Lives in the Balance

The “saving” Africa backlash

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:20:37 -0400

From Uzodinma Iweala for the Washington Post: Last fall, shortly after I returned from Nigeria, I was accosted by a perky blond college student whose blue eyes seemed to match the "African" beads around her wrists. "Save Darfur!" she shouted from behind a table covered with pamphlets urging students to TAKE ACTION NOW! STOP GENOCIDE IN DARFUR! My aversion to college kids jumping onto fashionable s

China and Darfur

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:12:07 -0400

The China-Darfur connection has been the source of much discussion in the press and the blogosphere in recent months. A round-up of some of the best articles: Beijing has "a vested interest in the continuation of a low level of insecurity. It keeps the other major investors out," charges the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) in a report. The report argues that China welcomes the ab

Failed States

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 11:06:31 -0400

Foreign Policy has released the 2007 list of the world’s failed states. What makes a failed state? A state that is failing has several attributes. One of the most common is the loss of physical control of its territory or a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Other attributes of state failure include the erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions, an inability to provide r

Africa, War and International Law

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:11:30 -0400

There are two new, interesting articles out about Africa, military intervention and the evolving international legal norm known as the “Responsibility to Protect”. The first article is from Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, the first from his most recent trip to Africa with the “win a trip with Nick Kristof” contest. As usual, Kristof personalizes the issue, telling the story of a mother

Sudan & The CIA

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:54:34 -0400

The Los Angeles Times has an important article on the CIA and counter-intelligence cooperation with Sudan. As I noted a while back, a number of Senators have been questioning the Administration’s two-faced stance on Sudan. Hopefully this article will encourage more elected representatives to do the same. Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on the insurgency in Iraq, an example of ho

Alex de Waal’s Darfur blog

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 16:19:02 -0400

I just received an e-mail saying that Alex de Waal has started up a blog called Making Sense of Darfur. I spend way to much time in the blog-o-sphere as it is... but I’m really looking forward to reading de Waal’s regular comments on his perceptions of current events in and activism on Darfur. I’m particularly looking forward to de Waal’s blog because his book with Julie Flint, Darfur: A Short

Genocide & The Democratic Debate

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 12:38:50 -0400

Sunday’s Democratic debate discussed genocide in interesting ways. First up was the possibility of genocide in Iraq (or, how avoiding a question helps prevent genocide): BLITZER: Governor Richardson, I want Governor Richardson to weigh in because I know you have been very concerned about what is happening with the genocide in Darfur. What if some of the critics, some of the supporters of this wa

Love it: Plan B for Darfur

Thu, 31 May 2007 15:32:58 -0400

Given my recent posts about Bush’s new sanctions and the threat of military force in Darfur this article by former presidential speech-writer and advisor Michael Gerson is quite interesting: A Big Enough Stick for Sudan ... Immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, the regime in Khartoum, which once sheltered Osama bin Laden, was suddenly cooperative -- fearful of being visited by the fate of Afghanistan.

Genocide Denial 101

Thu, 31 May 2007 13:33:46 -0400

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank has a disturbingly absurd piece about the Sudanese Ambassador to Washington, “Denying Genocide in Darfur - And Americans Their Coca- Cola”. Apparently the Ambassador held a news conference yesterday to address Bush’s new sanctions and proceeded to declare that the population of Darfur is immortal... The Iraq war gave us Baghdad Bob, the Iraqi information mini

What to do about Darfur?

Wed, 30 May 2007 14:58:31 -0400

This morning I attended the policy discussion “What to do about Darfur” at the Holocaust Museum. The ‘discussion’ between Alex de Waal and John Prendergast lasted over 2 hours and was quite informative - especially as regards the perceived obstacles to peace in Darfur. Since the full audio and transcript will be posted at Voices on Genocide Prevention tomorrow I’ll focus on the main common them