I was literally just torn apart. Although the fighting has contributed to more than 2 million deaths from violence and hunger, no clear U.S. national interests are at stake.
American companies have no large investments in Sudan, and it is far from U.S. bases.
Yet the persecution of Christians and minority ethnic groups in southern Sudan has mobilized many parts of the Republican base, from neoconservative interventionists to evangelical Christians. In the process, they are pushing Sudan onto the administration's foreign policy agenda and forcing Bush to choose between his campaign promises and an ardent, vocal wing of his party. The people who gathered at the Longworth Building last month reflected this diverse coalition. We should use our political power to persuade them to change their policies. The administration is starting to listen.