Mamdani’s inaccuracies [a.k.a. “Are we really expected to fact check every detail of a book like this? “]

You can call my indignation naive – but I just don’t think it’s that unreasonable to expect that a book, published by no less reputable an organization than Random House, could have been put through a fact-checking process before going to print.

On Monday I was speaking about international law at the opening of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.  The panel before mine was on media coverage of atrocities crimes and, as you would expect, Darfur came up. I was sitting in a packed audience of people who have the interest and connections to engage on the issue.

One of the panelists was Joe Lauria – the UN correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. Serious guy. He tells the audience, in an authoritative manner, that the U.S. determination of genocide was a political one that was started by Bush, and which Powell disagreed with – until 3 months later he was pressured to “fall into line.”

After the panel, I asked Joe if he could give me his basis for this claim. “Absolutely” he replied – and reached for his bag. Out he pulled a nice new hardcover copy of Mamdani’s Saviors and Survivors. “It’s in here” he said. Very happy to accommodate, he even said he had notes for which page he found it on. He turned to p. 27 and we read:

“On June 24, 2004, Representative Donald Payne . . . introduced concurrent resolutions in the House and Senate declaring that genocide was occurring in Darfur. On June 30, President George W. Bush affirmed that “the violence in Darfur region is clearly genocide.” . . . Somewhat reluctant to fall in line was Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state. Five days after the resolution on genocide was introduced in Congress and the very day President Bush declared the violence in Darfur was genocide, on June 30, Powell was in Khartoum . .[Mamdani then excerpts Powell’s comments made to NPR radio where he says that based on the evidence he currently has, he cannot make a legal determination of genocide] But in the days that followed, Powell obliged, presumably under pressure. Darfur was one of the two pivotal presentations that Colin Powell would make on critical issues of war and peace during his tenure as secretary of state. The other was on Iraq. In both cases, his judgment was shaped more by the force that pressure groups brought to bear on him than by the weight of the evidence they were able to marshal.”

Joe told me that the author had just been to speak to them at the United Nations. I said that I knew who Mamdani was and that I had read the book – but that there were some problems with it (I was thinking about my earlier post!)  Joe replied that Mamdani quotes NPR in the relevant section [and he’s right – Powell comments to NPR on June 30, 2004 are referenced – – unfortunately nothing else in the segment is]. “I don’t think he would be making it up” says Joe. One of the Museum staff came over to tell me I’m supposed to be in the green room with the rest of my panel. “I have to go – – but it’s a longer discussion – we can talk after my panel” I said – and tried to cool my frustration as I headed into the green room.

On the way to the airport that afternoon Joe and I got a chance to talk properly, and we emailed each other afterwards. Joe indicated he thought parts of the book didn’t add up. But he remained skeptical of my assertion that Powell’s September 2004 genocide determination was not a case of him “falling into line” 3 months after Bush had declared genocide –  until I sent him reporting from the time [Jim VandeHei, “In Break With U.N., Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide” Washington Post,June 2, 2005] showing that Bush did not, in fact, publicly call Darfur genocide until June 1, 2005 – -nine months after Powell had made his own determination.

In reality the “quote” from Bush that Mamdani suggests was made 3 months prior to Powell’s September 2004 genocide determination comes from June 30, 2005 (interestingly although Mamdani puts quotation marks around the Bush quote, he provides no reference – did he or Random House know that no reference exists to support the claim that Bush made this statement in June 2004?). The quote that “the violence in Darfur region is clearly genocide” was made by President Bush on June 30, 2005 in remarks at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. Anyone who wants to check me on that can go to the White House Transcript for that day.

Joe’s last email said: “This is really shocking that a guy at Columbia would make so many fundamental errors like getting dates wrong.  I feel deceived really. . . .  Are we really expected to fact check every detail of a book like this?  One would assume that an Ivy League professor and a reputable book publisher would not allow this to happen. ” I couldn’t agree more.