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Friday, August 25, 2006
Darfur: Serious crime
When it comes to stopping genocide in Darfur, Washington state's congressional district receives mixed grades. There's room for improvement.
There's a healthy bipartisanship, however, among the top achievers in the congressional class, as graded by an advocacy group that wants world attention to the widespread killing in the region of Sudan. The Genocide Intervention Network gave A's to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, and Eastside Republican Rep. Dave Reichert. Two other representatives scored above average, with Seattle's Jim McDermott receiving a B-plus and Rick Larsen of Snohomish County getting a B.
More than 200,000 people have already died during the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, and some 2 million or more people have been displaced. It's vital that the United Nations send a peacekeeping force quickly to replace an underfunded African Union group of monitors.
Much of the momentum for action has to come from the Bush administration, other heads of state and their diplomats. But, as advocates argue, pressure from Congress can be helpful in pushing the discussions forward.
Murray, Reichert, McDermott and Larsen have distinguished themselves with positive roles. But the rest of the state's congressional delegation (particularly D-grade laggards Norm Dicks, Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris) should take more initiative on the issue. Genocide is a crime that demands a serious response from everyone.
On the Net: www.darfurscores.org
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