Scandal! Heartbreak! Clooney Visits Darfur

George Clooney figures prominently in New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof's latest report from Africa, which Kristof describes as "yet another hand-wringing column about Darfur." He offers to swap dirt on the Hollywood heartthrob for readers' interest—then offers a chilling tale of a "petty and mean-spirited" move by the UN, which yanked the Americans' security escort.

"Sudan’s state-sponsored slaughter of civilians" continues in part thanks to "the fecklessness of the international community," Kristof writes. He and travel-companion Clooney had a taste of that cowardice when they lost their protection; Kristof speculates that the UN was "concerned that Mr. Clooney might say something strongly critical of" the Sudanese regime—"perhaps come down hard on genocide?" As for the gossip, click the link below to see whether Kristof delivers.
(More Darfur stories.)