espac.org - THE UNITED STATES AND SUDAN

THE UNITED STATES AND SUDAN



	ESPAC Profile


	Latest Publications


	Darfur

	The Darfur In Perspective Book

	Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Sudan


	The Peace Process


	Sudan and the International Community


	Sudan and the Region


	The United States and Sudan


	Sudan and Europe


	Sudan and the United Kingdom


	Canada and Sudan


	The Sudanese Oil Industry


	Sudan and the Media


	The SPLA


	Famine in Sudan


	Allegations of Involvement in International Terrorism


	The Al-Shifa Bombing


	Allegations of Chemical Weapon Use


	Allegations of Slavery


	Norwegian Peoples Aid in Sudan


	Religion and Sudan


	Christian Solidarity International


	Christian Solidarity World-Wide


	Sudan and Human Rights


	Contact


	Links: The largest collection of Sudan-related links available on the internet.

SEVEN MYTHS HINDERING PEACE IN DARFUR

In February 2003 two armed groups, the 'Justice and Equality Movement' (JEM) and the 'Sudan Liberation Army' (SLA), started a war in Darfur, a region in the west of Sudan. These groups launched attacks on policemen, government garrisons and civilians in the area

SUDAN AND THE ABDICATION FROM REASON:
AN EXCHANGE WITH US SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK'S LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT ON FOREIGN POLICY, SARA HESSENFLOW

On June 4 2003 ESPAC published and distributed a publication entitled "Misleading Congress: The Congressional Research Service, Ted Dagne and Sudan" (http://www.espac.org). This explored the many professional shortcomings of the CRS and its work on Sudan.

SUDAN AND THE KOLA BOOF HOAX: "SLAVERY" PROPAGANDA EXPOSED

The Sudanese civil war has generated a vast amount of propaganda and disinformation. The intervention in Sudan by foreign powers, especially the United States, and by civil groups with partisan religious and political motivations, has exacerbated and prolonged a tragic conflict by the deliberate and cynical manufacture of blatantly manufactured distortions, lies and hoaxes.

MISLEADING CONGRESS:THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE, TED DAGNE AND SUDAN

One of the reasons for the questionable course of American policy towards Sudan for much of the 1990s - especially during the Clinton Administration - was the poor standard of what passed for research and
analysis within the United States regarding Sudanese affairs.

"THE SUDAN ABDUCTEE DATABASE": YET MORE QUESTIONABLE PROPAGANDA

In late May 2003, the Rift Valley Institute, a non-governmental organisation based in Kenya and Britain, launched what it termed "the Sudan Abductee Database". This was said to be a "database of abduction
and slavery cases".

PERFIDIOUS AMERICA?
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S 2002 RENEWAL OF COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST SUDAN

On 29 October 2002, President George Bush chose to extend President Clinton's Executive Order 13067 which declared a "national emergency" with respect to Sudan. President Bush stated that Sudan continued "to
pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States"

THE OSAMA FILES ( © VANITY FAIR )

September 11 might have been prevented if the U.S. had accepted Sudan's offers to share intelligence files on Osama bin Laden and the growing al-Qaeda threat. Recently unearthed docments reveal that the Clinton administration repeatedly rejected the help of a country it unwisely perceived as an enemy.

By David Rose

SELF-SERVING PROPAGANDISTS:

THE "AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY GROUP" AND SUDAN

The new and significant moves towards a peaceful resolution of the Sudanese civil war (1), as outlined in the July 2002 Machakos peace protocol, must go hand in hand with a concerted attempt to cut away the dead hand of propaganda that has artificially prolonged the conflict.

NO LESSON LEARNED:

A REVIEW OF JOHN PRENDERGAST'S "GOD, OIL AND COUNTRY: CHANGING THE LOGIC OF WAR IN SUDAN"

In January 2002, the International Crisis Group (ICG) published a book-length report on Sudan entitled 'God, Oil and Country: Changing the Logic of War in Sudan'.

"HOW CREDIBLE A WITNESS:
THE NEW SUDAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

In order to assess the credibility of the New Sudan Council of Churches, one must examine the situation within those areas in which it exists. These are areas controlled by the SPLA.
This organisation has been described by the New York Times, no friend of the Sudanese government, as "brutal and predatory" and "an occupying army, killing, raping and pillaging".

SUDAN, THE UNITED STATES AND ALLEGATIONS OF A BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME:

Irresponsible and Unsustainable

On 19 November 2001, the United States government stated that "we are concerned about the growing interest of Sudan.in developing a biological weapons programme". This serious, unsubstantiated, claim was made by John Bolton, American Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control, at a conference in Geneva.

ENCOURAGING WAR AND HINDERING PEACE:

The Bush Administration's Sudan Policy

The 13 June 2001 resolution of the United States House of Representatives to provide Sudanese rebels with 10 million dollars worth of assistance has confirmed the concerns of much of the international community at the negative influence American government policy continues to exercise on the long-running Sudanese conflict.

THE WAR ON TERRORISM:

The United States and the SPLA in Sudan

President George W. Bush's 20 September 2001 address to Congress and the American People, responding to the horrific atrocities of 11 September, declared a war on terrorism. The point was also made that it was not just terrorism associated with Islamic fundamentalism that was to be targeted, but all forms of terrorism.

SMITH COLLEGE, ERIC REEVES AND SUDAN:

What price a reputation

On 19 November 2001, the United States government stated that "we are concerned about the growing interest of Sudan.in developing a biological weapons programme". This serious, unsubstantiated, claim was made by John Bolton, American Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control, at a conference in Geneva.

FARCE MAJEURE

The Clinton Administration's Sudan Policy

The Clinton Administration's policy towards Sudan over the last eight years has come sharply into focus, largely because of events and developments in the past 18 months.

THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S SANCTIONS AGAINST SUDAN:

How Long Will the Charade Continue

On 3 November 1997, President Clinton signed executive order 13067, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703 et seq) and the National Emergencies Act (50 USC 1641 c), which imposed comprehensive trade and economic sanctions against Sudan.

THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION, WAR CRIMINALS AND SUDAN

Recent moves in Washington, including legislation passed by the United States Congress, and actively supported by key members of the Clinton Administration, which call on the American government to provide food aid directly to the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) has provoked considerable controversy in the United States and within the international community.

POORLY INFORMED AND CONFRONTATIONAL:

The United States Congress and Sudan

One of the mechanisms of oversight on American governments has traditionally been the United States Congress. With regard to the Sudanese issue, however, the U.S. Congress has itself been caught up in the anti-Sudanese frenzy put into motion by the Clinton Administration.

THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S OBSTRUCTION OF PEACE IN SUDAN

For all the good work done in the pursuit of peace and a peaceful solution to the conflict in Sudan, whether internally amongst the Sudanese themselves, through the auspices of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) or by way of the Egyptian-Libyan peace initiative, it is sadly all too evident that these endeavours have been fundamentally undermined by

PARTISAN AND HYPOCRITICAL:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and Sudan

One of the vehicles which has been used by the Clinton Administration in its anti-Sudanese campaign has been the federally-funded U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. This body was brought into being by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, passed by the United States Congress.

THE NEW YORK TIMES AND SUDAN:

A Study in Poor Journalism
On 13 January 2001, the 'New York Times' published an editorial on Sudan entitled 'Oil and War in Sudan'. The editorial sought to link the continuation and escalation of the Sudanese conflict to the advent of "lucrative oil exports". One would have expected considerably more journalistic professionalism and integrity from a newspaper of record such as the 'New York Times'.

THE WASHINGTON POST, WILLIAM RASPBERRY,
SUDAN AND "SLAVERY":

A Case Study in Poor Journalism

On 2 October 2000, The Washington Post published an article by syndicated columnist William Raspberry, entitled 'Some Things Simply Must Not Stand', alleging the existence of slavery in Sudan.

ARROGANCE PLUS IGNORANCE:
THE U.S. 'SUDAN PEACE ACT'

Sudan in 2002 is on the brink of peace. There are constitutional and political offers on the negotiating table, up to and including an internationally-monitored referendum on southern Sudan's status, that address the issues central to the Sudanese conflict.

SUDAN AND THE ABDICATION FROM REASON:
AN EXCHANGE WITH US SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK'S LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT ON FOREIGN POLICY, SARA HESSENFLOW

THE 'SUDAN PEACE ACT':
PERPETUATING AFRICA'S LONGEST WAR

On 13 June 2001, the United States House of Representatives passed "An Act to facilitate relief efforts and a comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan", also referred to as the 'Sudan Peace Act'. A more explicit example of confused, distorted and poorly-informed legislation would be hard to find.

THE UNITED STATES, SUDAN AND COUNTERTERRORISM: A CASE STUDY

In his address to the joint session of Congress and the American people in the week following the murderous terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, President George Bush declared that the war on terrorism would be the single most important struggle facing the United States and its allies: