What to do about Darfur...?

We all know about the current situation in Darfur. Today I read an article which was reporting on the activities of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Currently he is on a state visit to the neighboring country of Ethopia. On March 4 an arrest warrant was issued for him by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. al-Bashir is responsible for the 300,000 deaths and 2.5 million homeless citizens that are a result of his campaign against rebels, but it seems impossible for him to be arrested for his crimes. Only the countries who are members of the ICC could take him into custody, and Ethiopia is not one of them. They claim that arresting him would be "not in the interest of peace".

As we have been discussing the causes and effects of war in class, this article made me think about how situations like this can be handled. al-Bashir has forced 13 international aid agencies to leave the Darfur region. These aid agencies are in many ways the dieing peoples only chance of help, and it is becoming increasingly clearer that actually arresting al-Bashir is a lot harder than issuing the warrant. People in Darfur are dieing every day, and I completely believe that it is up to other countries to help stop it. America has taken action against genocides in the past, like in World War II, but we are already in way over our head in the Middle East. So, who's responsibility is it to come to the Darfur people's aid, if anyone? One is hardpressed to find countries with a history of deploying troops to aid in foreign conflicts like America. It's hard to say that the world should stand by as innocent people are being killed, but its equally hard to ask whos job it is to fix it. I would say that every country who can help, should help in a situation such as this. Obviously, this would never happen, but if it doesn't then it is difficult to predict when the violence will end. I don't have too many ideas on the subject myself, but I think our class could definitely brain storm a few possible ways to help the situation. I will say that reading this article has definitley reminded me of how terrible the Darfur conflict is, and I will certainly be paying more attention to it in the future.

Here's the article if you want to read more.

Worsening situation in Afghanistan. Who will be the victims?

As our class has begun to discuss what war is good for, I have been increasingly interested in the fighting going on in the Middle East and when, if ever, it will end. Earlier today I watched this video on the worsening situation in southern Afghanistan. As of now there are 39,000 troops stationed in the country. According to several generals they are seeing an increased lose of control due to the Taliban's power in a few areas. The generals blame this on having too few troops. Consequently, 8,000 more Marines will be arriving in Afghanistan in the coming weeks. The Generals interviewed in the video say this will mean more casualties as they begin to break down the Taliban's control. Currently, they are searching for a man who goes by 'Zakir'. He was released from Guantanamo Bay 2 years ago and is a "serious threat" to the military effort in Afghanistan. Along with this, there have been more and more occurrences of road side bombs, which result in the lose of many innocent lives.

The video as a whole brought me back to the first artifacts we observed in this unit. My table group studied pictures which presented one main question: can war be fought without harming those that are not the direct targets of violence? In Afghanistan, one can easily answer this question with a strong NO. With the constant risk of road side and suicide bombs, insurgent violence, and Taliban kidnappings every day people are constantly falling victim to this war for no reason. As the number of troops rises from 39,000 to 47,000 it is hard to tell whether the unnecessary violence will go down or up. U.S. Generals conceded the fact that more of their troops will be falling in the future, but what about the innocent Afghan people? They play no bigger part in this war than I do, yet they wake up every morning fearful for their lives. In my opinion, no human should have to go through the day worried about whether they will be the unsuspecting victim of war time violence. In our modern day, it is the responsibility of every human being to try and right the wrongs of our past by working to eliminate unnecessary casualties. Hopefully, American efforts in Afghanistan will work towards this cause instead of against it.

Ancient Cultures of Privilege

Earlier I was on CNN.com checking out their most recent articles and I stumbled upon one discussing an archaeologist who is attempting to clarify the modern perception of Cleopatra. Kathleen Martinez has been excavating at Abusir for the past three years in an effort to find the burial grounds of Marc Antony and Cleopatra.

Martinez is interested in far more than just the archaeological aspect of this ancient Egyptian queen, however. She believes that Cleopatra was a woman who was thinking way beyond her time. In the article, Martinez says: "spoke nine languages, she was a philosopher, she was a poet, she was a politician, she was a goddess, and she was a warrior."Also, modern debate has pondered at the idea of her beauty. Was she truly a fascinatingly beautiful queen? or did she possess more strikingly raw features? Many historical accounts of her say she was gorgeous beyond words, but coins from the era which depict her tell another story. On them she is portrayed with a large forehead, big nose and pointed chin. So how jaw dropping was the real Cleopatra? We can never be too sure.

As of late we have been discussing cultures of privilege and poverty. Reading about Cleopatra caused me to question what these cultures were like in ancient times. Cleopatra definitely does not stick to the common modern success stories of most women. She was quite possibly a homely looking woman who certainly had a strong opinion. Obviously, there was no 'bringing yourself up by the boot straps' in ancient Egypt, so she must have been born into her privilege. But, her use of it was unlike most during and long after her time. Speaking nine languages and being an active politician, philosopher and warrior is not usually part of the job description for a privileged woman in any society across the ages. Cleopatra transcends traditional views of cultures of privilege because she accomplished so much, despite being born into a ruling family. In 2009, most of our examples of woman born into privilege follow the story line of Paris Hilton, someone who has abused their privilege all the way to the courthouse. Cleopatra is the opposite. She used her privilege as a stepping off point to achieve so much that she is still being spoken of 2,000 years later. If you want to get a more in depth look at the search for her burial grounds check out this article.