According to Jackson Diehl in the WaPost, it looks like we might see some progress in stopping the war in the Darfur region of Sudan:
[L]ast Monday President Bush’s anger rocked the Oval Office when aides presented him with a plan for sanctions against the Sudanese government. Raising his voice, he demanded that his special envoy for Darfur, Andrew Natsios, and national security adviser Stephen Hadley come up with something stronger. [. . .]Bush is expected to approve more unilateral U.S. sanctions against Sudan, probably sometime after Easter. Among other steps, these will target assets of three Sudanese leaders and prohibit business in dollars with several dozen Sudanese companies, including an oil services firm. The United States could also help to rebuild former rebel forces in southern Sudan, which signed a peace deal with the government in 2005.
I hope this really does signal a new phase in the efforts to stop the killing in the region, but last week I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s actually going to end up like this: In keeping with family traditions, Hillary gets elected president in 2008 and Bush sends in buttloads of troops with an ill-defined mission right around Christmas.