Not on Our Watch

“Never again.” These were the words spoken after the tragic and horrific events of the Holocaust. The world vowed that never again indifference would be the cause of a annihilation of a people. It was thought that no longer would be sit idly by while innocents were being systematically slaughtered. However, as we look at the past fifty years, these words have been missing in action. The citizens of Uganda, Rwanda and Burma have been attacked without any action by the international community. Ultimately, this by standing will result in the death of Darfur. The mission of Don Cheadle and John Prendergast is to end genocide forever. Not on Our Watch documents numerous case files and outlines how we can stop it.

So far, this book has been great. It has outlined the history of Darfur and why it is a troubled region. I find out the history rather interesting. By far, the most important chapter in our reading was number three. The authors describe numerous amounts of civil wars Sudan was experiencing in the mid 21st century. In it’s later years, Sudan has been influenced by the radical Muslims who are very dangerous. This is very disturbing as Osama bin Laden was given safe haven for more than five years in Sudan. They claim they have no more relations with Al-Qaeda and bin Laden but I seriously doubt it. One way they are garnering the lack of support for the native Africans is through the radicals and extremists. This might sound strange but if we incorporate military action in Sudan, we might be relieving the terrorist threat. However, it could also drastically increase the number of jihadists and their anti-Western agenda.

The only part I didn’t like is the emphasis on that Sudan can be changed. Methods such as economic sanctions and political pressure are not the best solutions. If we look at North Korea, Bill Clinton spent much of his time as president using diplomacy, threat of sanctions, etc. only to fail. Additionally, sanctions usually hurt the people rather than the government. As for political pressure, it will be ineffective. The international world knows what’s going on – it’s just that they do not want to be involved. Britain, the former occupier of Sudan, must know what is happening in Darfur. I bet former imperial colonies (Britain, France, Japan) have already talked about Darfur privately and have decided in is not in their best interest to intervene. Some countries might try to convince their citizens that it is a civil war. With both scenarios, failure is inevitable.