If you're looking for a quick, highly readable account of the tragedy going on in Sudan's Darfur province you should take a look at Samantha Power's article in the August 30 issue of The New Yorker. It contains some horrible stories from the area (where government supported Arab militias are killing non-Arab Sudanese) and an overview of actions that have been taken (and not taken) by the UN, the Bush administration, the Congress, other countries, and a variety of other groups and prominent individuals (like Franklin Graham).
As to how it fits into some of the other debates going on at this site, it discusses how and why other Western countries are showing little interest in working with the Bush administration on this matter, and the impact of the Bush administration's opposition to the International Criminal Court. For the record, the Bush administration was actively involved in the creation of a peace deal aimed at settling the civil war in southern Sudan, but it has not taken similar steps to stop the killings in Darfur.
According to the article, the refugees from these slaughters believe that only the entry of Western troops can stop the violence. One is quoted as saying, "We will not return to our homes until the white people come and make us safe."
Posted by armand at August 27, 2004 11:25 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics