Obama initiative seeks normalized relations with Sudan regime
Thursday, July 16, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — Diplomatic sources said the administration of President Barack Obama has intensified talks with Sudan in an effort to normalize U.S. relations with the Khartoum regime.
There is one problem however. Sudan enjoys close ties with Iran, Hamas and other sponsors of terrorist operations.
The sources said the State Department has sent several envoys to Khartoum to discuss Washington's terms for normalization, which would enable travel by Sudanese to the United States.
"The administration has promised to remove sanctions from Khartoum if it is ready to end its policies of helping terrorist groups and regimes," a source said.
The White House plans to restore the U.S. embassy in Khartoum by 2010 as part of the normalization process. But the sources said U.S. diplomats have demanded that Khartoum first sever cooperation with Iran and the Hamas movement.
The sources said Washington has determined that Sudan was hosting both Hamas training camps as well as military advisers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. They said Hamas was using Sudan as a source of weapons and missiles for the Islamic regime in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas weapons smuggling was said to have been facilitated by IRGC.
In January and February 2009, Israel, with U.S. consent, attacked Hamas convoys in northern Sudan near the Egyptian border. Sudan has acknowledged the Israel Air Force strikes, said to have killed more than 40 people.
The sources said the administration has also offered to remove Sudan from the State Department's list of terrorist sponsors. But the administration wants Khartoum to agree to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir, accused of genocide.
At this point, Bashir has refused to cooperate with ICC. The sources said Khartoum has dismissed the U.S. demand as interference in Sudan's internal affairs.
Still, Sudan has welcomed what the sources termed the new U.S. approach by Obama. The sources said Khartoum believes that Obama, unlike his predecessor, George Bush, has sought genuine reconciliation.
The sources said Washington has been consulting with Egypt to press Sudan to end its relations with Hamas and Iran. So far, they said, there has not been any significant progress.
"To get Sudan away from Iran means that the United States would have to help Sudan with defense and security," the source said. "This could prove difficult given Sudan's human rights record."