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April 28, 2006

Bush Passes Duty Off to Activists

President Bush today, after meeting with numerous people of faith, said that "genocide in Sudan is unacceptable" and urged Americans to participate in anti-genocide rallies to "to send a message to the Sudanese government that the genocide must stop."

Some of us remember that back in 2001, in response to the failures of the Clinton Administration to stop the Rwandan genocide, Bush said, "Not on my watch." In September of 2004, the White House demanded that the Sudanese government quit ignoring a July 30, 2004 UN Security Council Resolution calling on that government to disarm the militias implementing the killings. In that statement, the White House declared that genocide was occurring. Yet the killing continues to this day, with the Sudanese government clearly convinced it will never face repercussions. In short, the United States is looking rather impotent at the moment.

A university student named Eric Reeves has some interesting things to say about the reasons for this and I recommend reading his entire post:

Notably, after the President spoke in February, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter declared it was "‘premature to speculate’ on potential increases in US troops” (Washington Post, February 17, 2006). Privately, Bush administration officials make clear there is no intention of sending US troops to Darfur. The Pentagon comment comported precisely with a statement by US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack following a meeting several days earlier between Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan: "‘It's really premature to speculate about what the needs would be in terms of logistics, in terms of airlift, in terms of actual troops. And certainly in that regard, premature to speculate on what the US contribution might be’" (Reuters [Washington, DC], February 13, 2006).

The United States is a signatory on a UN agreement to stop and punish genocide, and the President is obligated to pursue that fully. If the UN, NATO, and the US are so ineffective in their three-year effort to stop the slaughter that the Sudanese government laughs in their faces, what makes the President think that rallying American citizens are going to be able to change its policy? Those organizing the rallies are trying to get the President to take action, not the Sudanese government. In fact, on their Web site they are asking people to tell the President to use "the power of your office to support a stronger multi-national force to protect the civilians of Darfur."

Unfortunately, Bush has chosen to shirk his duty by passing the responsibility off to activists, telling them in effect, "You send a message to the Sudanese government." I think Eric Reeves sums it up well:

You are trying to respond to genocide in Darfur on the cheap, Mr. Bush---and the effect is only to make any meaningful response less likely.

Posted by Becky at April 28, 2006 01:37 PM

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