I wonder how, or if, the UN will respond to this explicit threat.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Sudan has warned the United Nations of “serious consequences” for its staff and facilities if the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over Darfur, a U.N. envoy said on Monday.

We should watch carefully how the UN, which was founded on the principle of “never again”, will respond to the thuggery of a genocidal regime. My guess, based on past performance, is that the UN will retreat and issue the warrant from a safe distance. Which means, of course, that there is no chance that the UN will actually attempt to serve the warrant. They’ll leave that up to some Western nation that hasn’t gone completely yellow-bellied in the face of tyrants.

But I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised here. It is possible that the UN will decide that what has happened in the Sudan is way, way too much and take some real action. Let’s hope that the folks in New York remember to take their backbones out of cold storage.