The crisis in Kenya poses an enormous challenge to the United States, not least because it has already triggered the killing of over 1000 Kenyans and displaced hundreds of thousands. Kenya has experienced violence in the wake of every election in its modern history, and though the recent violence is unprecedented, its roots extend well beyond the feud between Mwai Kibaki’s Party of National Unity, or PNU, and Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement, or ODM.
On the eve of his second trip to sub-Saharan Africa, President Bush announced Thursday that he will dispatch Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Kenya, a fresh sign of U.S. concern about the political discord that has troubled the East African nation.
Bush has come under pressure to involve his administration in efforts to stem the violence in Kenya, until weeks ago considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa.
ENOUGH's co-chair Gayle Smith and other members of the Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People around the Globe (H.E.L.P.) Commission meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, and get a visit from President Bush.
The H.E.L.P. Commission reviews foreign assistance and provides recommendations to the President and Congress. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
Secretly providing suitcases full of money for warlords. Helping to overthrow a popular government. Endorsing the results of a deeply flawed election and then recanting. Making deals with officials of a genocidal government.
Testimony of Gayle E. Smith
Co-Chair of the ENOUGH Project
Full transcript of Smith's testimony
Mr. Chairman, and Honorable Members of the Subcommittee:
The United States has the power and the knowledge to end mass atrocities and genocide, but a serious effort to prevent these tragedies from occurring requires a financial commitment to expand and sustain critical programs that prevent conflict and promote peace.
(Washington, D.C.) December 7, 2007: The ENOUGH Project hails yesterday’s passing of the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007 as a huge step toward bringing the perpetrators of genocide to justice.
The legislation, introduced by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and passed with strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute foreign nationals in the U.S. suspected of genocide.
Testimony of Gayle E. Smith
Co-Chair of the ENOUGH Project
Full transcript of Smith's testimony
Mr. Chairman, and Honorable Members of the Subcommittee:
Headlines this month are heralding the news that the Sudanese government has agreed -- again -- to the deployment of a U.N./A.U. hybrid peacekeeping mission for Darfur. However, the Khartoum regime’s agreement is proving to be riddled with conditions and footnotes, and within days of agreeing to the mission, President Omer al-Bashir has publicly recanted his acceptance before audiences in Khartoum.
