I’ll spare readers further extended commentary on the grim outlook for peacekeeping (although, just to add to the fun, it’s worth checking out the new piece by Charles Grant and Tomas Valasek of CER on how Bosnia can go bad too) but it’s hard to overlook Jean-Marie Guehenno’s challenge to the Security Council yesterday. After a dour briefing on the obstacles to getting into Darfur, and holding out the opportunity of one last round of talks with Sudan to sort things out, the UN peacekeeping chief summed up:
Should the anticipated discussions fail to clear the path to the deployment of an effective force, the international community will be confronted with hard choices: do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself, and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations, and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?
The emphasis was in the original.
