Make genocide painful

Austin Bay's latest column on Darfur is worth the read. However, peacekeepers are not the answer. The answer is to make genocide painful. And it could be very cheap in DOD terms. Probably no more than two percent of the entire defense budget.

How do you make genocide painful - and do so on the cheap? Well, first I go to Israel and India, both of whom are retiring a number of M16 and AKM rifles in favor of the Tavor. I cut a deal, defraying the cost of the Tavor purchases in exchange for the retired rifles. Then you get two Special Forces ODAs that train the folks in Darfur on how to use them well. We might be able to get some general-purpose machine guns as well.

We'd need four C-130Js (or maybe C-17s) to get the rifles and machine guns there. Maybe a couple of older EA-6B Prowlers to deal with Sudanese radars and air defenses and some F-16As and some reactivated A-7s and A-37s to deal with any fighter opposition and to provide support (much of these could be pulled from the boneyard at Davis-Monthan and transferred to Chad). Perhaps some Stingers for the folks in Darfur, to deal with Sudanese helicopters as well. We probably have some B-2A Spirits at Diego Garcia already. Just add some locations in Khartoum to the potential target list for their JDAMs.

In essence, start carving out a state within the nation-state of the Sudan. This would be very doable, cheap, and not require a major deployment of American personnel. If anything, such a deployment, even if it were possible, would not be the most efficient solution. Leveraging the people of Darfur, who really only need the means to defend themselves, is a much better solution. They will know the terrain, and for them, it will be about defending their homes and families. It is far more effective than a massive troop deployment. The solution is to make genocide painful to commit, and when that happens, the Sudanese government will crack down on the Janjaweed militias.

Oh, and one other thing: Waiting for UN action is not going to do any good. China will probably veto any resolution. This calls for some unilateral action... and if the UN doesn't like it, TOUGH. Kofi Annan has had three years to deal with this crap, and he's just made some flowery speeches. Time for America to act.