Sunday reading ...

Thanks for your suggestions. Keep them coming. The following are links to stories our readers may have missed but could find interesting ...

"... the 44th chief executive will lead a nation that has - over the past seven years - seen its military stretched taut, its finances depleted, its credibility diminished, and its reserves of international popularity scattered like grains of sand in a desert wind." Ten rules for No. 44, Madeleine K. Albright in the Boston Globe.

"I only sometimes carry my rifle on trips like this, most of the time I just bring my pistol..." "Crazy thoughts just a year ago." Christian Lowe returns to Iraq. The Sunday Paper (Shopping Insert)

"Professional Celebrity Rock Music Band, group not to exceed seven people for tour of FOB's [forward operating bases] in Kuwait and Afghanistan for February 4-13 2008." Noah Shachtman in Danger Room.

"United Nations Security Council heavyweights China and Russia quash statement compelling Sudanese authorities to cooperate with the ICC." Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Sources: As cited.
Photo: U.S. Dept. of State

Darfur mission 'behind schedule'

According to the BBC the AU / UN force will begin its mission with only a third of the 26,000 troops initially pledged. Force commander General Martin Luther Agwai, also said he has not received a required 24 helicopters.

As expected, there have also been problems with the Sudanese government which refuses to allow in troops from non-African countries. It also wants advance notice of AU / UN troop movements and the ability to pull the plug on communications.

Source: BBC

General Agwai would appear to be the perfect person to lead this mission. Aside from being a graduate of the Nigerian Command and Staff College, he attended the British Army Staff College, Camberley, United States Army Armour School and United States Defence University where he obtained an MSc in National Resource Strategy. He was Deputy Military Advisor - UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (Nov 2002 - Jun 2003) and Deputy Force Commander - UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) (Nov 2000 - Nov 2002).

All of this being said, there will be no AU / UN miracle in Sudan. The situation has been relatively ignored by the international community. There are now more than two million people living as refugees. Most are in camps vulnerable to attack. Agwai will need all his resourcefulness to provide security to the camps and their extended supply routes. On one hand he is dealing with an unsympathetic, at the very least, government. On the other, inadequate resources to establish his peace keepers as a true force.