The Sudan Junta Blackmailed

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/26/the-angry-arab-the-us-just-blackmailed-sudan/

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2020/07/trouble-on-nile.html

Sudan, an opponent of Washington for the past thirty years has been flipped over into the American column. Washington sponsored and shepherded the creation of South Sudan in 2011, a move that (for a time) cut off the Beijing-aligned Khartoum regime from its oil resources. As of last year China has returned to a position of dominance in terms of South Sudanese oil. And yet now Washington has scored another victory in the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir and the bringing of Sudan into alliance with the West. Divide and conquer in this case worked. And China for its part risks trouble in getting its oil to the coast.

And now Sudan is making news because of its shift in policy toward Israel – a nation that has exercised no small influence in the region. The ruling junta hasn't been subtle in its shift – the nation seems to be fully on board with the American agenda. This is certain to have regional repercussions as Sudan-backed paramilitary groups in neighbouring countries are likely to be left out in the cold or under new masters will be re-tasked.

As the Consortium News piece accurately argues, Washington held considerable sway over the new junta in the form of sanctions which have brought the Sudanese economy to its knees. The deal was very simple. Grant official acknowledgment to Israel and we'll lift the sanctions and remove Sudan from the terrorist list. If not, they'll stay in place, your nation will suffer and you regime will remain unstable. It was a gun to their head and the acquiesced.

Such brutal diplomacy is nothing new. The American public thinks that the United States is a beacon of human rights and democracy. This is only true when it's convenient. In reality Washington is quite brutal and has a lot of innocent blood on its hands. The Upper Nile and the Horn of Africa are no exception. Though you would never know it watching the mainstream news, economic sanctions are a form of warfare, a type of siege that is often ineffective at breaking regimes but it does cause a great deal of suffering and death. The US killed over a million Iraqis in the 1990's by means of this 'diplomatic' weaponry.

These moves will eventually lead to backlash – against the Western-backed junta and eventually against Israel itself. As mentioned elsewhere the stage is being set for the rise of a new al Qaeda – a sequel to the events of the late 1990's and early 2000's. History will repeat itself once more.

The Dispensationalist-oriented Evangelicals who support this type of diplomacy and economic warfare are also guilty of innocent blood. It is their political bloc and their money that play no small role in giving cover to Trump and other US presidents who pursue these brutal and hypocritical policies.