Clooney, Obama, and Biden - All Under the Bus

Clooney gets W.H. promises on Darfur

Christina Bellantoni
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Washington Times

Academy Award winning actor and activist George Clooney met privately Monday night with President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to urge the new administration's action on the crisis in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

Mr. Clooney told reporters that Mr. Obama said once a foreign policy review is completed he would appoint a "full-time, high-level envoy" to the region to report directly to the White House.

[Mr. Clooney. I have a question. Could you take a few moments and check and see if the Clinton administration had a full-time envoy or Ambassador in Rwanda in 1994.]

"The administration has assured me that Darfur is one of a small handful of foreign policy reviews being undertaken at the [most senior] level," Mr. Clooney said.

He said the envoy would be "a huge policy step" since in many cases envoys have only been in the region "when the fire starts."

[What does it mean 'huge policy step'? To send an envoy in - where? To Kenya, Congo, Chad ... perhaps to converse with the Ambassador in Chad. Brilliant work.]

The actor, who made a documentary highlighting the Darfur conflict and has been outspoken on the issue, said it was "nice to hear" that the region is a priority for the Obama White House.

[It is 'nice to hear' - I am sure the Chinese believe Sudan is a priority also - so you will have to say it is nice to hear the Chinese take it seriously. The Russians also have an interest - I am sure they take it seriously. It means very little Mr. Clooney.]


"There was some concern that this could fall off the radar," he said. "There's quite a few other things [the administration is tackling] but they assured me this is high on their agenda."

He also delivered to Mr. Obama 250,000 postcards from Americans who want the new president to help end the crisis in Darfur.

"This is a moment in time with a brand new administration," Mr. Clooney said, adding that Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden had been active on the issue "long before" winning the election. He also praised the work of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[They have? They were? And what have they done? Words Mr. Clooney mean very little. What have they done.]


Mr. Clooney said he was not seeking government money or government troops.

"It's about involvement, it's about diplomacy," he said, adding it is "not something the U.S. could do alone."

[I don't suppose any country has tried diplomacy until now?]

The meeting was not announced beforehand by the White House; the actor had been scheduled to meet with Mr. Biden only, but ended up getting face time with both men.

An official statement from the vice president's office described the meeting.

"The Vice President met this evening with George Clooney to discuss Mr. Clooney's recent trip to Eastern Chad, where he visited Darfurian refugee camps," the statement read.

"The Vice President informed Mr. Clooney about the Administration's ongoing review of Sudan policy and welcomed his observations from his trip. The Vice President thanked Mr. Clooney for his work on this issue, which he believes is an important contribution to the public's understanding of the conflict in Darfur."








Clooney

Nigerian Rebels

From April CNN

Nigerian rebels seek help from Clooney, Carter


April 21, 2008

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- A group of Nigerian rebels who wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, stating that they attacked two oil pipelines Monday, have asked for former President Jimmy Carter and actor George Clooney to help solve issues in the oil-rich Niger-delta.

In a letter written by a group called Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, the group said they attacked two pipelines they believed are owned by Chevron Corp. and Shell oil.

A spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell said its pipeline was damaged last week.

The attack will temporarily cut shipments by 169,000 barrels a day as workers try to repair the damage, the spokesman said.

The pipeline is owned jointly by Shell and Nigerian, French and Italian oil companies, the spokesman said.

Chevron spokesman Kurt Glaubitz told CNN that "No Chevron pipelines have been vandalized in Nigeria."

There was no immediate comment from the Nigerian government.

In the letter the group called themselves "commandos" and stated that their aim was "the crippling of the Nigerian oil export industry."

"Today's attack was prompted by the continuous injustice in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where the root issues have not been addressed by the illegal and insincere government," the letter stated.

The letter stated that two other letters had been sent to Bush and also actor George Clooney, and the group also asked for President Jimmy Carter to help.

Clooney is one of the United Nations' Messengers of Peace, and has campaigned for an end to the long-standing conflict in Darfur, as well as further humanitarian relief efforts in the region.

Carter is currently in the Middle East, where he has met with the exiled militant Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal, on what he calls a "study mission" to support peace, democracy, and human rights in the region.

"MEND is prepared for talks and will prefer Ex President Jimmy Carter to mediate. Mr. Carter is not in denial as the rest of you who brand freedom fighters as terrorists," the letter stated.

"The ripple effect of this attack will touch your economy and people one way or the other and hope we now have your attention."

The organization also said they attack was in response to one of the arrest of one of their members, Henry Okah, who was arrested last year and according to local reports, is charged with treason.

Since late 2005, MEND militants have carried out numerous attacks on Nigeria's oil sector and abducted dozens of foreign workers, releasing nearly all of them unharmed.

In the past the organization has said it had ratcheted up its attacks to redress what it says is the unequal distribution of the nation's oil wealth.






Nigeria