US Envoys to Sudan: Futile Mission

[sudan]

Sudan has no right to block the nomination of the American envoys because that is domestic affair, but it has the right to enquire about the significance of the coming and outgoing envoys.
According to international laws, envoys are named to resolve urgent issues and not complicate the situations, but the US envoys have never settled crucial issues between Washington and Khartoum or core issues between Sudan and South Sudan.
For instance, the term of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Andrew S. Natsios was full of problems and complications. The envoy has clearly tried to spark a new war between two Sudans and urged his country to provide Juba with arms to achieve victory over Khartoum. His calls have exposed his dishonest wills.

Unlike Natsios, Ambassador Scott Gartion has urged US administration to drop the economic sanctions. Mr Gration, a retired army general, said that maintaining the designation for Sudan would be a "political decision" that was "backed by no evidence" and was hindering U.S. development goals.
He told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that sanctions linked to the designation had held up the delivery of basic supplies essential to providing humanitarian assistance and developing infrastructure.
He admitted said that Khartoum was cooperating in the global fight against terror and that what has happened in Darfur was no longer genocide.
Regarding the new envoy, Donald E Booth, the Sudanese Foreign Ministers said Sudan places less emphasis on the US envoys unless he embarks on bettering the Sudanese-US relations. Since the nomination of the first envoy, the Sudanese-US relations have seen no improvement or change.
The new US envoy should come only with a clear road map to resolve the issues between the two countries (Sudan and US), said the Sudanese foreign minister, Ali Karti .
“If the new US envoy has a clear roadmap for relations between Khartoum and Washington, including helping to resolve the remaining files, we welcome this role, but if he goes to other issues we will certainly move away from him”, he said.
Although Sudan helped facilitate South Sudan’s referendum and formally recognized its results and exerted great efforts to normalize ties with Washington, US hasn’t fulfilled its promise to lift or the ease the economic sanctions.
The Sudanese government is in need to revise its policies with US envoys. The experiment has inflicted harm to Sudan, so it time for the Sudanese government to reconsider its views towards the successive envoys who failed to carry out their mission except for Scott Gration who was fair with Sudan during his tenure.

 

[waltky]

We finally gonna go into Sudan an' straighten dat place out too?...

Obama Tells Congress He ‘May Take Further Action’ in Turbulent South Sudan
December 22, 2013 – President Obama informed Congress Sunday that if necessary he “may take further action” to protect U.S. citizens, personnel and property, including the embassy, in South Sudan, where troops deployed to evacuate Americans came under fire on Saturday.

“This action has been directed consistent with my responsibility to protect U.S. citizens both at home and abroad, and in furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” he said in a formal letter to congressional leaders. Obama is currently on vacation in Hawaii. The world’s youngest independent country has been in turmoil since what its government called a coup attempt on December 14 by forces loyal to a former vice-president, Riek Machar, who was dismissed along with the entire cabinet in July.

On Thursday the Machar faction claimed to have seized control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state. Two U.N. peacekeepers and 11 local civilians were killed in an attack on a U.N. base in the state, and when the U.N. sent helicopters to evacuate peacekeepers one was forced to make an emergency landing after coming under small-arms fire. On Saturday, three U.S. military CV-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys were damaged after coming under small-arms fire as they approached Bor. According to U.S. Africa Command, four personnel were injured, flown to Nairobi for medical treatment, and were reported to be in a stable condition.

In his letter, Obama said about 46 U.S. troops had been deployed to help evacuate Americans from Bor. “After they came under fire, he said, “the operation was curtailed due to security considerations, and the aircraft and all military personnel onboard departed South Sudan without completing the evacuation.” “As I monitor the situation in South Sudan, I may take further action to support the security of U.S. citizens, personnel, and property, including our embassy, in South Sudan,” the president wrote.

The military attributed the shooting at the Ospreys to unknown forces, although South Sudan’s government pointed out that area was in the hands of the rebel troops. Later, the State Department reported that U.N. and U.S. civilian helicopters had managed to fly American citizens and citizens of other countries from Bor to the national capital, Juba, on Sunday morning. Four chartered flights and five military aircraft have now evacuated a total of some 380 American officials and citizens and about 300 citizens of other countries, from South Sudan, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

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