Vol. 71/No. 20      May 21, 2007

Leading Democrats and other liberal backers of the “Save Darfur Campaign” said Bush should not wait any longer to impose a range of sanctions on Sudan.

Washington’s campaign against the Sudanese government goes back to the Clinton administration as part of pressuring Khartoum to get in line with Washington’s “war on terror.”

On April 23 Washington introduced a resolution at the UN Security Council calling for deployment of the UN/AU force to Darfur. There are already 5,000-7,000 AU troops in Darfur and another 10,000-12,000 UN troops in southern Sudan.

Washington and London have taken advantage of Khartoum’s brutal repression of non-Arabic-speaking peoples and non-Muslims among Darfur’s population to rationalize the imperialist-led intervention. According to UN figures, some 300,000 people have been killed and 2 million displaced since a revolt led by the Sudanese Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement began in the region in 2003. The peoples of Darfur face widespread discrimination.

Among the sanctions being considered is an arms embargo, and expanding the list of individuals from the government and pro-government militia groups called “janjaweed” that have been placed under travel and financial bans. President George Bush said the U.S. Treasury Department could bar business transactions between companies in the United States and Sudan.

The White House is also considering establishing a “no-fly zone” blocking Sudanese military flights over Darfur. A “confidential” UN report claimed Khartoum has flown arms and heavy military equipment into Darfur in violation of Security Council resolutions, and has disguised its aircraft with UN markings.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Biden said he had little hope the Sudanese government would keep its promises. “Instead of more threats, we need to act, now,” he said.

During the 1991 U.S.-led war on Iraq the Sudanese government sided with Baghdad and voted at the UN to condemn Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. It had close ties with Libya, then labeled a “terrorist” state by Washington.

U.S. deputy secretary of state John Negroponte, on an African tour, urged Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi to support the deployment of troops to Darfur, Reuters reported April 18.

In 1993 the Clinton administration declared Sudan a “terrorist state,” claiming Khartoum allowed Palestinian and Lebanese guerillas to train on its soil.

Following the 1998 car bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Washington ordered military attacks in which dozens of cruise missiles struck an industrial area in Khartoum. A supposed “chemical weapons” factory destroyed by the missiles was later proven to be a pharmaceutical plant.  
 
 
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