The Urgent Need for a Different U.S. Strategy

John Prendergast of the Enough Project and Sudan Now have released an open letter to the Obama Administration as part of a series that outlines practical steps for peace in the Sudan.

The Obama administration has almost completed its policy review on Sudan. There is, however, a major problem with the administration’s emerging policy: while an internal U.S. government agreement on tactical pressures and incentives has been reached, the broader diplomatic strategy through which these pressures and incentives will be enforced is fundamentally flawed.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Said Enough Co-founder John Prendergast, “To avert a plunge to full-scale national war in Sudan, the Obama administration must alter its diplomatic strategy in both the South and in Darfur. In the South, the U.S. should work to develop costs for the ruling National Congress Party’s provision of support to ethnic-based militias and deliberate obstruction of the implementation of the CPA. In Darfur, the U.S. should lay down a peace proposal that addresses the core issues of displaced and refugee Darfuri populations, and work to get the parties on board. Only when the diplomatic strategy is right will the new Obama policy framework have any chance for success.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

This week is critical for the future of Sudan as it is likely that the long awaited Sudan policy will be finalized by the Secretary of State, President Obama and their high level advisors. We are writing to ask you to take a series of action to help influence the Obama Administration to choose the right course in its Sudan policy.

Take Immediate Action Today:

Text Secretary Clinton at 90822 with the simple message, “I stand with Sudan Now”

If you use Twitter, send this message to the Dept of State at the DoS official address “I stand with #SudanNow @dipnote”

Please forward this note to your friends and colleagues and ask them to join you.

Here’s the background:

Leading activists, concerned that the Obama administration is heading in the wrong direction in its Sudan policy, have joined together and launched Sudan Now, a campaign that challenges President Barack Obama and his top officials, including Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to live up to previous statements and campaign promises and to take strong and immediate action in Sudan.

Sudan Now is calling upon the U.S. to lead a more effective and urgent peace process for Darfur; build an international coalition for strict implementation of the North-South peace deal; and implement a policy that creates real consequences for those who continue to attack civilians, block life-saving aid, undermine peace and obstruct justice.

Members of the coalition include Humanity United, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Stop Genocide Now and Investors Against Genocide. Read more at www.SudanActionNow.com.

Thank you for your support

On Monday September 21, 2009, UN declared International Day of Peace, we ask you to join others worldwide to fast for Peace and Justice in Sudan.

WHAT: Water-only fast from midnight-midnight on Monday September 21, 2009. For those who are unable to fast water-only we encourage you to participate by eating refugee rations of 800 calories for the entire day.

WHO: It began April 27, with Mia Farrow’s 12-day hunger strike. Others, including Sir Richard Branson, Peter Gabriel, Maria Bello, Congressman Harold Payne, Senator Bill Frist, and many more, taking the baton, water-only fasting — a personal expression of outrage — a global community standing in solidarity with innocent civilians in extreme danger.

Those already committed to the September 21 fast include Don Cheadle, Mia Farrow, Sir Richard Branson, Pamela Omidyar, John Prendergast, Taylor Hansen, Shannon Sedwick-Davis, James Michael, Oregon’s Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and many more from around the world. Over 200 people have already signed up on the Facebook Event!

JOIN: Send an email to join[at]fastdarfur.org that includes your NAME, LOCATION, TYPE OF FAST, and DATE.

WHY: The situation in Sudan is urgent. Nearly 3 million Darfuris living in camps face the threat of rape and aid cut-offs; the country’s president remains wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity; and a return to full-scale North-South civil war looms. The Obama administration and other world leaders must:

1. Lead a more effective and urgent peace process for Darfur
2. Build an international coalition for strict implementation of the North-South peace deal
3. Implement a policy that creates real consequences* for those who continue to attack civilians, block life-saving aid, undermine peace, and obstruct justice

FURTHER ACTION: More than 10 members of the i-ACT team will join in the fast. We personally challenge you to get at least 10 people you know to fast in solidarity with the people of Darfur.

After I expressed a precarious situation one day to a good friend, he said “I don’t have any answers, but I have many beautiful questions.” That assessment could be applied to my understanding of the situation in Darfur. Recently, I had the opportunity to go on The Ron Reagan Show on Air America radio, and it seems to have inspired even more questions within myself and among my peers as well. The ultimate question was asked by Ron after an emotional monologue about the tragic scenario at the end of the broadcast. ”What will it really take to get people to act?”

For the sake of this conversation, let’s call the idea of awareness without action, “buffet activism,” a term I used to describe my own state of inaction in 2005. The barrier between buffet activism and real action is a very large…grey void. Four years ago, Nicholas Kristof, George Clooney and others shouted the William Wallace-esque battle cry and tried to rally the troops across that large grey void into battle. But when they forged ahead thinking they had an army behind them, we just stood there. Frozen. The void is a scary place for one reason; nobody knows where to go or what to do. There is no map or promise of results. The probability of an idea or action getting lost in the void is high.

For example, if I call a senator’s office, it’s might be considered an action, but the senator may just go along with politics as usual and ignore the call. Therefore my action is null and void. If you go to a Darfur rally or protest, usually the only people that will notice are those driving by in their cars. They acknowledge it with a honk and then drive off probably not thinking about your action again. Or, as Ron Reagan alluded to on his show, there is a personal comparison to those who have acted and yourself. If it is perceived that your own potential action doesn’t have the same effect, then you won’t do it. For example, Ian went to Chad, there’s no way I could do something like that, so what’s the point? Therefore, the response is all or nothing, and it usually ends up being nothing. Another possible reason we fail to act is that there is no guarantee we are going to get anything out of the cause personally. Our priority falls upon our own lives and anything we do should directly benefit our own welfare. The grey area is the middleman mentality.

Well…I believe there is a possible solution to this personal and national paralysis. F*** the middleman.

I’ll make a huge generalized statement about the USA. We have become all about the middleman. Re-sellers, agents, lawyers, etc. dominate a landscape that used to pride itself on producing a product and then responsibly dealing with the public for the sale and purchase of goods. Now marketing rules and tells people where to go. That big grey area that exists between buffet activism and real action is a representation of a society that is waiting to be told what to do and where to go by some marketing concept. In this case, the middleman is the government, the activists, the celebrities, Ron Reagan, me…even the internal thoughts that limit your own potential. Screw all of us. If you’re reading this, then you know about Darfur. But what you know even more is yourself and the thoughts that circulate in your mind. That is amazingly unique.

Here we all are, standing on the edge of the big grey void waiting to see what happens. Maybe some of us walk across, maybe some of us run. Perhaps someone hosts a party in the void to coax others in. It’s possible that some of us cheer. (We do know how make noise in this country) Maybe someone calls out that the void isn’t really there, it’s just a figment of our imagination. Whatever the case, this is an opportunity to practice our own individual creativity and will towards a dire international situation, and build a coalition of like-minded action. Look at what other people are doing and evolve the scenario for your own personal challenges. Be a leader. What do you get out of it? Just venture to take a guess if you become part of the creative solution that world leaders, celebs and activists have not been able to solve. You are Save Darfur 2.0. But even more, you will get the experience of taking initiative, and getting out of your comfort zone.

The good thing is, the Darfur movement doesn’t need any more serious, knowledgeable people. It has enough of those. The movement needs more. The refugees need more. They need you. I knew nothing about Darfur or Chad, and whatever information I needed about the situation was immediately answered by an eager group of people who have been working on this scenario for years. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m not an expert, I don’t want to be. I do know that the president of Sudan got away with murder just like OJ Simpson did, and he’s thumbing his nose at us. If Facebook or other social networking avenues are part of the answer to make sure he’s incarcerated, so be it. If it takes Las Vegas strippers to whisper sweet “Darfur nothings” in the ears of their clients, then so be it. Just like OJ, Omar al-Bashir will commit another crime. And if we make it about justice, we will get him and send the refugees back home. Whatever it takes, let’s take “I know” to “I Act.” That is justice.

If that’s not enough, I’ll give another you concept. When I blogged in Chad, the term “Refugee Cool” came to mind after meeting the inhabitants of all the camps. What is Refugee Cool? Well, I don’t know if it’s possible to give you the answer without you first meeting a refugee, but I do have some beautiful questions. If you knew there was a Darfur refugee living somewhat close to your neighborhood, would you seek them out? Would you perhaps drive a few hours for a cup of coffee to hear their story, or maybe raise a little money to cover their cost of travel to your community? Or if you knew a Darfur refugee actually had a Facebook page, would you seek to “friend” them. Ultimately, when you meet a Darfur refugee, you are saying screw the middleman. I would now hope and suspect there might be more beautiful questions coming my way.
Thank you to Ron Reagan and his staff, and to all of you who listened to the show.

Ian

Nicole Slezak
7 September 2009

The Obama Administration, with US Brigadier General Scott Gration as the Special Envoy to Sudan, recently undertook a review of its policy toward Sudan. It was announced on 4 September by Gration that the administration came to a consensus “on the overall broad framework on what we call incentives and pressures” (‘U.S. Sudan Envoy Might be Willing to Meet with Bashir’, Foreign Policy Passport, 4 September 2009).

While the official policy has not yet been released Gration met with bloggers and reporters at the State Department on the fourth of September to discuss the new US policy toward Sudan. In a question about the Sudan Now Ad Campaign posed by Chris Good of The Atlantic, Gration stated that he welcomes help on the issue and invited people to “come on down” (‘Sudan Envoy On Ad Campaign: If Anyone Wants to Help, Come on Down’, The Atlantic, 6 September 2009).

On the US approach toward Sudan, Gration stated that no American solution can be imposed and that an important element “is to create an environment where [Sudan] themselves are part of the process, where when we are done it’s durable, lasting and sustainable without our help and without our money” (‘Sudan Envoy On Ad Campaign: If Anyone Wants to Help, Come on Down’, The Atlantic, 6 September 2009).

The Sudan Now Campaign urges everyone to join the movement and get active both online and within the community. Individuals can participate by joining the Sudan Now campaign on facebook and on twitter, as well as calling and/or emailing the White House. Add to the conversation by tweeting your thoughts on the administration’s Sudan policy in 140 words or less for the hashtag #SudanNow.

The Sudan Now: Keep the Promise campaign was launched by Humanity United, the Enough Project, Stop Genocide Now and Investors Against Genocide during the US Administration’s review of its Sudan policy. The campaign launched a website, SudanActionNow.com, and put out advertisements that quote the actions on Sudan promised by Obama during his presidential campaign.

The Sudan Now advertisements cite Obama saying, “There must be real pressure on the Sudanese government. We know from past experience it will take them a great deal to do the right thing,” while another advertisement quotes Hilary Clinton with, “the genocide in Darfur must be brought to an end, and the US has a responsibility to act as a world leader.”

The Sudan Now advertisements point out that not only was action promised by the Obama Administration, but the United States has a responsibility to protect the people of Darfur. The Sudan Now campaign uses these quotes to illustrate that promises are merely words unless action is undertaken. In this area, the United States has many tools far stronger than words at its disposal.

The Sudan Now: Keep the Promise campaign puts forth the following actions/steps the US Administration should incorporate in its strategy toward Sudan:

1) Lead a more effective and urgent peace process for Darfur.
2) Build and international coalition for strict implementation of the North-South peace deal; and
3) Implement a policy that creates real consequences for those in Sudan who continue to attack civilians, block life-saving aid, undermine peace and obstruct justice.

For further information about the Sudan Now: Keep the Promise Campaign and background on the conflict in Darfur, visit the website at SudanActionNow.org.