A Parting Shot at Darfur from the Bush Administration

For all its failings, the Bush Administration has pursued some notable humanitarian causes, including the President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Administration's recent announcement that it will airlift vehicles and equipment to bolster the fledgling United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur may well be its final such act. As reported by The New York Times, President Bush ordered the emergency military action ahead of a meeting with Sudan's First Vice President.

The airlift is of course too little too late. A large-scale airlift of supplies early on could have both reduced humanitarian suffering and bolstered the peacekeeping force from the start, rather than attempting to rescue it now, would have been vastly preferable. But having said that, the airlift is a welcome sign of commitment from an Administration heading into its final hours, and a good example for its successor.

President-elect Obama has signaled that he wants to do more in Darfur, and providing sustained US logistical support for the peacekeeping force is a good way to start. US communications, intelligence, and logistics capabilities far outstrip what is available to the force in Darfur, hobbling its effectiveness. If America's new president earnestly wants to do more in Darfur, he could begin by making Bush's 11th-hour airlift a regular endeavor, perhaps complemented by American advisers. Humanity should include among its New Year's resolutions a pledge not to forget the long-suffering people of Darfur.