed and their wells poisoned- we need to ensure adequate funding so that they have a place to return to.

FORGET SUDAN WRITES: "If we put boots on the ground in Sudan we'll be accused of every political sin under the sun. "

BECKY: And if we do nothing, while 2.5 million refugees become causalties, then what will they accuse us of?
200,000 - 300,000 have already been murdered. this is genocide---the real thing this time.

These defenseless people are being murdered and starved by armed militias. We need our own counter-armed militia to protect the relief workers so they can get through, and to protect the refugees from being murdered.

Sometimes it takes boots on the ground----and going to STOP killing is certainly better than going into another country to START killing.

While your point is well taken, and I feel terrible for the victims of the genocidal Jinjaweed and their Islamic gov't enablers, we would need a massive military operation to correct the problem. And we would end up killing large numbers of people (mostly Jinjaweed) to enforce the peace. Further, huge numbers of Islamic fanatics from other countries would immediately start pouring in to kill Americans. We shouldn't waste our time or money with that because our boys will die for a bunch of backwards savages whose sole purpose is to kill infidels, not to help the Sudanese people. Our politically correctRules of Engagement would prevent us from dispatching of them quickly (as is the case in Iraq).

I think instead we might be able to help with a massive airlift of supplies, etc... But for boots, doctors, etc... on the ground, let the UN do it. That's what they are there for.

New York, NY, June 21, 2006 . The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today labeled comments by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that he would not allow United Nations Peacekeepers into Darfur, and accusing Jews of being behind the plan, as "a feeble attempt to divert attention from the ongoing genocide."

In his response to journalists who pressed al-Bashir on his objection to UN troops in Darfur, he said: "It is clear that there is a purpose behind the heavy propaganda and media campaigns . . . If we return to the last demonstrations in the United States, and the groups that organized the demonstrations, we find that they are all Jewish organizations."

"In pointing the finger at Jewish involvement in the campaign to draw attention to genocide in Darfur, President al-Bashir is playing an old game. Those who engage in or tolerate genocide always try to divert attention from their actions. Blaming Jews is a favorite choice," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "We in the Jewish community take pride in our leadership role in opposing this genocide and calling for international intervention. The Sudanese leader's ranting is a badge of honor for the Jewish community."

Al-Bashir was referring to the Save Darfur Rally in Washington, D.C. and other sites around the U.S. earlier this year. The Sudanese President also said that he would lead a resistance to a UN peacekeeping role in Darfur and accused the UN of wanting "to colonize Africa, starting with the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence."