In an April 19 article in the Washington Post , Rep Frank Wolf (R-Va) was reported as saying that "he could live with a few more weeks to see if Bashir is willing to cooperate." This was in reference to President Bush's announcement of and delay of (all in one speech) the so-called "Plan B" of sanctions on the Sudanese regime and its business interests.

Representative Wolf has been one of those putting pressure on the Bush administration to act in Darfur. However, his choice of words emphasizes the great chasm between policy makers in cities like Washington and victims of those policies on the ground in far-away lands. Representative Wolf can surely live a few more weeks with this delay in the implementation of sanctions. How many Darfurians can say the same thing? How many more people in Darfur must die over the next few weeks?

Tensions between the United Nations and the government of Sudan have risen to new levels, as the UN Special Envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, was expelled from the country earlier this week after statements made in his personal blog were considered a threat to Sudanese national security. Pronk wrote that government forces had suffered major losses in battles in the North and that "the morale in the government army in North Darfur has gone down. Some generals have been sacked; soldiers have refused to fight." The government has regarded these comments as "psychological warfare" and ordered Pronk to leave the country. Secretary General Kofi Annan adhered to their requests and asked Jan Pronk, a former member of the Dutch cabinet, to go to New York for "consultations."