[Peace-discuss] Re: hostility towards activists

[Randall Cotton]

Thanks for your reply, Scott. I have some comments below.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Edwards" <scottisimo at hotmail.com>
To: <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 12:29 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] Re: hostility towards activists


: Randall:
:
: What you identify as what the US efforts should be is, in fact, what they
: should be. The original push for a UN force was a function of the weaknesses
: of the AMIS force. A UN force would've been better equipped, *less*
: politically involved than Sudan's neighbors, and personnel better trained.
: But that possibility has passed, and where you think we should be is where I
: think most of the Darfur activists think we are.

Well, the possibility may have passed for the moment, but who knows what the
future may bring. My reaction to UN forces being better equipped or trained or
greater in number, is that these things are a matter of money. Money can buy
equipment and training and people. Extra money can put it all in place quickly
(and this is an emergency after all). Rather than a "push for a UN force" with
the anticipated attendant consequences of US/Western victimization of the people
of Sudan, it seems to me the push should have been for massive U.S.
contributions toward a broad, internationally-coordinated (i.e. not
US-dominated) funding effort for AMIS, with even higher priority on, again,
massive U.S. contributions toward internationally-coordinated peace negotiations
(first and foremost, in order to head off new violence) and humanitarian aid to
victims of the conflict.

As important as all that is, I feel that I must (and I urge others to) assign
even higher priority to Iraq not only because we are all collectively the
fountain of that criminal horror, but also because it is a gargantuan and
ever-growing vortex of utterly wasted money, a tiny fraction of which, for
instance, I suspect would be all that's needed to profoundly transform the
situation in Darfur for the better.

: So thats exactly what these kids are doing...pushing for "massive" funding
: of the peace process and AMIS and humanitarian aid (the Save Darfur
: coalition's most recent action was to secure some $60m for AMIS in the
: upcoming appropriations bills). But the general sentiment being bounced
: around on this list is that these dedicated activists are cogs in a
: conspiratorial machine designed to deflect attention from US crimes in Iraq
: and elsewhere. Which is crap, of the highest order of magnitude.

Well, it's very difficult to prove intention, whether of the individual or of
the collective promoters of socio-political movements. However, I think the
argument can be made that the end result of what's happening on campus is quite
similar, if not indistinguishable, from the end result of the hypothetical
situation you just described. That gives me pause.

R