Why the Darfur genocide is America's fault

Back on June 18 I commented on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's nonsensical assertion that climate change is ultimately to blame for the ongoing wholesale slaughter in Darfur, Sudan. If only you hadn't bought that SUV, none of this would have happened.

Fred "I'm gonna announce any day now" Thompson, on his daily commentary on ABC Radio, explains that the historical realities of the area are more than sufficient to explain what is happening:

Sudan straddles the line between Christian African and Muslim Arabic cultures, bordering Egypt and Libya on the north. Bloody regional warfare stretches back centuries but, in modern times, the country has been in pretty much of a constant state of war since the 1950s. It's safe to say that millions have died in wars that are often aimed at control of the rich oil fields in the South. Today, however, the vastly reduced African Christian population isn't even involved. Two Muslim factions, divided along racial lines, are fighting for control of Darfur.

Now it’s true that the return of cyclical droughts has made agriculture and life more and more difficult for the people in the region. The impact of the weather, however, doesn’t approach the destruction that generations of warfare have worked on the land and the people. With peace and freedom, the economy of Darfur could have easily adapted to any climate change – no matter the cause.

Thompson suggests that the SecGen's assertion really boils down to a time-honored UN tradition: anti-Americanism.

Blaming the Islamic government and groups that have manipulated events in Sudan will get him nothing but enemies. Blaming global warming, however, is basically the same thing as blaming America. America is by no means the only major source of greenhouse gases, but we've taken the most political heat. The reason is that congress rightfully balked at ratifying the Kyoto international climate treaties during the Clinton presidency.

There is simply no downside to blaming America, because Americans don't punish their ideological foes. From the UN, we don't even require sanity sometimes. And there might even be an upside to blaming us, since there are Americans who suffer from such ingrained feelings of guilt, they’ll support increased aid to both the UN and Sudan.

If the blame ultimately rests on America, the UN can absolve itself of any responsibility to act.