Failure to Protect: International Response to Darfur Genocide.

• Author: Lefes, William S.

A retired Foreign Service Officer who worked with USAID for 28 years-15 of them in five African countries--this reviewer shares with Professor Reeves and others with an abiding interest in Africa their frustration with the state of the continent's political and cultural affairs. Reeves' accounting of the history of repeated diplomatic attempts to end genocide in Darfur is well known. The meager responses of the UN have yielded only more suffering and death. The Sudanese government pretends that it is above the fray, though it encourages and arms its lackey, the National Islamic Front (NIF), to carry out its dastardly deeds of destruction.

Reeves hits the nail on the head when he states that there has never been any stomach to confront, in effective and concerted fashion, the ruthless tyranny of the NIF. No wonder, who can be intimidated by a toothless monster? The Sudanese government and the NIF can count on the temerity of UN and African Unity countries fearful of stepping into the quagmire of Darfur. It is no secret that the UN is unable to function because too many of its members are thinking that they might find themselves in a similar situation one day and they would not want UN armed forces knocking on their door.

Professor Reeves lays out a clear and factual picture of the background and current situation in Darfur. He provides broad hints concerning ways to solve the problem but stops short of prodding the herd into action. I applaud his restraint in the face of an...