US Must Act on Darfur, With or Without UN

In the event that the UN fails to act or fails to act quickly on the genocide in Darfur, should the United States send in our own peacekeeping force? If President Bush and our Congress found cause to invade Iraq, they should have no problem sending (at the very least) a peacekeeping force into Sudan. The facts:

There is a humanitarian crisis underway of proportions far worse than the crimes of Saddam Hussein. The events in Darfur are being compared with Rwanda (see this site ). More than 300,000 have died, most violently, many as they tried to flee. This fact alone should be enough to warrant International and US intervention. But there are even more reasons to go into Sudan.

Sudan is a State Sponsor of Terror according to the US State Department. The African Embassy bombings were planned and executed from Sudan. And Sudan even harbored Osama Bin Laden in the ‘90’s and still has ties to Al Qaeda.

There is evidence that Sudan has chemical weapons. The evidence was strong enough to prompt President Clinton to order a missile strike on a suspected nerve gas factory in 1998.

This information comes from The Council on Foreign Relations. The Council’s Center for Terrorism also has this to say:

International investigators suspect [Sudan] has become a financial hub for the terror network since September 11; al-Qaeda operatives have reportedly spirited large amounts of gold into Sudan.

Sudan has also harbored members of the Baghdad-based Abu Nidal Organization, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Lebanese group Hezbollah, and others. These terrorists do not carry out attacks within Sudan but plan and support terrorism elsewhere. Hamas and Hezbollah have reportedly maintained training camps in Sudan. The National Islamic Front, the strict Islamist party that governs much of Sudan, does not consider any of these groups terrorist organizations.

If we as a nation are truly committed to spreading freedom and combating Islamic terrorism, our elected officials should not hesitate to do whatever it takes to end the Darfur genocide, either by partnering with the UN to form a peacekeeping force or taking action on our own. But we must act now.

Call or e-mail your congressional representatives and let them know that ending the genocide in Darfur should be an immediate priority. (Contact your representative here. Your senator here.)

Share this information with whomever you can. The people of the US must make our government know we want action now.