Has former national security advisor, Robert "Bud" McFarlane, been taking money from the genocidal government of Sudan?  Does he know that in doing so he would be breaking international law, sanctions, and going against our country’s national security priorities?

Yesterday’s Washington Post[1] says so (quotes below).

More than 1,000 leaders of the worldwide movement to end genocide will convene in Washington, D.C. on November 6-9th for Pledge2Protect, and you want to be there! The discount expires in 2 days! Don’t forget to register before 11:59pm on Wednesday, Sept. 30 for our early bird rate. See you there!

Last Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the framework for the US government’s new policy towards the Burmese regime. The policies of past US governments have centered on the imposition of a strict sanctions regime and diplomatic isolation of the Burmese military junta.

Yesterday in his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama mentioned both conflict prevention and the situation in Sudan. The speech, entitled "Responsibility for Our Common Future," stressed that countries have both rights and responsibilities and that – especially today – interests among nations align, including the need for peace:

At last count, the Burmese regime has released 127 political opposition members in its latest prisoner amnesty. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP-Burma), this is the sixth amnesty since November 2004. In those six amnesties, the Burmese regime has released 45,732 prisoners, only 1.3% of which have been political prisoners.

You’ve probably received our emails about Pledge: On Camera – our video advocacy initiative in partnership with Witness and the first phase of the Pledge2Protect campaign – or heard about it from your Outreach Coordinator. Even so, I wanted to take this opportunity to make another plug.