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Oil Helps Determine the Importance of Int?l Crises

Is it at all possible that oil wealth ? or lack thereof ? in Sudan is what has prevented the United Nations from taking as swift a reaction toward the genocide taking place there as it has toward crises in the Middle East such as the summertime war between Israel and Hizballah and Iran`s nuclear program? Gas prices increased to prohibitive levels this past summer during the 24-day war between the Jewish state and the Islamist terrorist group, and the U.N. was quick to be brought in to deal with the effects.

Iran, which controls access to the Persian Gulf via the Straight of Hormuz, has seen its nuclear program ? under scrutiny by the international community ? vilified and its file sent to the United Nations Security Council for discussion. Iran is one of the world`s foremost oil suppliers, and its oil wealth as well as its influence has made it a prominent fixture of international debate as of late. But what about Sudan? Hundreds of thousands of people have died in fighting between Sudanese-government sponsored Arab militias and black Sudanese rebel groups in the Darfur region.

The United States and indeed the Security Council itself has condemned the violence in Darfur and called for action there to prevent genocide. However, Sudan is not as central to world affairs ? or so people think ? as its oil wealth is nominal. Is such a biased worldview causing, in some way, more deaths than necessary? History will have to wait to be the judge of that, though individuals will surely draw their own conclusions from the evidence.