Once in a different job, I had to meet a number of US Senators. My impression is that they are all wonderful people. They are great when responding to complaints from their constituencies. They are not so great when responding to problems unfolding anywhere outside of the US which does not have direct US interests. And they can do is wring their hands and try to sound a bit like a statesman. A case in point? Here is what Senator Leahy said about the Darfur (Sudan) crisis in May 2004 -- 19 months ago. "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy Crisis In Darfur, Sudan May 6, 2004 MR. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak for a moment on the situation in western Sudan, where in recent weeks the world has witnessed the systematic slaughter of unarmed civilians and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Others here today have spoken at length about this catastrophe, so I will not repeat what they have said but I do want to join them in expressing my grave concern. The Government of Sudan is largely responsible for these attacks, as it is government-backed militias that are committing these atrocities. They have raped thousands of women, abducted children, destroyed food and water systems, and burned villages to the ground. Nearly 1 million people, almost twice the population of my home state of Vermont, have been forced to flee their homes, and nearly 3 million individuals are beyond the reach of international aid agencies. As a result, people are dying at a staggering rate – nearly 1000 per week. The situation continues to grow worse by the day, and the Government of Sudan continues to block access to this region. 110,000 people have fled to neighboring Chad, and the Chadian Government deployed its military to protect the Sudanese refugees from attack. Mr. President, we are in the process of remembering the 800,000 people who were hacked to death during the genocide in Rwanda 10 years ago. The world vowed that such horrific crimes would never be allowed to happen again in Africa. Yet we are seeing, in Sudan today, the same type of slaughter. It must be stopped." - http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200405/050604a.html ********** RESPONSE of the US Government to the Sudan crisis as of December 2005: NOTHING for a decrease in the killing of Africans by Arab bandits in the planet's ongoing genocide. Source: - http://www.radioopensource.org/genocide-in-sudan/ ******************* I mean no disrespect to Senator Leahy. I mean all the disrespect to Sajha ko senator Nepe who thinks that everything must be "a nail" for his republican "hammer", and the larger context be damned. oohi ashu