i've been reading authors--trusted men--who wrote of ending violence and oppression with violence.
i've been struggling immensely in the past few years with this and, seeing now that either ideal fails me, i'm falling in line with "christian realism", a concept attributed to a christian ex-pacifist named Reinhold Niebhur.
he reasoned that this is a fallen world, where ideals such as ever-enforced, strict pacifism is no longer a realistic option.
violence should only ever be the last resort, when sanctions and politics and other forms of diplomacy and peaceful campaigns no longer work.
in Darfur, after about 5 YEARS, no such thing as peaceful attempts at change are working anymore.
Blackwater, yes Blackwater, has agreed to step in and train 1000 of the 9000 African Union Peacekeepers already in-country to be a mobile urgent-response force to combat Janjaweed and other factions preying on civilians in the region.frankly, i never wanted the obstinate President Omar al-Bashir to ever let it get this far, but seeing as how he's not likely to turn himself in to the International Criminal Court and thus stem the onslaught in western Sudan, i am thankful that more immediate action will be taken to protect the civilians of Darfur who've already endured so much loss of life and livelihood.
i know there is much controversy surrounding the exact inner-workings of Blackwater. it's almost intimidating to think of how "organized" they are, according to Marshall Adame's comment.
but to be even more frank, this is likely the lesser of two evils, and i support upgraded protection of civilians whole-heartedly.
