Demagogue

President Bush has included more money for Darfur to be included in his latest $82 billion war appropriation request

Administration officials, who discussed this special request late last month on grounds of anonymity, had said that $75 billion of it would be for U.S. military costs, with the rest including funds to train and equip Iraqi and Afghan forces, aid the new Palestinian leadership, build an embassy in Baghdad and help victims of warfare in Sudan's Darfur province.

From what I have been able to find, it looks like the US has already appropriated more than $400 million in the last year for various forms of aid and assistance to the region.

From the Defense appropriations bill

For an additional amount for `International Disaster and Famine Assistance', $70,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That funds appropriated by this paragraph shall be available to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Chad.

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For an additional amount for `Migration and Refugee Assistance', $25,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That funds appropriated by this paragraph shall be available to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Chad.

Of course, that $95 million was not appropriated specifically for work Darfur - it mere makes some of that money available for work in Darfur. I don't know how much of it was actually spent on such work.

There was also this, from the Consolidated Appropriations act

Of the funds appropriated by title II of this Act, not less than $311,000,000 should be made available for assistance for Sudan.

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In addition to amounts appropriated elsewhere in this Act, $75,000,000 is hereby appropriated for `Peacekeeping Operations' to support peace and humanitarian intervention operations for Sudan, and $18,000,000 is hereby appropriated for `International Disaster and Famine Assistance' for humanitarian assistance and related activities in Sudan:

This bill contained more than $400 million for Darfur. Add that to whatever was obtained under the Defense bill and it is clear that the US has appropriated nearly a half-billion dollars for assistance to Darfur.

President Bush and the members of Congress deserve credit for this generosity, but we must admit that throwing money at it is not going to make the problem go away. More than 300,000 people have died, the attacks continue, the agricultural economy has collapsed, 3 million people need food aid and many continue to lack water, shelter, and medical care, and insecurity is making it almost impossible to reach those who inhabit Darfur's rural areas.

Appropriating a few million dollars more to aid those suffering in Darfur, adding a few thousand more AU "peacekeepers" and bickering over the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is never going to establish peace.

And until the international community starts proposing concrete actions rather than just empty rhetoric and money, there is little hope for progress.