Unilateralism in Darfur?

Sunday's New York Times Magazine included an interesting Q & A with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  (One of the gems is Ambassador Chris Hill's advice that Americans consider how our advice is taken globally, particularly with respect to democracy promotion.)  The Q & A is worth a full read, but one thing struck me, and I'd be grateful if anyone could shed some light on what Rice had in mind.  She is quoted as saying, "I have regrets about Darfur, real regrets. I don’t know that there were other answers. The president considered trying to do something unilaterally — very difficult to do."  I have done a little bit of searching to figure out just what unilateral act(s) the president considered, and I've come up empty.  Military?  Economic?  If you understand the reference, please respond in the comments.  And how serious was the consideration of doing something unilaterally?

Meanwhile, see former SYG Kofi Annan's remarks in today's IHT, which concludes thus:

Responding to a claim by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, for example, who said Washington had worked "day and night" to end human rights violations in Darfur, Annan smiled before remarking: "I don't know about day and night. It depends how long your days and your nights are."

"The world could not give them 18 helicopters," he said. "We could have done more - and should."

Comments

[Nell Okie]

Beyond saying "not on my watch", which some speculate was a reference to a memo placed on top of Bush's watch, at the moment, I cannot recall anything the Bush administration has done to try to end the genocide in Darfur. Most definitely, their heart has not been in ending this nightmare, nor was Anan's, or that of the European Union, etc. And Condoleezza Rice has regrets? So sorry, Condie.

I encourage people everywhere to speak up, on behalf of the people of Darfur and the people of the DRC who are being brutalized, murdered, starved, raped, tormented, to the Bush administration and to our President-Elect to end this insanity.
http://answercenter.barackobama.com/cgi-bin/barackobama.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

We have an economic crisis to deal with; we are not hundreds of thousands of Congolese, nor millions of Darfuris, fighting for our very existence.

www.enoughproject.org
www.raisehopeforcongo.org