A Small Step, but a Step in the Right Direction

The administration puts a little more pressure on The Sudan. From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States will impose tough new measures against Sudan, likely within days, to try to force it to change course on Darfur and aims to pressure Khartoum militarily by helping rebuild forces in the south, U.S. officials said.

State Department, Defense, Treasury and other U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the goal was to "tighten the screws" on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and have him accept an international force in the vast western province.

A White House announcement on sanctions and a further limit on dollar transactions was expected very soon, a State Department official said.

It's a start, but making a real impact in Darfur will likely require a multilateral military presence. More specifically, Save Darfur's Plan B proposal includes the following:

• Develop and implement, with our NATO allies, of a no-fly zone covering Sudanese military flights over Darfur. This could be accomplished by immobilizing Sudanese planes known to have taken part in illegal bombing missions.

• Engage with the United Nations to prepare and deploy a protection force for civilians in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.

• Prepare for the deployment of a credible and effective international force to Darfur to protect vulnerable civilians and ensure conditions for effective humanitarian aid. This should include a request to Congress to pay the U.S.’s full share of UN peacekeeping dues.