DARFUR UPDATE: I SYMPATHIZE WITH THESE SENTIMENTS but it won’t work:

If the Sudanese government can’t or won’t act, and the threat of international sanctions (the U.S. already has sanctions in place) doesn’t work, then troops it must be. The ideal solution would be to use troops drawn from the region, but they don’t seem to have sufficient numbers and training. Thus, once again, the world will be standing around, waiting to see what the United States does.

However, we already have two foreign military projects — Iraq and Afghanistan — that really ought to be finished up before we take on anything new. But there are major nations fresh and rested from sitting on the sidelines that can and should take the lead.

How about it, France and Germany? The criteria you said you’d need to justify intervention — a clear humanitarian crisis and a U.N. resolution — are there. We’ll hold your coats.

If only.