Clooney to discuss Darfur with Obama

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Actor George Clooney says he will lobby U.S. President Barack Obama to pick up the diplomatic pace to find a solution in Darfur.

Clooney said when he meets with the U.S. head of state next week, he will ask Obama to assign a high-level diplomat with the authority to negotiate a peace treaty among the warring factions in the troubled Sudanese region, ExtraTV reported Friday.

"We want him (Obama) to appoint a high-level, full-time diplomat ... to work hard and negotiate for a peace treaty," said Clooney, who the United Nations named a messenger of peace in 2008.

"Access Hollywood" reported Clooney, who is touring Darfur, suggested a school in the region named after Obama showed Darfur residents still had some semblance of hope for the future.

"I think it's a completely different definition of hope," the former "ER" star said of the situation in Darfur. "I think the bar is considerably lower here. I think that 'Hope' here means hoping to get through the night or hoping to get through the week."