U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan: "No Ongoing Genocide" in Darfur, Statement Stirs Up Controversy

June 21, 2009 (LPAC)—Special Envoy to Sudan, Gen. Scott Gration's first press briefing on June 17, at which he said that there is no ongoing genocide being carried out in Darfur by the Government of Sudan, made U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice furious, and provoked a flurry of attacks from the anti-Sudan liberal coalitions. Rice, a known anglophile, has long called for the same stern action against the Sudan government that the London-based British financial cartel has called for. She has called for a militarily enforced no-fly zone, and attacks on Sudan's air force.

"Let Susan Rice freak-out. And who cares if the Hollywood-supported Save Darfur Coalition loses million of dollars for their scam" said Lawrence Freeman, head of the EIR Africa Desk. "What Gration said is undeniably true," Freeman continued. "Presently, there is no genocide by the government against the people of Darfur. There is no evidence whatsoever for the charge that the government has a conscious policy of genocide.There are people who are still trying to make money from the conflict in Darfur. And some anti-Khartoum fanatics got upset as well. So what? Numerous scholars and former high-level government officials, as well as EIR, know there never was any genocide in Darfur."

Gration's statement has forced the deep disagreement within the Obama Administration out into the open. Two days before Gration made his statement, U.S. ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, described the situation in Sudan as "genocide" according to press reports. After Gration made his remarks, unnamed U.S. officials said she was furious, according to media reports.Gration's remarks touched off a debate in the administration, which is working to complete its review of policy on Sudan. The day after Gration's press conference, the start of the State Department daily briefing was delayed by over an hour, until language could be agreed on at the National Security Council.

Then Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs [the spinmeister division], P.J. Crowley, made a statement designed to seem like a retreat from Gration's statement. He said: "I think there is no question that genocide has taken place in Darfur. We continue to characterize the circumstances in Darfur as genocide," without indicating the precise time frame he was talking about.

Crowley was asked point blank if Gration had misspoken. He responded that "there's room in the administration for a debate about the interpretation of the facts that go into that judgment."

After Crowley's statement, a senior Sudanese Foreign Ministry official, Ali Youssef, said in Khartoum: "Scott Gration gave his opinion after he visited Darfur and made several contacts and acquainted himself with the situation there. That means that he knows better than the State Department spokesman."