Calling It Like It Is: Darfur Is Genocide

In his remarks before the General Assembly at the United Nations, President Bush called the situation in Darfur precisely what it is - genocide. Per the WH Fact Sheet and transcript:

To The People Of Darfur: You Have Suffered Unspeakable Violence, And America Has Called These Atrocities What They Are - Genocide. For the last two years, America has joined with the international community to provide emergency food aid and support an African Union peacekeeping force. Yet the suffering continues. The Security Council has approved a resolution that would transform the African Union force into a blue-helmeted force that is larger and more robust, but the regime in Khartoum is stopping the deployment of this force. If the Sudanese government does not approve this peacekeeping force quickly, the UN must act. Today, President Bush announced he is naming former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios as a Presidential Special Envoy to lead America's efforts to resolve the outstanding disputes and help bring peace to Darfur.

I have no doubt that Kofi Annan will completely disregard the situation in Darfur and the increasing pressure from the US and Western countries and do nothing to get peacekeepers deployed to Sudan because nothing would displease Kofi more than upsetting the status quo, even when the status quo involves genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, all supported by an Islamist regime in Khartoum.

Some folks think that the US needs to do more to lead the fight to stop the genocide. I'm among those who think this is the case. However, I see this more than just providing humanitarian relief. I see it as integral to the larger fight against terrorism, as lawless regions around the world are used by terror groups for training and operational purposes. We see that happening in Somalia as I write this. Getting peacekeepers into Darfur will do more than simply provide humanitarian relief, but denies the use of the region by terrorists to train and operate freely.

Sudan opposes the deployment of peacekeepers and has Russia and China in its pocket. Thus, the UN is not likely to get anything done unless those two countries lift their objections, which means that any action will be so limpwristed as to be worthless and the delays only mean a higher death toll.