Overhauling the national security institutions in Sudan. Robust Armies are not the only driving fac

03:14 PM February, 06 2018

Sudanese Online
خالد حسن سملتود-الخرطوم-السودان
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Overhauling the national security institutions in Sudan. Robust Armies are not the only driving factor in safeguarding countries.

Khalid Hassan Mohammed Samiltoud
As we all recognize the significance of any intelligence agency as the robust arm of the state in thwarting and defusing the international and domestic political tensions whether triggered by natural or man-made crises. However, since any intelligence organization is the key protector of the state and its citizens against the external threats and national crises, governments should take strategic actions to reform the security and intelligence agencies to keep abreast of the dynamic national and international threats that could pose serious setbacks to the integrity of the ruling governments. However, militarization of the state is not the viable solution to counter all forms of the threats against the country since all countries that have robust armies can devastatingly fail to secure and protect its national sovereignty, due to the crumbling economy or the entire economic institutions being compromised via hostile countries. Cyber warfare is extensively operated against countries that have a robust economy like the United States of America which is frequently targeted by the Chinese cyber organizations which are inimically seeking to inflict mass damage and dilapidations to the targeted state. Underdeveloped countries and mostly in Africa are ostensibly targeted by dormant and bogus organizations and powers that seek to collude with other suspicious powers which are predominantly intelligence institutions to inflict damage and subversions against the targeted states. Building armies can safeguard the security of the states, but they are not the overwhelming and sufficient factors in doing so, since Armies cannot remain resilient against all sorts of challenges, including the accelerating situations of economic collapses and the declining of production.
United states of America and in the aftermath of the cold war and more specifically after the attacks of 11/9 took a responsive and strategic actions to overhaul the security and intelligence system to build robust security organizations that are evidently capable of thwarting and predicting the potential threats and to never repeat its fatal mistakes which were the reasons behind these attacks due to the lack of strategic information and security warning to preempt terrorist attacks. Considering these American overhauls to its key intelligence agencies to thwart potential and inimical threats, I would expect that countries could pursue this strategy in bolstering their security infrastructures to have up-to-date intelligence institutions that are actually capable of preserving its integrity to foil any foreign conspiracies and plots that could target and compromise the national security.
United States of America took landmark approaches in reconstructing its national intelligence and was successful in dividing its intelligence institutions into broad subsets; The NIA (National Intelligence Agency) and CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). NIA encompasses all the security organizations that fall under one unified agency, including CI, operating the competent analysis approach, which means accounting for skillful and fully educated security operators and agents capable of analyzing intelligence away from parochialism and limited knowledge. Once the state has significant numbers of intelligence analyzers and professional intelligence collectors, this would conspicuously safeguard the entire security of the nation if not partly, as well as engendering powerful fleet of militarized agents to deter potential threats, including political, social, economic or strategic menaces in the state. Sudan is currently witnessing countless foreign conspiracies and plots that are posing real threats against the national security of the country due to the enfeebled economy and the rampant detrimental phenomena, including the potential proxy wars and increasing challenges, regional conspiracies that are solely dedicated to overthrow the Khartoum regime!!. However, a regime can be expeditiously crumbled once the political and economic situations become out of control, because of the accelerating paces of currency collapse and the proliferation of rogue subversive espionage organizations which are bent for degrading the military capabilities of the state and make it completely impotent!!.These regional upheavals along with the internal economic crisis require the introduction of novelty strategies in terms of security and intelligence and the parameters to counter any internal or external threat that could potentially compromise the stability of Sudan and any country. Broadly speaking, counter-intelligence resources in Sudan should be bolstered and enhanced in the light of this crisis hopping and the escalation of insurgency in different war-torn regions in Sudan and the consequent deterioration of the economic situation along with the lack of complete surveillance on the inimical regional or international entities that are eager for compromising the national security and operating under the tutelage of hostile countries or organizations. Sudan is not only encountering internal security threats like rebel movements, but also external threats from regional neighboring countries (potential water warfare, border skirmishes etc.).The situation is currently degenerating due to the existence of unknown inimical elements and intelligence organization of some hostile countries which seek to inflame the rises of key commodities prices and currency devaluation against US Dollar.
The last events that transpired in Sudan and more notably in the eastern borders which prompted Sudanese government to dispatch thousands of military forces to Kasala and the eastern borderlines indicate that the regime in Khartoum should focus on the security apparatuses as well. Any country can’t win the war or vanquish the hostile external elements only through mobilizing the Army, because the current security caveats in Sudan require the mobilization of Intelligence assets and operate key human intelligence to counter any potential threats coming from outside, but this doesn’t mean full dedication to upgrading the entire military and security institutions through allocating huge amount of expenditures, since this human resources when become well versed of the counter intelligence affairs, would provide precious security information to the policy makers in the country. Nevertheless, and in the aftermath of the last visit of the Turkish president to Sudan, the country faced regional criticisms and indecent media reports against this visit and Egypt promised that it will never keep silent while the government in Khartoum is pursuing the strategies of Turkey in establishing the old Ottoman Empire!!.
Based on these critical developments and the political upheaval whether regionally or locally, the Sudanese government should act immediately to subdivide its intelligence institutions into two subsets, one is (Sudanese national Intelligence and Security Service known as SNISS) and Sudanese Central Intelligence Service known as SCI). The former agency should be solely dedicated to conduct intelligence and counterintelligence operations and extensity its counterintelligence operation on all suspected areas in Khartoum and all Sudanese cities. The war is now focused on intelligence collection and preemption of the internal and regional crisis and challenges. There are numerous hostile espionage activities operating in Sudan and its marginal regions carried out by inimical elements waged by hostile countries, including Egypt and Eritrea. However, there are no compelling evidences that implicate such regional countries in inflaming destabilization. There is now an implicit collusion between Egypt, Eritrea and the rebel movements to escalate their espionage activities in Sudan through applying and recruiting hostile agents and elements, but this doesn’t imply the direct alliance to execute such inimical operations. Generally speaking, a regime can never be overthrown directly with the participation of foreign hostile powers to attack and infiltrate, but it is a matter of accurate planning and coordination from outside, e.g. (through the active participation of unknown intelligence or hostile parties and entities to operate the policy of currency devaluation of the targeted country with the objective of weakening of its economy and consequently the negative impacts can easily prompt the people to resort to uprisings and demonstrations against the ruling regime)!! The Government is Khartoum needs to overhaul its security institutions as soon as possible to counter these potential threats through operating high qualified staff that are capable of analyzing information and conducting counter intelligence operations to expose the hatched conspiracies directed against Sudan. As a matter of fact, the phenomena of trafficking in persons, merchandise smuggling, narcotics trafficking and the entire phenomena of transnational crimes could apparently lead to economic deterioration of the state since the true meaning of security not only implies protecting the ruling government and its relevant institutions, but to indulge in studying the surrounding threats that could impact human and state national security. Economic security involves raising the income and production through fighting and curbing the black market and build grand projects, as well as attracting the serious foreign investment Companies to earn foreign currencies to solidify the internal economy.

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