Sudan's President Spins Tales At U.N.
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
Everyone gets a chance with the microphone in New York this week.
It's the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, and while it probably isn't on the front page of your newspaper today, you'll want to know what the president of Sudan had to say.
Omar Hassan Al-Bashir rejected President Bush's call for U.N. troops to replace the feeble African Union force whose orders to keep the peace in Darfur expire at the end of this month.
Darfur is recognized as the home of the first genocide of the 21st century. At least 200,000 people have been killed there and millions more displaced.
On Tuesday, Sudan's president called that a fiction. But then he went on. According to The New York Times, President Al-Bashir, in response to a question about the rising world voices to stop the killing, blamed Jews.
President Bush has named a special envoy for Darfur. Only non-stop international pressure can answer such insanity.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on manyCBS Radio News affiliates across the country.
By Harry Smith