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Darfur Issue Statement
Our great power is a gift, entrusted to us to wield with wisdom and humility.
Many people say that the crisis in Darfur is so great that without United States military forces there can be no end to the terrible violence. For four years marauding bands of Arab Janjaweed, supported by the Sudanese military, have terrorized, raped, and murdered their black fellow citizens in an effort to seize their land and destroy their political identity. Exact numbers are difficult to know, but the death toll has reached several hundreds of thousands and the number of displaced refugees is at least 2 million. In July of 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate declared in unanimous resolutions that these actions constitute genocide. Advocates of a U.S. military presence in Darfur call attention to these declarations and demand that we step up to support our words with action.
There are formidable obstacles to a solution of the crisis. Militarily, the U.S. has ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that place heavy burdens on our service members, their families, and the taxpayer. Internationally, China and Russia have blocked progress in the effort to focus international pressure on the Sudanese. Responding to pressure before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese sent a battalion of engineers to help construct refugee camps, but an effective response has not yet been made.
I visited the Sudan in 2006, and I believe strongly that the crisis in Darfur is one of the great moral challenges of our time. Our response will be remembered for generations to come, at home and around the world. We must actively support international peacekeeping forces from the U.N. and African Union, persuade China to put greater pressure on the Sudanese government to end its campaign of political violence, and, one day, hold the guilty responsible for their war crimes. The recent issuance of a war crimes indictment of Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, is a strong step in the right direction.
As to the charge that these steps would be insufficient, and that no solution can arise without the direct involvement of U.S. forces, I argue that change that does not arise from within Sudan is no change at all. Any resolution to the conflict in Darfur must come from accords reached by the Sudanese people, assisted by the international community. American power comes with an obligation to righteousness, but to prevent that righteousness from turning into sinful pride, we must be humble and aware of our imperfections. Only a predominantly local solution will provide lasting peace.
Madison Webb (5/30/08)
The American government has leverage over Sudan. We got them to kick out terrorists in the 90's. WE can pressure them more than we do.