...from Monday's New York Sun, "The Darfur Double Standard."
Hat tip: Michelle Malkin.
Addendum: The Sun editorial board and Michelle do a nice job of capturing the hypocrisy of the liberal left, who oppose the war in Iraq while supporting intervention in Darfur. But there's another element to this obvious contradiction, one that is rarely mentioned by the libs, the drive-by media, or for that matter, the blogosphere.
Intervention in the Sudan would put the U.S. in confrontation with the Khartoum government and some of its friends, many of who are tolerated, even lionized by the left. Let's begin with sundry Palestinian terrorist organizations, including Islamic Jihad, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the rest of the ususal suspects. All have offices in the Sudan, and use the country for recruiting, fund-raising and training. Take a look at a Sudanese military training facility, and you'll often find Arabs and other Middle Easterners in the ranks, receiving instruction courtesy of Khartoum. If the U.S. intervenes in Darfur, these organizations will side with their Sudanese hosts, and launch attacks against American military forces in Sudan (and elsewhere). Will the left continue to support the same Palestinian "freedom fighters" who oppose a U.S. military operation they actually endorse?
Then, there's the equally thorny Al-Qaida issue. Despite their formal "expulsion" from Sudan in 1996, bin Laden's organization still maintains an active presence in the country. There have been persistent reports of Al-Qaida elements within the Sudanese military, and some refugees from Darfur claim that AQ terrorists and other Arab fighters take part in attacks against Sudanese villagers. The same Hollywood left that has opposed our anti-terrorism efforts in Iraq--where Al-Qaida is one of our primary adversaries--apparently believes that Darfur is a better place to take on the enemy. Why Sudan? Well, that's where the reasoning starts to get fuzzy. The only reason I can discern is because Darfur has become the cause du jour for left coast liberals.
Debbie Schlussel's recent post ("Big Phonies") does an equally outstanding job in highlighting Hollywood's blatant hypocrisy on Darfur and the War on Terrorism.
Will the left continue to support the same Palestinian "freedom fighters" who oppose a U.S. military operation they actually endorse?
ReplyDeleteThey'd be unlikely to endorse it if it actually happened. Even if they made it past when the shooting started, they'd switch sides as soon as they realized their own pet mass murderers were on the other side.
But anyhow, the reason it's the cause du jour is that they don't believe we will do anything. And they're probably right.