In the Darfur region of Sudan, a methodical and relentless genocide has taken place. Since the terror began in early 2004, 180,000 to 400,000 Sudanese people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced. Today, acts of genocide continue, and the security situation in Darfur has degenerated so badly that the United Nations and international aid agencies have dramatically scaled back operations in certain areas. But there is reason to hope.
Last week, the UN, prodded by the United States, agreed to send a peacekeeping force to Darfur to take over a valiant but ineffective monitoring mission run by the African Union, or AU. This is good news. But UN officials acknowledge it could take up to a year to deploy any UN forces assuming member countries volunteer troops. That is simply not soon enough. We can and should do better. Nato forces can be a bridge between the current AU mission and any future UN mission.
Nato support
Nato already is helping the AU with airlift support and training. The presence of Nato forces would deliver an unequivocal message to the Sudanese government that the international community is committed to ending the violence. Nato troops could also effectively enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur and eliminate the threat of aerial bombardment of innocent men, women and children by Khartoum.
In order for Nato to act, a Nato member must step up and take the lead within the alliance. The US should make it clear that we are prepared to take the political lead at Nato and willing to contribute US troops to a Nato mission if need be.
We should not watch from a distance as the conflict in Darfur spins further out of control.
By systematically abusing its own people, the Sudanese government has ceded its sovereignty, and the plight of the victims is now the concern of every civilised society.
Darfur's desolate terrain may not be of much value to America's larger strategic interests. But the mass killing of innocent men, women and children should provoke our moral outrage. By acting now, we can help prevent the worst moments of the last century from repeating themselves in this new one.
- Joseph Biden Jr is a senator from Delaware and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
