...Until very recently, the United States and the UN seemed more interested in deciding what term to apply to the atrocities in Darfur than in actually solving them. It is time to move beyond oblique discussions of whether this crisis constitutes genocide. This is irrelevant to the situation on the ground in Darfur. If we spend our time debating that question, we will miss the opportunity to save lives.

Some have suggested that the United States could impose travel bans on Janjaweed leaders and freeze their assets. But because none of those leaders is expected to travel to the United States, and none of their assets could be easily seized by authorities in Washington, this is an empty threat. Instead, the United States and the UN should impose immediate sanctions on the Sudanese leadership that is funding and supplying the Janjaweed.

Finally, the UN Security Council should authorize troops to deliver aid and protect refugee camps from the Janjaweed. Such troops have to be in addition to any forces authorized and equipped to implement the North-South peace agreement.

The crisis in Sudan is not occurring in a vacuum. It has a direct effect on our national security. Sudan is a country that was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 and was the target of cruise missile attacks in 1998 for its support of Al Qaeda. Sudan has been on the foreign policy agenda of both the Bush and Clinton administrations and is clearly a frontline in the war on terror...