Friday, September 01, 2006

Darfur, D-Kos and diaries

(crossposted at Securing America)

At least two D-Kos diaries (1, 2) about the UN vote on Darfur have already scrolled offscreen. That's typical of Darfur diaries on D-Kos, but nothing has appeared about it at the Clark site, either. I reckon y'all were a-waitin' for me? ;-)

from Aljazeera (the island? the peninsula? It obviously refers to the "Arab island" that Mecca is on, so it doesn't include the Sudan, but I digress)

The UN security council has approved a resolution authorising the deployment of up to 17,000 peacekeepers to Darfur, with the Sudanese government swiftly rejecting the plan.


from the Beeb:

The Sudanese government has vehemently rejected a UN Security Council resolution that would send a UN force to Sudan's Darfur region.


from Monsters and Critics:

Acting in the shadow of the Rwanda genocide, UN Security Council members said Thursday their decision to send troops to Sudan's Darfur region without government consent is aimed at protecting civilians caught in the conflict despite the Sudanese government's objection.


from The International Herald Tribune:

Sudan on Thursday rejected a U.N. resolution giving the world body authority over peacekeepers in the war-torn region of Darfur on condition that the government in Khartoum gives its consent.


from Africa Action via AllAfrica.com:

This morning at the United Nations (UN) Security Council, a resolution authorizing the deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur passed with a vote of 12 in favor, with China, Russia and Qatar abstaining. This resolution, introduced two weeks ago by the U.S. and the U.K., was altered in negotiations this week to include a provision requiring the consent of the Sudanese government. Africa Action, which has been calling for the deployment of UN peacekeepers for more than two years, recognized the importance of this step and expressed concern that the resolution will be rendered useless without a diplomatic action plan that ensures Sudanese consent for a UN intervention.


Just to be fair and balanced, here is the article from Faux News:

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Thursday that would give the United Nations authority over peacekeepers in Darfur as soon as Sudan's government gives its consent — which it has so far refused to do.

The resolution is meant to give more power and funding to a force, now run by the African Union, that has been unable to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur that has killed more than 200,000 people and continues to worsen.


background from the Beeb:

Rwanda's army spokesman says there have been delays in paying peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region because the African Union is short of cash. Some of the Rwandan troops who make up over 2,000 of the 7,000-strong AU force in Darfur have complained they have not received their $25 daily allowance.

Maj Jules Rutaremara told the BBC the AU mission is reliant on international funding which has not been forthcoming.


and I can't help editorializing that it would be MUCH CHEAPER AND MORE EFFECTIVE to fund the AU force that is already there on the ground than to authorize a UN force. It is hard for me to avoid the suspicion that the Bush administration is just grandstanding. What UN forces are they going to send? They don't have enough forces for Lebanon!

Here is an analysis from Sudan Tribune:

Will the supporters of Al-Qaida strike in East Africa Sooner than later??

By Scott A. Morgan

August 31, 2006 — The supporters of Al-Qaida and their supporters and colleagues in the upper Nile Basin must realize that they may soon be in a target rich environment. They are having a currently successful campaign to consolidate their power within Somalia, Reports indicate that the Government of Eritrea is currently arming the currently successful Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) as they attempt to install the Government that they want. Sudan whose Government is under current Pressure from the UN Security Council to accept a more powerful peacekeeping force for the long-standing strife plagued region of Darfur.

What would embolden these groups to take such actions? There are two answers that are plausible. First is the current situation within Iraq where successful insurgency has tied down thousands of Amercan troops with over a thousand fatalities. The second answer is the recent war in Lebanon. This conflict which can be seen as a Public Relations Disaster for Israel and major coup for Hizbullah demonstated that it was possible to tie down their enemies in a protracted Miltary Campaign. US Forces have been in Iraq since 2003 and the UN stepped in to end the violence in Southern Lebanon


And I can't help but add my comment (they were almost identical) from the two D-Kos diaries:

UN resolution says they "invite" Sudan's approval

but isn't clear whether said permission is required or not. Now the lawyers have to argue about it. However, even if we can pressure the Sudan's government into approving it means little because:

1. What troops are they going to send? Butros Butros-Ghali wanted a permanent military force under the office of the S-G (himself) along with tax powers to fund it. (This is the same B B-G who was so upset that African genocide doesn't get the attention that genocide in Europe does.) Jesse Helms went ballistic and considered the UN making an explicit threat to US sovereignty. (This is the same Jesse Helms who was upset about the United States's threat to North Carolina's sovereignty, i.e. the Civil War.)

2. How are they going to fund the troops? There are troops already there on the ground, the African Union force, but they don't have enough money to do their job. They could be augmented with more troops and do a better job for less money than a UN force of troops from outside the continent, they have already been approved for the job, even by the government of the Sudan, but they don't have enough money for the force that is there now. Who is going to pay for it?

This UN resolution is simply a way for the US to wash its hands of the mess without doing anything, while convincing Arab conspiracy theorists that it is all a US plot against the "Arab nation". If they really wanted to do something they would pony up some more $$$$$ for the African Union force that is already there and call the Arab League's bluff about helping finance the AU force. In the meantime, Darfur is a test case for the AU. If it doesn't act, it should be replaced by a United States of Africa that can act.

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