Darfur in US Elections
By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent
"I predict that within a year, the Darfur
campaign will not be what it is today. More people are discovering that this is
a tragedy, but not genocide," Dr. Bechtold told IOL.
KHARTOUM As the cut-throat race between Senator Barak Obama and Senator
Hilary Clinton continues for the Democratic White House nomination ticket, some
experts expect Darfur to become a major debate issue.
"Clinton and Obama are trying to get as many delegates before the Democratic
convention, including super-delegates," Dr. Peter Bechtold, an expert on Sudan
and Chairman Emeritus of the Near East and North Africa Area Studies at the
Foreign Service Institute at the US State Department, told IslamOnline.net.
"In order to do this they will try to appeal to all the issues on the minds
of the Democrats."
Bechtold, also is an adjunct scholar at the Washington D.C based Middle East
Institute, believes one of these issues will be Darfur.
"Most of the people involved in the Save Darfur campaign are voting Democrat.
I think there are very few Republicans involved in the Save Darfur campaign,"
he explains.
The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of more than 180 religious,
political and human rights groups.
It has been on the forefront of lobbying the US Congress on Darfur.
But the coalition has come under much criticism, including from many
on-the-ground humanitarian groups, for "misstating facts."
The conflict in Darfur erupted in February 2003 when rebel groups attacked
government targets, accusing Khartoum of discrimination and neglect.
The UN claims that 200,000 have died as a result of war, disease and
malnutrition, but the Sudanese government has put the number at 10,000.
No accurate, independent account is available to date.
The Bush administration has described the conflict as "genocide," but the UN
and the African Union have rejected the label.
Different Approaches
Bechtold notes that many in the Save Darfur campaign belong to constituents
that usually vote Democrat, such as university students, Hollywood celebrities,
American Jews and African Americans.
"I dont believe Clinton and Obama can say anything that is not consistent
from what the American people have been told."
The American expert sees some difference between Clinton and Obamas
approaches to Darfur.
"I believe Clinton will follow the line of her supporters in New York and say
that there is genocide and the Bush administration has been lax in doing
something about it."
Dr. Bechtold is critical of such an approach.
"She is a typical political machine. She is not going to have an analysis
about Darfur, she is just going to just follow the machine."
Clinton has suggested that the US "needs to lead the work in ending this
genocide, including by imposing much tougher sanctions that target Sudans oil
revenue, implementing and helping enforce a no-fly zone, and engaging n more
intense, effective diplomacy to get a political roadmap to peace."
The Bush administration announced last May a package of economic sanctions
mostly against public-owned Sudanese companies, including firms providing food
and medicine.
Washington already had in place a set of economics sanctions slapped against
Sudan since 1997 on claims of sponsoring terrorism.
Obama, for his part, wants the US to intensify pressure on China to use its
leverage to secure Khartoums agreement to the expeditious deployment of the
hybrid African Union-UN peacekeeping force.
"Washington must also play a greater and more consistent role in supporting a
political process to bring about peace on the ground," he has said.
Khartoum has agreed to the deployment of the 26,000-strong force but its
deployment has faced many challenges including securing equipment and enough
African soldiers, as only soldiers from African countries will be included in
the peacekeeping force.
Bechtold, the American expert on Sudan, expects the Democratic Party eventual
nominee will direct how the party will address Darfur.
"After the convention, if Clinton wins the nomination, she may try to appeal
to the African American community on Darfur. If it is Obama, he may try to look
at this as an African issue rather than an American issue."
Real Darfur
Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, has given a piece of his mind on
the issue in an article for Foreign Affairs.
"Africa continues to offer the most compelling case for humanitarian
intervention," he wrote.
"
the genocide in Darfur demand US leadership. My administration will
consider the use of all elements of American power to stop the outrageous acts
of human destruction that unfolded there."
But Bechtold, the American expert on Sudan, believes Darfur will not
influence Republican votes.
"With the Republicans apparently it isnt really an issue."
He believes that US activists and media are mainly responsible for making
Darfur an election issue.
"The reason Darfur will play a bigger role is because of the domestic
organizations in the US that have been talking about Darfur."
But he expects new changes in the near future.
"I predict that within a year, the Darfur campaign will not be what it is
today. More people are discovering that this is a tragedy, but not genocide.
And that those who push for 'genocide' in the US have been manipulating public
opinion," stressed the American expert.
"I think the next American administration, whoever it is, is going to be a
radical departure [from current polices] and I hope for much better relations
with Sudan and the rest of the world."
* Ismail Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently
based in Khartoum, Sudan.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1203758665986&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
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