George Clooney saves Darfur, might run for President of Sudan

George Clooney, quite dashing

The dramatic, psycho-thriller rivalry between actor George Clooney and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir took a Soderberghian twist recently as the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir--the alleged mastermind of the 6-year-long genocide in Darfur--after Clooney met U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss the ongoing conflict.

Coincidence? We think not. To wit:

TIMELINE OF RELEVANT EVENTS IN THE DARFUR GENOCIDE
June 2003 - Government of Sudan begins arming and deploying Janjaweed militias against rebel factions in the Darfur region.

June 2003-February 2009 - Janjaweed and other government-backed militias attack and destroy hundreds of villages, displacing as many as 2.5 million people. At least 300,000 civilians (and some say the number might be over 1 million) in Darfur are killed either by the militias directly or from starvation due to displacement and famine. Meanwhile, the international community is powerless to stop the massacre and ease the suffering of millions of lives.

Omar Bashir,  quite confused

February 2009 - Actor George Clooney returns from Darfur and meets with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the situation in Sudan, urging immediate action to stop the genocide.

March 2009 - International Criminal Court issues controversial indictment and arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on allegations of committing war crimes and genocide.

See? Actors do matter.

(The actual news: After formalizing the indictment last week, the ICC is expected to officially issue the arrest warrant for al-Bashir this Wednesday: a historic moment as no sitting head of government has ever been summoned for arrest by the ICC.)