What a horrible way for the new year to begin: John Granville, a US diplomat seeking the distribution of radios to Sudanese citizens, was shot and killed this morning in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. This came the day after the President Bush signed a bill putting economic pressure on Sudan--a practice known as divestment, in which individuals, businesses, and governments, "un-invest" in companies with economic interests in Sudan. The US has accused the Sudanese government of genocide in the region of Darfur; Sudan denies involvement in Mr. Granville's killing.
The US has put a lot of money into aid in Darfur and eastern Chad; civil war has led to countless deaths and displacements. However, what do we do, diplomatically, with a foreign government that will not acknowledge the horrors taking place within its borders? The death of this official is not a good sign in diplomatic relations with Khartoum. I don't know a whole lot about political science and am at a loss for what our government can do besides give aid. It may seem like interference, and I guess to some extent it is, but I could not condone standing by idly while genocide goes on in the Darfur. I don't have any big ideas for progress in this case, but I think this is something on which we need to comment.
In better news, a new peacekeeping force has taken over and will eventually include 26,000 troops. Also, regarding the bill Bush signed today, it prohibits companies that do business with Sudan from making federal contracts and makes it easier for individuals, businesses, and states to withdraw investment from Sudanese transactions. Bush has been criticized for not taking action on Darfur after he criticized Clinton for his similar lack of action on Rwanda, so I'm glad to see he's doing something, though I don't know how effective this economic pressure will be.
Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHGHYfYiwDqbSG8yAfPru08yG4ig
When the United States decides to act, the left is always against it.
However, when the United Nations is in charge, we have events like the violence in Darfur.
How long has the UN been involved in the horrible conditions in Darfur, with no success? Yet the left prefers to have THEM act instead of the United States?
The United States won't be able to act in Darfur. Our President is having enough of a time getting the Democrats to fund our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.