Merchant of Death
Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible

Blood from Stones

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Bush, Sudan and Paul Salopek
President Bush made the unusual, and breathtakingly unwise, offer to meet with Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan's bloody dictator, "on the side" in New York during the general's UN visit later in September. This, after al-Bashir, responsible for the genocide in Darfur, the blocking of peacekeeping forces despite agreeing to let them in, deliberately and throughly humiliated Bush's personal envoy to Sudan, as described in painful detail in The Washington Post.

How can this be? The regime sponsors the janjaweed, maintains terrorist connections with Islamist groups, leaves an envoy cooling her heels for three days (because the president was "busy") and imprisons Paul Salopek, one of the best and most respected foreign correspondents in the business, on bogus charges of espionage. (If you want to read about who my friend Paul Salopek really is, see this great piece in the Seattle Time).

The price for all this? An offer of a private visit with the president in New York. Perhaps if Sudan hosted Osama bin Laden again, he could get a invitation to Camp David. Go for nuclear weapons and who knows how he could be rewarded-a state visit? The sky is the limit.

The fact that the offer was made after al-Bashir humiliated Ms. Frazer and while Salopek was being charged with espionage nonsense-a true sign of a regime that fears the truth-is what makes the offer so mind boggling.

If he is smart, al-Bashir will say no thanks. Who needs a meeting when you can thumb your nose, carry out genocide and imprison American journalists with impunity? What is his incentive to do anything but more of the same, or worse?

Have we no sense of shame left? Is this what our diplomacy and status as the world's sole superpower, is reduced to? Then God help us.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Salfism in the Washington Post
Two Visitors Who Should Not be Allowed Through the Door
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