More Bad News On Darfur

[Annie]

http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_12_18-2005_12_24.shtml#1135112144

lots of links.

[David Kopel, December 20, 2005 at 3:55pm] 2 Trackbacks / Possibly More Trackbacks
Sudanese Genocide Gets Worse:

Professor Eric Reeves of Smith College is indefatigable in his determination to try to stop the genocide in Sudan. The SudanReeves website is an outstanding source of information. His latest posts detail how the situation in Darfur has gotten even worse in recent months, and how the African Union "peacekeeping" force (which is only supposed to protect foreigners, not Darfuris) is an abysmal failure even in its limited mission. The Khartoum dictatorship has been perpetrating genocide since 1992--first in the Nuba Mountains, then in south Sudan, and now in Darfur. Reeves predicts that the next target will the oil-rich eastern Sudan.

In the book "Darfur: Genocide Before Our Eyes" (published by the Institute for the Study of Genocide), Reeves makes the case for military intervention by NATO to stop the genocide. Military intervention would be a wonderful idea, and, indeed, there is a good international law argument that every NATO country is legally bound to intervene, since every NATO country is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, which imposes an affirmitive duty to "prevent" genocide.

But the prospects of NATO intervention are, unfortunately, nil. Among NATO governments, only the United States has even used the word "genocide" about the genocide in Darfur. At StrategyPage noted long ago, even a NATO-imposed "No-Fly Zone" in Darfur would do tremendous good, since it would prevent the Sudanese Air Force from supporting the ground attacks of the Arab janjaweed. But there is no indication that NATO will do anything more than continue to provide airlifts to the incompetent African Union forces.

In a forthcoming article in the Notre Dame Law Review, Paul Gallant, Joanne Eisen and I examine the Darfur genocide, and other genocides, and conclude that under existing international law, the victims of an on-going genocide have an over-riding right to acquire and possess defensive arms, notwithstanding any contrary national or international laws on the subject.
7 Comments

 

[NATO AIR]

I am likely going to the border sector (the border of Chad and Sudan (darfur region) in March with a congressional delegation and a church group. I think this represents the next step in understanding and pursuing activism for the genocide survivors.

In 10 years, when we're all watching Hotel Darfur or some other movie based on the true horror stories of what happened there (especially with the death toll likely to be a million or more by the time the Sudanese finally move on to the oil-rich eastern provinces and commit genocide there), I assume there will be a lot of people from Congress and the White House claiming they tried to do something, but failed in the end. Shame on them, and on us. We've had chances for over 2 years now to do something useful and effective, even if it didnt' constitute military action. We've failed, miserably. And we'll continue to, because the media, the politicians and the oil companies don't want to talk about this anymore.

I am grateful to Instapundit and others for their continuing coverage of Darfur. Where the mainstream media failed, they've shined. As usual.

 

[Gunny]

This is the kind of crap that makes me question the motives of my own government. I would support unilateral military intervention in a heartbeat, and volunteer to go back on active duty if need be.

The Dim's are too busy accusing Republicans and Republicans are too busy running like scared mice from the accusations, while the UN members collect their usual payday on schedule.

If the US is indeed all about freedom and democracy, then it needs to be applied across the board, not selectively.

 

[NATO AIR]

This is the kind of crap that makes me question the motives of my own government.

.

Yep, and did you hear about how the CIA is working together with the architects of the genocide? (this via GOP Congressmen Frank Wolf and Chris Smith. The Bush Justice Dept. went apeshit over these bastards being flown to the US on an Agency jet to meet with CIA officials.

I'd support unilateral military intervention in a heartbeat, and volunteer to go back on active duty if need be

.

I wish we would do something, but it is not happening. If we were to though, I would do my desperate best to be the first on the ground and the last to leave.

So though I cannot go as a combatant, I will go as an observer and see for myself what is happening, talk to the survivors and just for a few days attempt to just begin to understand what it must be like to survive a genocide and then be abandoned by the world, endangered yet again.

The Dim's are too busy accusing Republicans and Republicans are too busy running like scared mice from the accusations, while the UN members collect their usual payday on schedule.

Absolutely. Liberals and conservatives alike are failing on this, and the UN and the others who aren't even doing the bare minimum for Darfur are laughing all the way to the bank. And idiots still believe in the UN system.

If the US is indeed all about freedom and democracy, then it needs to be applied across the board, not selectively.

Definitely. Look how dumb we looked and sounded earlier this year with Uzbekistan and just recently with Egypt.

We need long-term thinkers in our government who can get our policies on track and make them work.