Richardson to Darfur

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson is going to venture where many others have failed: Darfur

Richardson, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, heard disturbing reports of rape, death and corruption from the top U.S. diplomat in Sudan and humanitarian workers, but said he was not deterred from the challenge of trying to help bring peace where years of international efforts have failed.

"I think we make some measurable progress if we can help the cease fire and the humanitarian situation and possibly start a united political process that helps the U.N. peacekeeping effort alive," he said.

Ugh. Apart from the silly idea of a small-time governor succeeding where so many others have failed, it never ceases to amaze me that just about everyone who gets involved in Darfur focuses on the humanitarian crisis. It is a humanitarian crisis, absolutely. There are 2.5 million refugees struggling to stay alive, with little help from anyone. While getting food to these people is very important, in the absence of any other action, all it means is those 2.5 million people will die with a bit of food in their bellies rather than without. That's not really a solution.

This is a humanitarian crisis created and sustained by the government of Sudan, the very government Richardson will meet with to try to get permission for a peace-keeping force to be deployed. It's a bit like asking Hitler for permission to monitor the death camps of Poland. The world's leaders, including our own, keep excusing their indifference by pointing to the fact that Sudan won't let the UN deploy forces to stop its genocide. How shocking.

Rather than negotiating to allow some humanitarian handout, the world needs to stand up and realize that a government that carries out genocide against its own people has no legitimacy and to put an end to it, whether the Khartoum regime likes it or not.