Two minutes of the 90-minute presidential debate on Thursday were dedicated to the genocide taking place in the Darfur
region of Sudan – not nearly enough
time, given the scale of the tragedy, but more time than we anticipated, quite frankly.
We were glad that both candidates used the word “genocide” to describe the actions of the Sudanese government and the Arab militiamen known as Janjaweed, who are killing Darfur’s non-Arab
population.
But we were disheartened that neither candidate is in favor of sending troops to stop the genocide, which by all accounts
is ongoing.
An estimated 50,000 have been killed and 1.3 million have been driven from their homes, according to Reuters. Women are being raped and villages are being destroyed on a daily basis. Yet the world is dragging its heels. The African Union only has 300 troops on the ground, according to The Washington Post, and the United Nations is taking its sweet time dotting every I and crossing every T.
Sudan’s only hope is for America to take the lead by ramping up pressure on the international community, helping to provide the peacekeeping infrastructure (i.e. money) and sending in U.S. troops, if necessary
– and it will be necessary. All of this should have been done months ago.
As Samantha Power recently reminded us in Time magazine, past presidents have been reluctant to use “the G-word” to describe genocide: For example, Jimmy Carter with the Khmer Rouge, Ronald Reagan with Saddam Hussein, the first George Bush with the Bosnian Serbs and Bill Clinton with Bosnia and Rwanda.
This time around, our leaders have provided the appropriate international context, but, as Power says, using the word genocide is only a small, first step. Now we must take action. We must not allow ourselves to be trigger-shy due to the reaction over, and casualties in, Iraq. What some would suggest is America’s greatest failing – a rash, unilateral foreign policy – can now be utilized for the good of humanity. The controversial “doctrine of preemption” has the potential to do what no other
country is able to do: Preempt
further genocide.
However, in a political year dominated by Iraq, nuclear weapons and terrorism, Africa and the terrorism of genocide have been rendered invisible. This is an issue that should transcend politics, yet neither candidate has made it a priority. Democrats and Republicans must find a way to come together and take action to help the Sudanese people without it dissolving into further partisan mudslinging. But that might be too much to ask.

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