The Washington Post has an editorial this morning:
The resolution is said to have the support of most members of the Security Council. It was developed in consultation with France, which initially tried to minimize the proposed number of troops but then accepted the Anglo-American position. China, which bends over backward not to offend Sudan’s government because of its oil investments in the country, nonetheless has yet to veto any Sudan resolution at the United Nations and would probably go along with this one.
The only outspoken critic of the resolution on the Security Council is Qatar, which is reflecting the collective unwisdom of the Arab League. The Arabs have long opposed a U.N. deployment in Darfur, apparently because they believe in the sovereign right of governments to slaughter civilians. To disguise the brutality of this position, the Arabs have in the past professed a preference for the existing African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, even offering to provide resources to it. But that was just talk. Virtually all the funding for the African Union force has come from Europe and the United States. It will dry up at the end of September, making a U.N. follow-on force vital.
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