No more talk on Darfur.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Two years have passed since the Bush administration first acknowledged that genocide was occurring in Sudan's Darfur region. Yet the world has done little more than talk eloquently about the suffering.

There was more talk in Washington, D.C., Monday as President Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed the need for an effective peacekeeping force in Darfur. Bush made no commitments of military support or additional funding. Afterward, Bush made no mention of Annan's proposal for an international mission and would only say that they'd had "a good discussion."

More talk. No action.

As many as 400,000 people already have died in Darfur. Another 2 million - a full third of Darfur's population - have been displaced, their lives threatened by violence, hunger and disease.

For the past 18 months, the Bush administration has supported a policy of applying sanctions and sending in African Union forces. The 7,000-strong A.U. force has valiantly attempted to protect the non-Arab farming peoples of Darfur from the Sudanese regime and its allies, Arab militias known as Janjaweed. But the A.U. peacekeepers lacked the troops, the logistical support and the mobility needed to protect a territory that's the size of Texas.

Annan has been pushing for creation of a U.N. peacekeeping force that is larger and better equipped than the A.U. force - one that has a clear mandate to end the genocide in Darfur, even in the face of resistance by Sudan's government.

The Bush administration supported a recent U.N. vote to send a peacekeeping force to Darfur, but the president has yet to commit to the creation of a force that is big enough and strong enough to stopping the killing.

If Bush is serious about keeping Darfur from becoming another Rwanda, he must commit to the creation of a U.N. force of at least 20,000 international troops, with logistical support and equipment essential to the force's success.

Bush should speak often and loudly about the genocide. He should call on shamefully silent Arab leaders to take a public stand and to contribute troops, equipment and money to the peacekeeping force. He should tell China's leaders to stop running interference for Sudan's complicit government. He should appoint a high-profile special envoy - Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter or George Bush Sr. would all make good choices - to negotiate a permanent peace in the region.

Until the U.N. force can be assembled and deployed, Bush should request that NATO forces be sent to join A.U. troops on the ground in Darfur and to enforce a no-fly zone to prevent Sudanese aircraft from bombing villages and refugee camps. Such a move would send a powerful message that the international community is committed to ending the violence.

The people of Darfur do not need any more "good discussions." They need to be saved from genocide. Before it's too late.