TEST CANCELLED

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United States dropped the word "sanctions" from a draft U.N. resolution on Sudan on Thursday in the face of opposition on the Security Council, but it retained a threat of economic action against Khartoum if it fails to disarm Arab militias in Darfur.

The Security Council announced it will vote Friday on the resolution.

The changes in the text were made to overcome opposition in the 15-nation Security Council to a sanctions threat that Washington had been pressing for. Some members said Sudan should be given more time to end the violence that some have called ethnic cleansing and even genocide.

Unfortunately, this means we won't get a chance to see if sanctions can stop genocide. So, the important test has been canceled.

The BBC said the UN may try to propose sanctions in another month if the 'warning' fails.

The UN is being very unhelpful here.

Seriously, it's pretty obvious that that 'esteemed international body' is tacitly endorsing the genocide in Sudan. But, even with that, it can't even endorse genocide efficiently. If it wanted to be 'helpful' it should just give up the facade and give the Janjaweed some helicopter gunships.

At the very least that would be better than watching this happen in slow motion.

"I see the next decade's "Never again" story is here. Just as we all agreed the 1994 Rwandan genocide should never be allowed to happen again, so - in a year or two - we'll all be agreed that another 2004 Sudanese genocide should never be allowed to happen again."