After the U.S. Congress declared genocide in Sudan, the world police that is the United States is once again stuck in a tough situation, especially in lieu of the disastrous foreign-relation spectacle in Iraq.

In the last 15 months, nearly 30,000 people have been slaughtered, and more than 1 million black Africans have found themselves homeless because of the conflict.

Flashbacks to the situation in Rwanda seem to drive the underlying message that U.S. Congress has presented about Sudan. The United States must again play the "wait and see" game that is involved in foreign conflict resolution.

Sudan has had a long-standing civil war that appears to have no clear end in view. But where America fits into this grand scheme is quite unclear.

The Sudanese are no doubt thankful for the declaration of genocide, because world-wide attention can only stand to help deter the conflict in the torn country. The mere acknowledgment of the atrocities going on in Sudan is a major stepping stone toward the end of what has only gotten progressively worse.

A major selling point for the Bush administration to rally the troops for Iraq was the issue of moral obligation, but a lack of U.S. interest in Sudan can only increase the numbers of those being massacred. Slain innocents, whether Iraqi or Sudanese, are still murder victims, regardless of U.S. interest in the region.

In an election year, moral obligation is often weighed against political ramifications, and declaring genocide in Sudan is a small step, but nonetheless a step in the right direction.

U.N. sanctions have been threatened against Sudan, but time will be the only marker of how effective the threats really are.