BREAKING NEWS: US Envoy Confirms Backdown on Darfur Peace Force

Posted on November 4, 2006
Filed Under General Thoughts |

Oh YES YES YES. Thank you. I love you America (hugs and tons of French kisses). Andrew Natsios said the magic words I’ve been waiting to hear for so long.

In a major policy reversal, Washington’s special envoy for Darfur has confirmed the United States is backing away from demands for deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to the war-torn region of Sudan.

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Andrew Natsios

Andrew Natsios, President George W. Bush’s personal envoy to Sudan, said Washington and other Western governments were looking for an “alternate way” to deal with the violence which has left at least 200,000 people dead and 2.5 million homeless in Darfur.

It was the first public acknowledgement that the United States was reconsidering its backing for a August 31 UN Security Council resolution it sponsored demanding the deployment of some 20,000 UN peacekeepers to halt what Washington has described as genodice in Darfur.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir has rejected the United Nations demand and refused to meet with Natsios during a visit to Khartoum last week, the US envoy said in an interview with the National Holocaust Memorial which was posted on the memorial’s website on Friday.

Natsios said Beshir was furious over Bush’s renewal this week of US financial sanctions imposed on Sudan for its involvement in the Darfur violence and alleged support for international terrorists.

I think the White House is starting to realize that the policy it has been pursuing (after the Abuja agreement) was doing more bad than good. I’ve argued here many times on why I think UN troops are a bad idea that will make Darfur a bigger disaster than it already is. If the White House does indeed follow what Natsios announced, it will be doing itself and us Sudanese a major favor. Sooner or later this had to happen. It’s time for America and Sudan to mend relations. America is only hurting itself. Asian corporations and many European ones have been investing billions of dollars in Sudan and in the process reaping back tons of profits. America is missing out big time especially in the oil sector. Sudan badly needs the American sanctions to be lifted. Believe me the NCP will have no problem allowing in American companies. Hell, they want American companies to come. They want American investment. I’m very very optimistic that it’s easy to repair the damaged relations. After the Shifa factory bombing, relations took a dive but then they recovered again. Moreover America played a key role in north-south peace agreement. It can do the same in the case of Darfur but it must make changes to the current policy of confrontation. No to confrontation, yes to cooperation. America can do more to bolster the AU force already present in Darfur. American investment can also make the NCP more “swayable” in the long term run. Moreover the SPLM can be strengthened in order to keep a better balance of power. As long as the SPLM exists and gets strengthened, the NCP won’t be able to easily do what it wants to do. Moreover the transition towards democracy can move faster. Thanks to the SPLM, many of us Muslims in the north have been able to enjoy more freedoms after the peace agreement. Another thing I should highlight is the best decision Omar al-Bashir ever made. He really deserves a big hug for that decision. The decision? Kicking Turabi out of government and putting him on house arrest. If he took over, we could be witnessing a Saudi Talibani stlyle government (PS: don’t get fooled by Turabi’s latest “liberal” fatwas. They’re nothing but attention seeking rants and probably even Taqiya. He’s extremely smart and he cannot be trusted. In Sudan many people call him a chameleon. Remember this is the same guy who welcomed Bin Laden with wide open arms). This Drima is eagerly waiting to hear about the alternatives the White House has in mind.

Political stability is the first step towards progress. Without it nothing is possible. If we Sudanese can truly achieve good political stability, we could do wonders especially with the newly discovered oil wealth which is estimated by some to be more than Saudi Arabia’s reserves. Combine that with tourism (ancient Roman/Nubian ruins/pyramids and animal wild reserves, agriculture (we have tons of fertile land and the Nile) and minerals (gold, silver, iron etc.). I swear to God we have so much potential… so much of it. If the political climate improves, I’m confident we Sudanese can have a country we can be very proud of in just about 20-30 years time. The diaspora will start returning and we can evetually have our own Sudanese Wall Street. It took Dubai and the UAE about the same period to reach where they did. It also took Mahathir (former Malaysian prime minister) to take Malaysia from a third world tin and rubber producing nation to where it is today.

UPDATE: US has denied policy shift. Oh well there goes my smile and excitement… We’ll just have to wait and see how this develops.

Comments

5 Responses to “BREAKING NEWS: US Envoy Confirms Backdown on Darfur Peace Force”

  1. Hipster on November 6th, 2006 1:52 pm

    “The decision? Kicking Turabi out of government and putting him on house arrest. If he took over, we could be witnessing a Saudi Talibani stlyle government (PS: don’t get fooled by Turabi’s latest “liberal” fatwas. They’re nothing but attention seeking rants and probably even Taqiya. He’s extremely smart and he cannot be trusted. In Sudan many people call him a chameleon. Remember this is the same guy who welcomed Bin Laden with wide open arms)”

    Did I tell you that the guy who kicked Al Turabi in Canada is my relative?looool, Bless him:)

  2. Drima on November 6th, 2006 3:07 pm

    Are u serious????!! OMG dat was ur relative?? Cooool! Say hi to him… btw i hope he didn’t end up going to jail or something… ppl always keep joking and say Turabi’s brain got more retaded after that karate kick the sudanese guy gave him in canada.

    Bless ur relative hehehehe =)

  3. Hipster on November 7th, 2006 5:51 am

    looool, yea but I’ve never had the privilege of meeting him.

    “btw i hope he didn’t end up going to jail or something”

    Not that I heard of.

    “ppl always keep joking and say Turabi’s brain got more retaded after that karate kick the sudanese guy gave him in canada.”

    Yup, that’s what I heard too.

    It’s hilarious.

  4. The Sudanese Thinker » Sudan Accepts Hybrid UN-AU Darfur Force? on November 17th, 2006 9:32 am

    […] I guess this means that the previous news about America changing its stance over UN resolution 1706 are true. There were many clashing reports. Some said America will change its policy towards Sudan regarding Darfur but other reports denied such a thing. At least now I know. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though. I’m not going to get excited over this until I start seeing it all over the news and see official reports showing Bashir himself accepting the plan. […]

  5. The Sudanese Thinker » 3 Down 3 More To Go! - UN Apparently Reaches an Agreement With Sudan on November 17th, 2006 11:15 am

    […] WTFish is “in principle” supposed to mean? You know, I’m not going to get excited over this until I actually start seeing everything fall into place. I’m in a cynical mood right now. Anyways the United States apparently approves of this new agreement. I guess that means the previous report claiming America was changing its stance over the Darfur UN peacekeeping forces and UN resolution 1706 is true. […]

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