Social Science Research Council

Six months ago, John Prendergast and I debated the response to Darfur at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This week we continued the debate online, courtesy of Newsweek. It’s a lively exchange and after just two rounds, Newsweek’s deadline was upon us so the editor called time. I would have liked to say more—so I am posting my response to him here.

Posted on behalf of Julie Flint.

Two questions about the original posting about the attack on the AMIS base in Haskanita:

1. The attackers have been "clearly identified" as rebels. Clearly identified by whom? And what makes the identification "clear"? I very much doubt that AMIS personnel in Haskanita had much interaction with the mass of rebels in Haskanita, and the evidence I have seen suggests that no rebel leaders participated in the attack. As one investigator says, those who did were "some way down the food chain".

2. The attack was "clearly planned and premeditated". I think evidence is needed to support this statement. I personally do not have it. One of those inside the base during the attack has said that the men who attacked the base were "very drunk". They "ransacked and looted EVERYTHING"¦ They took all the food, fuel, vehicles, ransacked the clinic." This does not suggest a "clearly planned" attack. It suggests a drunken rampage.

An article by Abdul Mohammed posted in today’s Sudan Tribune defends the AU against those who have criticized or demeaned the AU. For more than two years, we have heard a chorus of complaints that the AU is inadequate, incompetent, or biased, both in its peacekeeping mission and its diplomatic efforts. The criticisms need to be taken seriously. But the AU and its role need to be assessed objectively–and there is much to defend.

In a short article in October’s Prospect magazine I pose the question, what has been the impact of vigorous advocacy on the “responsibility to protect” on the prospects for peace in Darfur? A longer version will be published in the November issue of International Affairs.

Today, Julie Flint and I had an op-ed piece in the Washington Post. Though it was headlined “In Darfur, From Genocide to Anarchy,” we would have preferred “Darfur: Simple, It Isn’t.” I’ve included the full text here and invite your comments.

Posted on behalf of Timur Goksel. Timur Goksel served first as the official spokesman and then as the senior advisor of UNIFIL between 1979-2003. He now consults on conflict and peacekeeping and teaches the same at American University of Beirut.

I am sure the hybrid UN-AU mission in Darfur created by Security Council Resolution 1769 [...]

(Posted on behalf of Paul Kirby)
First, how sensible is sending 26,000 troops to ‘peacekeep’ when there is no peace agreement? Is there a serious chance of this inflaming the situation and sucking in UN/AU troops? Or should we suspect that they won’t deploy due to delaying tactics?
Second, now that the political noise has [...]

What is the significance of UN Security Council Resolution 1769, which authorizes the hybrid UN-AU Mission in Darfur, with a strength of 26,000 and a limited Chapter VII mandate? Well — it depends.
Potentially the most significant thing about the Resolution, and Sudan’s acceptance of it, is that it gives the international community the opportunity to [...]

With the current controversy in the U.S. over the idea of a no-fly zone in Darfur, it’s worth reflecting briefly on the role of the Sudan airforce in the Darfur conflict and the measures taken thus far to restrict air attacks against civilians. My argument: a no-fly zone is inefficient, nearly pointless, and almost sure [...]

In the spring of 2004, at the height of the brutal offensives by the Sudanese army and airforce and Janjawiid militia in Darfur, I wrote an article entitled "Counterinsurgency on the Cheap." In it, I wrote,

"this is not the genocidal campaign of a government at the height of its ideological hubris, as the 1992 jihad against the Nuba was, or coldly determined to secure natural resources, as when it sought to clear the oilfields of southern Sudan of their troublesome inhabitants. This is the routine cruelty of a security cabal, its humanity withered by years in power: it is genocide by force of habit."

more on “Darfur: Necessary Knowledge for Effective Action” …