Genocide in Darfur
The people of Darfur, a region in western Sudan, are the victims of "ethnic cleansing" by an Arab terrorist group called the Janjaweed Militia, backed by the government of Sudan. The attacks, which began in 2003 as a response to a rebellion in the region, have killed about 400,000 people and forced another 2.5 million to seek refuge in camps in Sudan and neighboring Chad. (1)
The African Union (AU) has deployed about 5,000 soldiers in Darfur to stop the carnage, but this force is both too small and not well equipped or trained. Although the United Nations has called Darfur " the world's greatest humanitarian crisis", it has done nothing about it, as usual for the UN.
A coalition of 150 religious groups, entitled The Save Darfur Coalition, has scheduled a mass rally in front of the Capitol in Washington at 2 PM on Sunday, April 30, to pressure our government to take effective action to stop the genocide. Jewish groups, such as the AJCongress, AJCommittee, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs World Services, are playing major roles in this effort.
What can the United States do to save the people of Darfur?
Congress can restore the $50 million previously approved for assistance to the AU military mission in Darfur, which was cut in January. The Administration could put more diplomatic and economic pressure on Sudan, both directly and through friendly Arab regimes.
The most effective measure imaginable is the one that won't be used: military force. The Janjaweed are powerful when faced with an unarmed civilian population, but are no match for a real army, such as that of the United States. The US, with its NATO allies, used military force effectively against Serbia to halt genocide in 1999. Why not in Africa today?
The answer is a 4-letter word : Iraq. After three years of fighting to pacify Iraq, the American people are tired of war (and casualties), and would not stand for another military engagement, especially where American interests are not involved. Moreover, Sudan, which offered to surrender Osama bin Laden to the US in 1996, is considered an ally of ours in the perpetual War on Terror.
The American Jewish Community, already blamed in some quarters for the debacle in Iraq, cannot afford to be perceived as leading the nation into another war, especially against another Arab country. Yet those who condemn the world for silence in the face of the Nazi Holocaust cannot remain silent themselves in the face of genocide directed at another people today. Accordingly, Jewish groups are pushing for diplomatic and economic measures only, inadequate as they may be.
Altough all victims of the Darfur genocide are black Africans, black organizations and politicians have not been conspicuous in the leadership of the Darfur campaign, especially when compared with their huge efforts to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's. Arab nations and their sympathizers, who are constantly bemoaning the plight of the Palestinians, are strangely silent about Sudan, a member in good standing of the Arab League. Their voices might command the attention of Khartoum, if they would deign to use them.
Perhaps it is fortuitous that the Darfur crisis gives Jewish groups the opportunity to portray still another Arab society as cruel and vicious toward outsiders. But the facts are indisputable, and one of them is that the Jews care about Darfur more than anyone else.
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(1) Forward, January 27, 2006
The African Union (AU) has deployed about 5,000 soldiers in Darfur to stop the carnage, but this force is both too small and not well equipped or trained. Although the United Nations has called Darfur " the world's greatest humanitarian crisis", it has done nothing about it, as usual for the UN.
A coalition of 150 religious groups, entitled The Save Darfur Coalition, has scheduled a mass rally in front of the Capitol in Washington at 2 PM on Sunday, April 30, to pressure our government to take effective action to stop the genocide. Jewish groups, such as the AJCongress, AJCommittee, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs World Services, are playing major roles in this effort.
What can the United States do to save the people of Darfur?
Congress can restore the $50 million previously approved for assistance to the AU military mission in Darfur, which was cut in January. The Administration could put more diplomatic and economic pressure on Sudan, both directly and through friendly Arab regimes.
The most effective measure imaginable is the one that won't be used: military force. The Janjaweed are powerful when faced with an unarmed civilian population, but are no match for a real army, such as that of the United States. The US, with its NATO allies, used military force effectively against Serbia to halt genocide in 1999. Why not in Africa today?
The answer is a 4-letter word : Iraq. After three years of fighting to pacify Iraq, the American people are tired of war (and casualties), and would not stand for another military engagement, especially where American interests are not involved. Moreover, Sudan, which offered to surrender Osama bin Laden to the US in 1996, is considered an ally of ours in the perpetual War on Terror.
The American Jewish Community, already blamed in some quarters for the debacle in Iraq, cannot afford to be perceived as leading the nation into another war, especially against another Arab country. Yet those who condemn the world for silence in the face of the Nazi Holocaust cannot remain silent themselves in the face of genocide directed at another people today. Accordingly, Jewish groups are pushing for diplomatic and economic measures only, inadequate as they may be.
Altough all victims of the Darfur genocide are black Africans, black organizations and politicians have not been conspicuous in the leadership of the Darfur campaign, especially when compared with their huge efforts to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's. Arab nations and their sympathizers, who are constantly bemoaning the plight of the Palestinians, are strangely silent about Sudan, a member in good standing of the Arab League. Their voices might command the attention of Khartoum, if they would deign to use them.
Perhaps it is fortuitous that the Darfur crisis gives Jewish groups the opportunity to portray still another Arab society as cruel and vicious toward outsiders. But the facts are indisputable, and one of them is that the Jews care about Darfur more than anyone else.
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(1) Forward, January 27, 2006
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 10:02 AM
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