The Latest on Darfur

The US Senate voted unanimously on a resolution urging Pres. Bush to take action on Darfur. They are urging him to push NATO to take action and the UN Security Council to provide peacekeeping forces. The UN has already started planning for sending 7,000 troops.

This all sounds well and good, but it seems to be too little and way overdue. I'm inclined to think it's an election year maneuver instead of a genuine effort by congress to address a bloody genocide that we have sat back and watched as an estimated thousands of people have been murdered and over 2 million displaced and subjected to rape and violence. Why am I so skeptical about this? To begin with, this same "unanimous" congress failed to give the Sec. Of State the money she begged for to fund actions in Darfur. On top of the fact that Pres. Bush has already urged the UN and NATO to send peacekeepers, this is hardly a novel move from the congress. If anything, it's the US congress that has been dragging the US response to Darfur.

Also, consider that the UN has been working on sanctions for over a year and are still deadlocked because of countries with oil interests in Sudan holding out. With China increasing it's economic power in Africa, including sending tanks and bombs to the Sudanese government fueling the genocide in Darfur, it's hard to see anything coming out of the UN security council that will stop the violence.

Sanctions face resistance from Russia and China, which have strong economic ties to Sudan. But they will be essential to ending the chaos in Darfur. Peace talks will never be productive against a backdrop of violence, plunder and suffering.

The promise of peacekeepers could prove to be empty too. The UN still has to persuade nations to contribute troops to such a force. The U.S., which has difficult missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, is likely to provide backup support but not frontline peacekeeping troops for Darfur.

The U.S., which holds the temporary presidency of the Security Council this month, has succeeded in bringing Darfur to the top of the agenda. Millions of displaced civilians, mostly farmers, are living in refugee camps. They are not likely to return to their land in time for the next planting season, almost assuring a famine. Thousands already have died of disease and malnutrition. Foreign money to feed and shelter the refugees is drying up and increased violence in recent weeks has forced more than 100 aid workers to evacuate. As the situation becomes more desperate, even more are likely to take up arms.

Add to all of this the emerging threat coming out of Darfur - Al Qaeda. That's right, the terrorist group that brought you 9/11 has threatened the top UN Envoy in the region and any troops from outside of Africa. "We are strongly opposed to any foreign intervention in Sudan, and Darfur will be a graveyard for any foreign troops venturing to enter," warned the President of Sudan.

We need real action and real funding - not just lip service from a congress who would rather feed their own pork bellies than stop a genocide.

posted by Sarai @ 2:06 PM