Since word of genocidal conflict first broke out in 2003, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and the entire country's identity have become inextricably tied to one conflict-embroiled region: Darfur. While organizations such as STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition and the Enough Project have been calling for foreign intervention, the leaders of the developed world have, for the most part, remained silent.
During his campaign last year, President Obama emphasized the need for the United States to address the crisis in Darfur head-on, and harshly chastised President George W. Bush's administration for not taking more action to condemn the Sudanese government and aid its victimized population. But despite that opportune rhetoric, it seems that the current president and his administration are content to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. The political status quo is to acknowledge the word of a criminal government rather than the cries of a brutalized people, and to tread softly around an issue that, as Obama himself has declared, "offends the standards of our common humanity."
Appointing Maj. Gen. Scott Gration as special envoy to Sudan is the latest and most gratuitous indication of the administration's negligence toward the civil war-torn country. Although Obama has criticized the Bush administration's continued engagement of al-Bashir, Gration emphasizes the need to trust the Sudanese government, even after its slew of broken promises to both its people and other nations. Gration says the United States must believe that after fostering ethnic warfare that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, al-Bashir is being earnest when he says he wants to change his approach — although the Sudanese ruler's details remain in short supply.
Gration's rhetoric sounds strangely similar to that of the Bush administration. Instead of pressuring the Sudanese government, Gration wants to bargain with its leader, al-Bashir — a man who is now confronted with war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Gration's immediate plan includes easing economic sanctions against the Sudanese government and strengthening diplomatic ties with al-Bashir. Gration has completely disregarded the near-unanimous warnings of humanitarian group leaders who specialize in dealing with the genocide in Darfur and the Sudanese government. John Prendergrast, co-founder of the Enough Project, and Adam Mudawi, a human rights activist who works in Sudan, see Gration's plans as naïve and doomed to fail. Gration and the Obama administration are seeking to negotiate with al-Bashir despite the strong feelings of experts, ample although not sufficient documentation of horrendous atrocities in Sudan and the recent indictment of al-Bashir by the ICC.
During his campaign, when asked about his stance on the Darfur crisis, Obama stated, "As President of the United States, I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter." Yet by agreeing to Gration's proposal of conciliation, Obama is turning that blind eye. Though Obama preached placing human rights over politics, his current direction suggests the opposite. Like his predecessor, Obama likely sees the political benefits of dealing with al-Bashir as a head of state, not as a criminal. Obama must reconsider his mission to form a cordial relationship with al-Bashir or risk failing the stricken people of Darfur and the voters who believed he would make a real change.
