<p>Advocates of intervention play down rebel responsibility because it is easier to build support for stopping genocide than for becoming entangled in yet another messy civil war. But their persistent calls for intervention have actually worsened the violence.</p>
<p>The rebels, much weaker than the government, would logically have sued for peace long ago. Because of the Save Darfur movement, however, the rebels believe that the longer they provoke genocidal retaliation, the more the West will pressure Sudan to hand them control of the region. Sadly, this message was reinforced when the rebels’ initial rejection of peace last month was rewarded by American officials’ extracting further concessions from Khartoum.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/opinion/31kuperman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/opinion/31kuperman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin</a></p>