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Africa Horn
U.N. admits they've hosed it in Darfur, can't think of anything new...
2006-01-14
The top U.N. envoy in Sudan declared Friday that efforts to bring peace to Sudan's Darfur region have failed and called for a U.N. peacekeeping force of up to 20,000 troops to disarm marauding militias and provide security so over 2 million refugees can return home. Jan Pronk said an ethnic cleansing campaign in 2003 and 2004 had been successful and a larger, more sophisticated and mobile force was needed to help end the continuing rapes and killings and stop the groups of 500 to 1,000 militia on camel and horseback that still attack villages at least once a month. "Looking back at three years of killings and cleansing in Darfur we must admit that our peace strategy so far has failed," he told the U.N. Security Council. "All we did was picking up the pieces and muddling through, doing too little too late."
Posted by:Fred

#20  I suspect UN forces would work tolerably well if they had some UK paratroopers to do the heavy lifting, as in Sierra Leone.
Posted by: James   2006-01-14 23:20  

#19  Sorry TW, I will explain the acronymns in the future. CAFGU is Just as Darrel explained. CAFGU forces are locals trained to defend their villages. Usually they are paid a small payment and given weapons and minimal training.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-01-14 21:04  

#18  Thank you, Darrell. I'm afraid it never occurred to me to google a military acronym.
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-01-14 20:17  

#17  Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit.
Google is your friend.
Posted by: Darrell   2006-01-14 20:09  

#16  CAFGU force for self defence

Translate into Civilian, please?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-01-14 20:01  

#15  A Brigade of the 101st, with an extra Apache battalion and a squadron of A10s would cleanse the place nicely. As long as the RoE were brief.

The janjaweed uh-hem cavalry is nothing but rag-tag muzzies with an AK47 with a few clips and some with RPGs.

Bring back the "Headhunter" tactics of the 1st Squadron/9th CAV (recon element of 1st AIR CAV) in VNM. Hunt down, kill/capture the enemy until they are gone. Move elsewhere. Repeat until clean.
Posted by: Brett   2006-01-14 19:46  

#14  ..and called for a U.N. peacekeeping force of up to 20,000 troops to disarm marauding militias and provide security so..

Doesn't sound like it would be a "peacekeeping" force to me. There has to be a peace to keep to start off with.

Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2006-01-14 19:15  

#13  6 - Nice thought. I prefer the Kurasawa version.

Posted by: DMFD   2006-01-14 19:10  

#12  So, what's the UN's batting average for handling crises? I'll give them a hit for Korea (though not a homer), and a fielder's choice for Cyprus. Since then though, it's been Ks and ground outs.

0.010?
Posted by: xbalanke   2006-01-14 18:46  

#11  Got just the guys to train up and protect a bunch of innocents.
Posted by: 6   2006-01-14 18:07  

#10  Furians? Call in Riddick!
Posted by: Frank G   2006-01-14 15:46  

#9  This is easy. A couple of companies of SF units to teach the native Furrians how to defend themselves. Provide light weapons, simple communications, food, ammo, and tactical training. Next time the Janjaweed ride into town, kerblammo! A few incidents like that and the Janjaweed will think of better things to do.

We don't want to defend the place, we want the Furrians to defend themselves.
Posted by: Steve White   2006-01-14 15:43  

#8  IIRC - Saudi funding is the biggest source, and China has started their influence as well...
Posted by: Frank G   2006-01-14 15:30  

#7  First thing we need to do is to intercept the money trails from Iran and Europe that are related to the Sudan. Freeze the assets and expose Iran, France, Spain and Germany, not to mention Russia for supporting Iranian terrorists camps in Sudan. Cutting the funds to the Kartoum Government will hurt and isolate them. Then we must go into the Southern and Daffur regions and help them build an integrated CAFGU force for self defence. Finally help CAFGU elements build their areas into an autonomous region.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-01-14 14:38  

#6   a U.N. peacekeeping force of up to 20,000 troops to disarm marauding militias and provide security

They are going to allow the troops to actually accomplish something, instead of sitting in cantonments unless a VIP wants escorting?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-01-14 11:08  

#5  Now they want to move in 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers?
Wow, you want to talk about rape, you havent seen nothin yet.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2006-01-14 10:53  

#4  We don't have to make a case for unilateralism; the UN does it for us with each and every blunder.
Posted by: CaziFarkus   2006-01-14 04:13  

#3  the UN couldnt run a bath , let alone anything else .. my predictor meter didnt even flinch
Posted by: MacNails   2006-01-14 01:52  

#2  And besides it's been going on for several hundred years.
Posted by: phil_b   2006-01-14 00:51  

#1  It was hosed from the start. The UN couldn't get a cohesive effort going. The Muslim world was either hostile, indifferent or actively working against the strategy. Sudan's played the UN like a flute. The African Union forces were given a weak mandate and poorly supported and supplied. And now Sudan gets the AU chair...
Posted by: Pappy   2006-01-14 00:45  

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