But surely on a matter as grave as mass murder, President Obama will not permit real politick or misplaced faith in diplomacy to trump human rights? Who can forget Sen. Obama's eloquent condemnation of the Bush administration for negotiating with the Sudanese regime? "I am deeply concerned," candidate Obama intoned, "by reports that the Bush Administration is negotiating a normalization of relations with the Government of Sudan that would include removing it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. ... This reckless and cynical initiative would reward a regime in Khartoum that has a record of failing to live up to its commitments. ... Before we improve our relationship with the Government of Sudan, conditions must improve for the Sudanese people. We cannot stand down -- we must continue to stand up for peace and human rights." Why did the senator feel so strongly about it? Because "the United States has a moral obligation, anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes. ... And when you see a genocide, whether it's in Rwanda, or Bosnia, or in Darfur, that's a stain on all of us, that's a stain on our souls."
How are our souls looking today? On Monday, the Washington Post reported that that the U.S. "will shift its policy toward Sudan to one based on working with the country's government instead of isolating it." Whereas he had once demanded that "The international community must, over the Sudanese regime's protests, deploy a large, capable U.N.-led and U.N.-funded force with a robust enforcement mandate to stop the killings," the president now says that "If the government of Sudan acts to improve the situation on the ground and to advance peace, there will be incentives; if it does not, then there will be increased pressure imposed by the United States and the international community." Incentives? For Omar al-Bashir, the only head of state currently under indictment by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity? That threat of "increased pressure" must really terrify him. It's the fierce urgency of the kowtow.
Finally, by joining the Human Rights Committee of the U.N., President Obama has granted U.S. prestige to the howling claque of Israel and America bashers.
This is moral uplift?