Sudan PM Orders Alert for Darfur, West Continues Ignoring
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok is activating an emergency plan for Darfur amid escalating atrocity claims. This isn't the first time the region has faced mass violence; the 2003 Darfur conflict, leading to hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, was also met with international hand-wringing that ultimately yielded little decisive action. The West's attention span for certain
humanitarian crises appears remarkably short-circuited when no geopolitical advantage or strategic oil reserves are immediately threatened. We saw similar 'states of alert' in Bosnia and Rwanda before the world decided to act (or not act) on its own delayed timetable. One might wonder: how many times can 'atrocity claims' mount before they become 'established genocide' for foreign policy
decision-makers? Apparently, it depends on whose oil is at stake, and who's donating to political campaigns.