When you work with terrorists, you tend to ignore the terror

Nick Kristof today:

Incredibly, the Bush administration is fighting to kill the Darfur Accountability Act, which would be the most forceful step the U.S. has taken so far against the genocide. The bill, passed by the Senate, calls for such steps as freezing assets of the genocide's leaders and imposing an internationally backed no-fly zone to stop Sudan's Army from strafing villages.

The White House was roused from its stupor of indifference on Darfur to send a letter, a copy of which I have in my hand, to Congressional leaders, instructing them to delete provisions about Darfur from the legislation.

Mr. Bush might reflect on a saying of President Kennedy: "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."

Here's the thing: Arab militia in Darfur are singling out Christians.  Sen. Brownback, the fundiest of the fundies, has probably yelled the loudest about the crisis in Darfur in the past.

Geopolitical interests are so great that the President has decided NOT to back his own base on this.  It is totally in the interest of Christian conservatives to do so. Not to mention those of us in the reality-based community who don't want to see 2 million Africans die at the hands of the janjaweed.

So why are we doing nothing?  Maybe because of that report in last week's LA Times that showed the CIA is partnering heavily with Khartoum on intelligence matters. We're even flying their intelligence chief to DC to discuss the war on terror.

But never mind the dead bodies, we're bringing freedom to the Muslim world!