Rice Says International Force Urgently Needed To Stabilize Darfur
22 May 2006
NATO asked to provide logistics support for U.N. peacekeeping force
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says it is time to deploy a United Nations peacekeeping force to Darfur to help stabilize conditions there.
Although the United States has worked hard to help broker the comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur, Rice said more help is needed from the international community and urged countries like China and Russia to help focus the world's attention on the ongoing conflict in Sudan. (See related article.)
Rice, in May 21 comments to newspaper reporters in Boston, said she has argued for the rapid deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force strong enough to offer the people of Darfur protection from the terror they have been experiencing. (See related article.)
The United States has asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization formally to provide logistical support for a U.N. peacekeeping force.
Too many people have died, Rice told reporters, adding, "It’s really time to get a peacekeeping force in that can help."
For more information on U.S. policies, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.
IRAQ'S NEW GOVERNMENT
Rice also discussed the installation of the new government in Iraq, saying the country finally has a permanent government that does not have to be distracted by organizing elections or writing a constitution.
The new Iraqi government comprises a considerable number of Sunnis, she said, which is good because the Sunnis have tended to be disaffected in the past and did not participate much in the January elections. Greater Sunni involvement may provide the opportunity "for those who wish to leave the course of violence and the insurgency" to turn instead to politics as a means for promoting change, she said.
Over time, as the Iraqi people "see their interests as more associated with the political process and less . . . with the rejectionist philosophy," the secretary said, "I think you’re going to see the Iraqis stabilize the situation." But it will not occur overnight, she warned.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Iraq Update.
IRAN
On Iran, Rice said Iranian officials "have engaged in behavior that has made the entire international community suspicious of what it is they’re up to." That is why the International Atomic Energy Agency is asking pertinent questions of Tehran, she said, and why IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei "continues to report that he’s not getting satisfactory answers from the Iranians."
The United States is not alone in its concern that the Iranians "may be building a nuclear weapon under cover of civilian nuclear power," Rice said. So far, she added, the Iranians have done little to bolster the international community’s confidence that their country is pursuing only a civil nuclear program.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
TRADE WITH CUBA
Rice was also asked about the possibility of selling Vermont-produced agricultural products to Cuba. She noted that Cuba is not part of an open trade system because "every economic activity benefits Fidel Castro." The U.S. trade embargo exists, she said, "to prevent Fidel Castro’s dictatorial regime from using commerce and trade to fund and strengthen his regime so that he keeps his hold on the Cuban population."
Rice reminded her questioner that Cuba is the only remaining non-democratic state in the Western Hemisphere and almost every economic activity in Cuba benefits the current regime in Havana.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Cuba.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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