USA: US OF A DOES THE BACKSTROKE ON A FORCE FOR DARFUR

US Backs Down on Darfur UN Force

WASHINGTON — In a major US policy shift on the Darfur crisis, the Bush administration has confirmed it is backing away from demands for the deployment of UN troops in the troubled Sudanese region.

Andrew Natsios, Bush's personal envoy to Sudan, said Washington and other Western governments were looking for an "alternate way" to deal with the conflict, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, November 4.

"Our real interest here is not what it is called or what it looks like in terms of its helmet, but how robust and how efficient it is," he said.

US President George W. Bush said on Wednesday, November 1, that he was reviewing the US approach to the Darfur conflict.

Natsios said serious discussions were underway among the US, European countries and the UN over whether a force could be sent to Sudan without calling it a UN peacekeeping operation "in the traditional sense of the word."

"If it does not have a United Nations helmet, but it is very competent and very aggressive, then we have fulfilled our intention," he added.

Led by the United States, Western countries have pressed for the deployment of UN troops in Darfur under UN resolution 1706 to take over from the ill-equipped and cash-strapped African Union force.

But Khartoum has adamantly opposed the UN troop deployment, saying it could worsen the situation in Darfur and turn the country into a second Iraq.

Erupted in February 2003, the Darfur conflict has killed up to 200,000 people and displaced two million people.

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Pertinent Links:

1) US Backs Down on Darfur UN Force