The Islamist government of Sudan spent two decades trying to wipe out the Christian population of its south.

* The Islamist government of Sudan spent two decades trying to wipe out the Christian population of its south. After international pressure forced an end to that, the government turned its efforts to wiping out the black Sufi Muslim population in its western province of Darfur. It has sanctioned Arab death squads, the Janjaweed, to rape and brand women, poison wells, and destroy crops and villages. More than 15,000 have been killed and over a million have been driven from their homes. The U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that the death toll could reach a million if the Sudanese government continues to block the delivery of food and medicines. The Bush administration is trying to prevent another genocide in Africa--with precious little help from the rest of the world. President Bush and Colin Powell have strongly condemned the attacks; Kofi Annan is not "yet" ready to accuse the Sudanese of ethnic cleansing. While Europe trades with Sudan, the United States has maintained its sanctions. We have pledged $188 million in aid for Darfur. The 25 EU countries have coughed up $14.5 million. Rebuffing pressure from the United States, the Security Council has failed to demand that Sudan call off the death squads and allow a protective force to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the refugees. In May, Africa affirmed Sudan as its representative on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, where it serves alongside China and Cuba. Also in May, the Arab League condemned the treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Israel's operations in Gaza. There was no mention of the Sufi Muslims of Sudan. If genocide is to be avoided, we will just have to apply some more of that hated American unilateralism.