OurPledge

“We need to get into sprint mode.” – General Scott Gration, U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, June 2009

Sudan Special Envoy Scott Gration’s recent characterization of genocide in Darfur as “the remnants of genocide” is at deep odds with both President Obama and Susan Rice’s recent affirmations that genocide is indeed ongoing in Western Sudan.

This is simply not a matter of words. This lack of public coordination reveals a substantial level of policy disorganization that’s simultaneously disturbing and bewildering — how can the Obama administration present such a weak and inconsistent public face to the Sudanese government and the people of Darfur?

On a related note, Mark Leon Goldberg over at UN Dispatch has this to say:

“I noted yesterday that the President’s Special Envoy for Sudan Scott Gration seemed to speak off a different set of talking points than UN Ambassador Susan Rice when it came to addressing the “genocide” question. Well, John Norris notes that this was not the only miscue from Gration during his first press availability:”

The second linguistic thicket into which Gration wandered was the expulsion of humanitarian aid groups. Gration noted that we have “three new aid groups returning to Sudan” – something of an oxymoron. Are they new aid groups, or are they returning aid groups? As has always been clear, Khartoum was willing to let three of the 13 groups return to work if they were rehatted under new names, a charade the international community apparently was willing to accept. Now Khartoum is expecting credit for its willingness to partially address a humanitarian crisis which it manufactured itself. Gration also insisted that aid capacity in Darfur was back up to nearly 100 percent of what it had been before Khartoum put so many lives at risk through its callous decision to expel aid groups. Lots of analysts, including the humanitarian chief at the U.N., have suggested that we are still well short of restoring previous aid capacity, and most aid groups still face a maze of restrictions that allow Khartoum to turn aid on and off at will.

On the campaign trail, candidate Obama promised “unstinting resolve” to end mass violence and suffering in Sudan. Needless to say, the response so far has not shown resolve. It’s been pure dithering. What’s more — we’ve been waiting more than four months now for the Obama administration to complete its promised comprehensive Sudan policy review. No word yet, and there’s been no indication that President Obama is ready to push for the sticks that are necessary to stop genocide and stop Khartoum, including the imposition of targeted multilateral sanctions against Kharotum’s senior leaders.