Close Call in Darfur
November 2nd, 2009 by 
Sarah Wilensky, IDS Columnist
This article provides an interesting account of a short-term crisis situation occurring between the US military and the Sudanese forces in Darfur.
A plane (originally just intending to pick up a soldier so that he could be with his sick wife) was surrounded, the State Dep’t gave orders to the American soldiers to immediately shoot any Sudanese people who got on the plane, and the two female American soldiers aboard were demeaned and threatened with rape.
The incident was only made public because the Americans who showed great judgment and restraint in an extraordinarily stressful situation were recently decorated.
Nicholas Kristoff commented on his blog that:
it offers insights into the Sudanese troops we’ll be dealing with as we try to avoid another north-south war in Sudan — which I’m afraid is very likely to erupt in the next year or two.
I would argue that it also provides an interesting window into the operations of our own military. How often does the State Department give orders like, “‘If someone comes on the plane, shoot ’em.’?”
Anyone who remembers world history knows that some wars start because of mishandled crises gone awry. How many close calls happen that the American public never hears about?
