Where on earth is the west on Darfur?

Where is George Bush? Where is Tony Blair? Where is every western leader?

As the murderous Janjaweed militia, supported by the government of Sudan, continue to destroy the hopes of the millions of displaced black African Muslims in Darfur, a reader of this column, Sherwood Price, tells me he wrote to his senator, Arlen Specter, R—Penn., asking him: "Where is the outrage over the genocide in Darfur?"

He tells me he has yet to receive an answer, adding: "Perversely, 'Hurricane' Cindy (Sheehan) enjoys more media and senatorial attention than festering genocide."

Meanwhile, Abdel Jabbar Eissa, a nonreader of this column, a Darfurian victim of this inattention, in the Abou Shouk camp for refugees in Western Darfur, tells Reuters: "The only solution (for us survivors) is to disarm the Janjaweed, and the Khartoum government is not serious about doing that. I expect I will be in this camp in eight years time."

Bearing out this grim prophecy, the Sudan Tribune Web site reported on Oct. 26 that the International Crisis Group says, "The security situation in Darfur will continue to worsen and the political process will remain stalemated unless the African Union mission in Sudan is armed with more troops, a more robust mandate and assured new funding."