Wednesday, June 23, 2004
John McCain and fellow senator Mike DeWine have sounded the alarm about genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. Presently the Sudanese government and local Arab militias are intent on murdering or expelling the region's black population.
Rightly, they call on the U.S. to push for action in the UN Security Council. Action in the UN will be necessary - but there will inevitably be difficulty due to the cohesion of the Arab states in that forum. Getting Egypt and other states to break ranks with the Sudan will probably be necessary - to do that, Western countries will have to give the carnage in Darfur a lot more attention and coverage than its receiving.
If not, as McCain and DeWine state, about 320,000 people will be dead by the end of the year.
Rightly, they call on the U.S. to push for action in the UN Security Council. Action in the UN will be necessary - but there will inevitably be difficulty due to the cohesion of the Arab states in that forum. Getting Egypt and other states to break ranks with the Sudan will probably be necessary - to do that, Western countries will have to give the carnage in Darfur a lot more attention and coverage than its receiving.
If not, as McCain and DeWine state, about 320,000 people will be dead by the end of the year.
