Jim Moore has been writing passionately and skillfully about the conflict in Darfur, both on his blog and as part of the team behind Passion of the Present. His analysis today of Colin Powell’s ultimatum to the Khartoum government is right on target – if we believe the Sudanese government can stop the militias, and if we believe they’ll act quickly, rather than continuing to drag their heels, we’ve got a chance for peace in Sudan. If not, Powell may have backed down too quickly. I’m concerned that the latter is more likely. As Jim points out, the Sudanese government has been reluctant to even admit to their involvement in the crisis – I find it highly unlikely that they’ll move quickly to prevent further destruction without continuous outside pressure.
The Christian Science Monitor’s Abraham McLaughlin – who’s maintained an excellent blog on his time reporting from Africa – has an article analysing the Bush administration’s reasons for focusing on Sudan. He theorizes that a stable Sudan, readmitted into the “family of nations”, is a foreign policy victory for Bush’s team – a nation formerly associated with terrorism now rehabilitated by Bush’s aggresive foreign policy (like Libya.) Sudan is an issue where the administration can score points with the left and the right (while lefty organizations like MoveOn are mobilizing around Sudan, the real strength of the Sudan movement, historically, has been conservative Christians, concerned about persecution of Sudanese christians.) Finally, McLaughlin points out that Bush can hardly afford to leave himself open to accusations that he allowed a genocide to occur in Sudan on his watch during an election year. Here’s hoping these pressures will force the administration to keep pressure on Khartoum.