The Rhetoric of Genocide in U.S. Foreign Policy: Rwanda and Darfur Compared

Political Science Quarterly

Volumn 122, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 359-383

  Heinze, Eric A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 34948833740     PISSN: 00323195     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/j.1538-165X.2007.tb00602.x     Document Type: Review

References (140)

1. See Alain Destexhe, Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century (New York: New York University Press, 1995);
2. Gérard Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995);
3. Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998);
4. Mahmood Mamdani, When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001);
5. Samantha Power, "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide (New York: Perennial, 2002);
6. Michael Barnett, Eyewitness to Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002);
7. Linda Melvern, Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwanda Genocide and the International Community (London: Verso, 2004);
8. and Romeo Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005).
9. See Barnett, Eyewitness to Genocide, 138-139;
10. Destexhe, Rwanda and Genocide, 35;
11. Power, Problem from Hell, 359;
12. Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil, 333, 374, 395, 454;
13. see also David Rieff, At the Point of a Gun: Democratic Dreams and Armed Intervention (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 74-75.
14. See Power, Problem from Hell, 362, especially notes 60, 61.
15. See Human Rights Watch, Darfur in Flames: Atrocities in Western Sudan (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2004);
16. Human Rights Watch, Darfur Destroyed: Ethnic Cleansing by Government and Militia Forces in Western Sudan (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2004);
17. see also Alex de Waal, "Briefing: Darfur, Sudan: Prospects for Peace," African Affairs 104 (January 2005): 127-135;
18. Alex de Waal, "Who Are the Darfurians? Arab and African Identities, Violence, and External Engagement," African Affairs 104 (April 2005): 181-205;
19. Gerard Prunier, Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005);
20. Julie Flint and Alex de Waal, Darfur: A Short History of a Long War (New York: Zed Books, 2005).
21. "'Realism' and Darfur," The Washington Post, 1 August 2004.
22. U.S. House, Declaring Genocide in Darfur, Sudan, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., 2004, H. Doc. 467;
23. U.S. Senate, Declaring Genocide in Darfur, Sudan, 108th Cong, 2nd sess., 2004, S. Doc. 133.
24. Steven R. Weisman, "Powell Says Rapes and Killings in Sudan Are Genocide," The New York Times, 10 September 2004;
25. address by President Bush to the United Nations General Assembly, United States Mission to the United Nations, 21 September 2004, accessed at http://www.usunnewyork. usmission.gov/04gwb0921.htm, 5 July 2005.
26. Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary General (Geneva, United Nations, 25 January 2005), 4, accessed at http://www.un.org/News/dh/sudan/com_ing_darfur.pdf, 18 June 2007.
27. "Bush and Kerry on the Issue of Sudan," Associated Press, 28 October 2004.
28. In addition to the analyses cited above, see also Arthur J. Klinghoffer, The International Dimensions of Genocide in Rwanda (New York: New York University Press, 1998);
29. John A. Berry and Carol Pott Berry, eds., Genocide in Rwanda: A Collective Memory (Washington DC: Howard University Press, 1999);
30. Christopher C. Taylor, Sacrifice as Terror: The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 (New York: Berg, 1999);
31. Bruce D. Jones, Peacemaking in Rwanda: The Dynamics of Failure (Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner, 2001);
32. and Alan J. Kuperman, The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda (Washington DC, Brookings Institution of Peace, 2001).
33. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), 9 December 1948, 78 UNTS 277, Article II, accessed at http://www.unchr.ch/html/menu3/b/p_genoci.htm, 18 June 2007.
34. This is evidenced by the existence of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the purpose of which is to try individuals for the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and certain war crimes. See Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR Statute), 22 February 1995, UN Doc. S/RES/955, Article 2. In 1998, the ICTR issued its first conviction for the crime of genocide in Prosecutor v. Akayesu (Case No. ICTR-96-4-T), Judgment, 2 September 1998.
35. Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil, 333;
36. Barnett, Eyewitness to Genocide, 34;
37. Power, Problem from Hell, 357.
38. See generally Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You.
39. Organization of African Unity (OAU), Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide (Organization of African Unity, 2000), accessed at http://www.africa_union.org/official/_documents/reports/Report_rowanda_genocide. pdf, 18 June 2007.
40. "Clinton Administration Policy on Reforming Multilateral Peacekeeping Operations, Presidential Decision Directive 25," 3 May 1994, accessed on the website of the Federation of American Scientists at http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/pdd25.htm, 14 September 2005.
41. Cited by Power, Problem from Hell, 342.
42. Ibid., 352.
43. Ibid.
44. United Nations Security Council Resolution 912, 21 April 1994, UN Doc. S/RES/912.
45. Barnett, Eyewitness to Genocide, 131.
46. Ibid., 134.
47. See Julia Preston, '"This Eerie Calm': The Rwanda Situation Confounds the Security Council," The Washington Post, 9 May 1994.
48. Paul Lewis, "UN Backs Troops for Rwanda but Terms Bar Any Action Soon," The New York Times, 17 May 1994;
49. Barnett, Eyewitness to Genocide, 135.
50. Hearing of the International Security, International Organization and Human Rights Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 103rd Cong., 2nd sess., 1994.
51. Barnett, Eyewitness to Genocide, 163.
52. National Security Council official Susan Rice, quoted in Power, Problem from Hell, 359;
53. Douglas Jehl, "Officials Told to Avoid Calling Rwanda Killings 'Genocide,'" The New York Times, 10 June 1994.
54. Power, Problem from Hell, 373.
55. Michael R. Gordon, "US to Supply 60 Vehicles for UN Troops in Rwanda," The New York Times, 16 June 1994;
56. see also Power, Problem from Hell, 374.
57. Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East/Africa Region, Department of Defense, "Discussion Paper: Rwanda" (Declassified), 1 May 1994, accessed on the website of The National Security Archive at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/index.htm, 20 September 2005. Italics original.
58. Department of Defense Daily Press Briefing, 28 April 1994, accessed on the website of the Department of State Federal Depository Library at http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/briefing/daily_briefings/1994/9404/940428db.html, 20 September 2005.
59. Action memorandum from Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs George E. Moose, et al. to Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Subject: "Has Genocide Occurred in Rwanda?" (Declassified), 21 May 1994, accessed on the website of The National Security Archive at http://www.gwu.edu/ ~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/index.html, 20 September 2005; see also Power, Problem from Hell, 362.
60. See Paul D. Williams and Alex J. Bellamy, "The Responsibility to Protect and the Crisis in Darfur," Security Dialogue 36 (March 2005): 27-47;
61. among journalistic accounts, see Eric Reeves, "Unnoticed Genocide," The Washington Post, 25 February 2004;
62. Nicholas D. Kristof, "Will We Say 'Never Again' Yet Again?" The New York Times, 27 March 2004.
63. Kofi Annan, Action Plan to Prevent Genocide, Speech Delivered to the UN Human Rights Commission, 7 April 2004, UN Press Release, SG/SM/9197 AFR/893 HR/CN/1077, accessed at http://www2.unog.ch/news2/documents/newsen/sgo4003e.htm, 18 June 2007.
64. Committee on House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Testimony of Samantha Power, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., 2004.
65. See John Prendergast, "Sudan's Ravines of Death," The New York Times, 15 July 2004; see also the views of Mark Schneider, Senior Vice President of the International Crisis Group, as quoted in Helen Fessenden, "Lawmakers Seek Viable Solution to Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis," CQ Weekly, 3 July 2004, 1638.
66. Fessenden, "Lawmakers Seek Viable Solution," 1638.
67. "United States Policy in Sudan," remarks of USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, Special Advisor for Sudan Policy Michael Ranneberger, and USAID Assistant Administrator Roger Winter, 27 April 2004, accessed on the website of the U.S. Department of State at http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/31856.htm, 27 September 2005.
68. "Stop the Killing in Sudan," remarks of Frank R. Wolf in the U.S. House of Representatives, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 150 (2 April 2004): E 518.
69. Helen Fessenden, "The Semantics of 'Genocide' and How it Pertains to Sudan," CQ Weekly, 3 July 2004, 1639.
70. Ibid.
71. Glenn Kessler, "Powell, in Sudan, Presses for Action," The Washington Post, 1 July 2004.
72. House Concurrent Resolution 467, Senate Concurrent Resolution 133.
73. Hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Current Situation in Sudan and Prospects for Peace, Testimony of Secretary of State Colin Powell, Federal News Service, 9 September 2004.
74. Bush, United States Mission.
75. See generally, Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil War (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003).
76. Allen Hertzke, Freeing God's Children: The Unlikely Alliance for Global Human Rights (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004), 246.
77. Ibid., 270-271.
78. "Bush Condemns Suppression of Religious Freedom in Sudan," The New York Times, 4 May 2001.
79. Samantha Power, "Dying in Darfur: Can the Ethnic Cleansing in Darfur be Stopped?" The New Yorker, 30 August 2004, accessed on the website of The New Yorker at http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/? 040830fa_factl, 1 October 2005.
80. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed by the government of Sudan and the SPLA/M on 9 January 2005.
81. "On Sudan," remarks of Edward Kennedy, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 150 (29 April 2004): S 4678.
82. Executive Session, comments of John McCain, et al., 108th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 150 (6 May 2004): S 4951.
83. "Sudan Darfur Crisis," remarks of Jon Corzine, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 150 (6 May 2004): S 4945.
84. "Condemning the Government of the Republic of Sudan," remarks of Bill Frist, Tom Daschle, Sam Brownback, and Joseph Biden, 108th Cong., 2nd Sess., Congressional Record 150 (6 May 2004): S 4931.
85. Fessenden, "Lawmakers Seek Viable Solution," 1638.
86. The Naivasha Agreement, concluded 26 May 2004, was a preliminary peace agreement that established a ceasefire between the Sudan Government and the SPLA/M. See "Never Again? Genocide in Sudan Tests our Commitment to Justice," Christianity Today, 3 August 2004, accessed on the website of Christianity Today at http://www.christianitytoday.eom/ct/2004/009/0. 33.html, 4 October 2005.
87. Alan Cooperman, "Evangelicals Urge Bush to Do More for Sudan," The Washington Post, 3 August 2004;
88. statement to President George W. Bush, National Association of Evangelicals 2 August 2004, accessed on the website of the National Association of Evangelicals at http://www.nae.net/images/darfurbush.doc, 4 October 2005.
89. See de Waal, "Who Are the Darfurians," 199-202.
90. Allen D. Hertzke, "The Shame of Darfur," First Things 156 (October 2005): 16-22.
91. Brian Naylor, "Lawmakers Arrested at Sudan Protest," All Things Considered, National Public Radio Broadcast, 25 July 2004.
92. Alex Barker, "Bush Faces Pressure on Sudan 'Genocide,'" Financial Times, 14 July 2004.
93. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, testimony of Secretary of State Colin Powell.
94. Transcript of the Presidential Debate between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, Commission on Presidential Debates, 30 September 2004, accessed at http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004a.html, 11 October 2005.
95. See, for example, Rieff, Point of a Gun, 74-75.
96. Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East/Africa Region, Department of Defense, "Discussion Paper: Rwanda."
97. Genocide Convention, Article I, emphasis added.
98. Ibid., Article VIII, emphasis added;
99. see also William A. Schabas, Genocide in International Law (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 448-454.
100. Official Records of the Third Session of the General Assembly, Part I, Summary Records of the Meetings of the Sixth Committee (Paris, United Nations, 1948), 22; see also Eric A. Heinze, "Law, Force, and Human Rights: The Search for a Sufficiently Principled Legal Basis for Humanitarian Intervention," Journal of Conflict Studies 24 (Winter 2004): 5-32.
101. G. Jeffrey MacDonald, "In Sudan Crisis, a Duty to Intervene?" Christian Science Monitor, 21 July 2004.
102. Hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Testimony of Secretary of State Colin Powell;
103. Nicholas D. Kristof, "A Wimp on Genocide," The New York Times, 18 September 2005;
104. see also United Nations General Assembly, 2005 World Summit Outcome, UN Doc. A/60/L.1, 15 September 2005.
105. Genocide Convention, Article II.
106. Hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Testimony of Secretary of State Colin Powell;
107. see also U.S. Department of State, Documenting Atrocities in Darfur, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, State Publication 11182, September 2004.
108. Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur.
109. Ibid., 131-132.
110. Jim VandeHei, "In Break with UN, Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide," The Washington Post, 2 June 2005.
111. Anthony Lake and John Prendergast, "Stopping Sudan's Slow-Motion Genocide," Boston Globe, 20 May 2004.
112. These figures on Rwanda are well-established. Figures on Darfur are from The World Health Organization between March and December of 2004, as cited by Colum Lynch, "Lack of Access Muddies Death Toll in Darfur," The Washington Post, 8 February 2005.
113. "Sudan Prefers AU Mediation in Darfur Crisis, Says US Stance Isolated," Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, 12 September 2004.
114. Gilbert DaCosta, "Sudan Says UN Genocide Declaration for Darfur Could Hurt Peace Talks," Associated Press, 10 September 2004.
115. "Sudan News Agency on MSF's 'Categorical Rejection' of Powell's Darfur Remarks," BBC Monitoring Middle East - Political, 16 September 2004.
116. "AU Official Asks USA to Provide Evidence of Genocide in Darfur," Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, 13 September 2004.
117. "US Senate Leader Insists 'Genocide' Underway in Darfur, Despite EU Statement," Agence France Presse, 10 August 2004.
118. Peter S. Goodman, "China Invests Heavily in Sudan's Oil Industry," The Washington Post, 23 December 2004;
119. Opheera McDoom, "China's Interests in Sudan Bring Diplomatic Cover," Reuters, 17 December 2005.
120. Peter Beaumont, "US 'Hyping' Darfur Genocide Fear," The Observer, 3 October 2004.
121. De Waal, "Who Are the Darfurians," 200-201.
122. Ramesh Thakur, "Western Medicine is No Cure for Darfur's Ills," Financial Review, 31 August 2004;
123. see also "Sudan Can't Wait," The Economist, 31 July 2004, 11.
124. Michael Clough, "Darfur: Whose Responsibility to Protect?" in Human Rights Watch World Report, 2005 (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2005), 34.
125. Williams and Bellamy, "Responsibility to Protect," 36-37; see also Hugo Slim, "Dithering over Darfur? A Preliminary Review of the International Response," International Affairs 80 (October 2004): 811-828.
126. See John Laughland, "The Mask of Altruism Disguising a Colonial War," The Guardian, 2 August 2004;
127. see also Susan E. Rice, "Why Darfur Can't be Left to Africa," The Washington Post, 7 August 2005.
128. Suzanne Goldenberg, "Ostracised Sudan Emerges as Key American Ally in 'War on Terror,'" The Guardian Weekly, 6 May 2005;
129. see also Ken Silverstein, "Official Pariah Sudan Valuable to America's War on Terrorism," Los Angeles Times, 29 April 2005.
130. "White House Described Darfur as 'Genocide' to Please Christian Right," The Independent (London), 2 July 2005, 26.
131. "US Shift on Darfur Policy," The Washington Post, 27 December 2004; see also Clough, "Darfur: Whose Responsibility," 34-35.
132. Williams and Bellamy, "Responsibility to Protect," 38.
133. UN Economie and Social Council, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons: Mission to Sudan-the Darfur Crisis, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/8, 27 September 2004, ¶ 35, 36.
134. Ibid., 137.
135. Williams and Bellamy, "Responsibility to Protect," 39; see also Alex de Waal, "Darfur's Deep Grievances Defy All Hopes for an Easy Solution," The Observer, 25 July 2004;
136. Ulrich Mans, "Sudan: The New War in Darfur," African Affairs 103 (April 2004): 291-294.
137. Slim, "Dithering over Darfur," 822.
138. Constitutive Act of the African Union, 26 May 2001, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/23.15, Article 4(h).
139. International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, The Responsibility to Protect (Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 2001), 7.
140. Independent International Commission on Kosovo, The Kosovo Report (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000), 4.