Obama Responds to Activists, Gration Didn't Get Memo

After countless phone calls, emails, and letters to the White House, some Darfur activists are finally getting a response. The full text of the email from President Obama is copied below, but a few points stand out:

The email recites Obama’s pledge to “work with unstinting resolve to end the genocide” in Darfur, and a “top priority” for the administration, and calls for tough sanctions and multilateral action to deal with the regime in Khartoum.

This language does not, however, jive with that of Obama’s envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration. Thus far, Gration seems to be a little too cozy with Khartoum, not seeming to realize, at least in public, exactly how this authoritarian regime operates. I’m all for constructive engagement, but not naïve engagement.

Barron YoungSmith, writing for the New Republic, fears that Gration is getting the balance between carrots and sticks wrong, offering too many of the former to a regime known, throughout its 20-year history, to be more responsive to the latter. Gration even said it himself:

"[In a] recent television interview, Gration tells us he will use sticks and carrots. But when asked, ‘What are some of the sticks?’ he responds, ‘Well, right now we (pause) are looking at carrots.’”

It’s not an either-or choice --- there is a need for a combination of incentives and disincentives for action, and the balance between the two is a complicated and challenging. There is no single right answer that will bring peace and prosperity to Darfur and all of Sudan. But the most basic review of history should teach even a novice student: You cannot take Khartoum's words at face value.

Engagement with the ruling National Congress Party is necessary for any peace process, beyond it is fatally  detrimental to forget history: Has the NCP ever negotiated on good faith alone? Have they ever upheld promises and commitments, solely because it said that it would?

Is there any reason to believe that they are doing so now?

The email from the White House:

Dear _______:

Thank you for your letter urging action to end the genocide in Darfur.  I share your outrage over the hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and the suffering of millions more. It has gone on for far too long.  Bringing relief to the battered region of Darfur is a top priority for my Administration.

As President, I will build on America's efforts that I previously championed in the Senate.  I led in calling for the joint African Union/United Nations peacekeeping force now on the ground, and insisted on comprehensive sanctions against the Khartoum government.  Going forward, my Administration will continue this work with unstinting resolve to end the genocide.

In my discussions with other nations, I will work to ensure that tough sanctions on the Khartoum government continue as a part of a growing global effort involving our allies, interested countries, and other multilateral institutions.  It is equally critical that we focus on the  civilians who are in dire need of life-saving assistance.  I will work with Congress to provide necessary humanitarian aid because America must lead with our words and our actions.

Thank you again for expressing your concern about this human catastrophe we are working hard to address.  It is very encouraging to hear from Americans like you who act not on self-interest, but on a moral imperative.  Our action and leadership will demonstrate who we are as a Nation and as a people.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama