Chages In US Policy Towards Sudan On the Way?

There have been many mixed signals coming from the US in regards to matters on Sudan and Darfur. Those gave me some serious headaches and after much thinking it occurred to me that there are struggles within the US government regarding what the exact policy towards Sudan should be.

Today I came across the following from Sudan Tribune:

• Divided US administration takes a toll on Bush special envoy to Sudan

The special envoy is none other than Andrew Natsios. He resigned. I know. Surprise of the century.

Natsios has a thorough understanding of the conflict from many angles. I praised him for that but he certainly did raise my eyebrows with his remark about Darfur not being a case of genocide anymore, which basically contradicts what Bush says.

According to Darfur activist John Prendergast the new envoy Williamson is a “heavyweight”:

“If given the opportunity to work directly for and with President Bush, and not get entangled in the staff-level internecine turf wars, he has a real chance of making a difference in Sudan,” said John Prendergast, a former Clinton administration Africa expert who described Williamson as a “heavyweight diplomat.”

Some Darfurian rebel groups are already starting to call for greater US involvement after Natsios’s resignation.

It will be interesting to watch if and how an updated US policy towards Sudan will emerge.