[Previous entry: "'Blood Diamonds' Still Sold by U.S. Retailers"] [Next entry: "Wherever Bush Goes, Osama is Bound to Follow"]
04/02/2004:
"Papers prove US knew of genocide in Rwanda"
by Rory CarrollApril 1, 2004, www.smh.com.au
US president Bill Clinton's administration knew Rwanda was being engulfed by genocide in April 1994 but buried the information to justify its inaction, classified documents made available for the first time reveal.
Senior officials privately used the word genocide within 16 days of the start of the killings, but chose not to do so publicly because the president had already decided not to intervene.
Intelligence reports obtained using the US Freedom of Information Act show the cabinet and almost certainly the president knew of a planned "final solution to eliminate all Tutsis" before the slaughter reached its peak.
It took Hutu death squads three months from April 6 to murder about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus and at each stage accurate, detailed reports were reaching Washington policymakers.
The documents undermine claims by Mr Clinton and his officials that they did not fully appreciate the scale and speed of the killings.
www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/31/1080544556703.html
