US Administration decision to write off sanctions on Sudan bodes well for the future counter-terror

06:00 PM October, 09 2017

Sudanese Online
خالد حسن سملتود-الخرطوم-السودان
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Khalid Hassan Mohammed Samiltoud
Sudanese government and the venerated Sudanese people received the news of the American Administration decision to lift the economic sanctions with cheers and warm welcome. These economic sanctions were completely lifted with the exception of the list of countries that sponsor terrorism where Sudan is still on this list. The American administration has been imposing these commercial sanctions against Sudan since 1997 under the tenure of the American former president Bill Clinton who took this tough decision to slap Sudan with these sanctions, due to the Sudanese backing of terrorism and Osama Bin Laden’s terror group which also followed by the consequent cruise missiles launch against the Sudanese pharmaceutical plant in Kafori which was completely demolished and destroyed for being used as a hotbed to manufacture chemical precursors and nerve gas as authenticated by the American Intelligence Community and confirmed by multiple Intelligence accounts and the factory was being operated to support the terror organization of Al-Qaida led by Osama Bin Laden, the premise that Sudanese government vehemently denied and instead requested the US Administration for prompt compensation for strafing this vital construction. Since that time the American administration and its affiliated Intelligence Community were closely monitoring political and actions of the Sudanese government and there were multiple intelligence reports from US intelligence community which affirmed that the Sudanese government was constructing military camps and terror hotbeds to be used as safe havens for Hamas terror group militants and Iranian revolutionary guards’ elements.
US consecutive administrations maintained Sudan on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and they supported the ICC decision to prosecute the Sudanese president Omar AL Bashir before the international criminal court for the heinous crimes committed in Darfur as well as genocide. However, the regime of Khartoum was exerting colossal efforts at all fronts to have these tough sanctions lifted immediately, but this was not the only boundary and the malicious scourge the country encountered. Sudan was even encountered server blockade from the International Criminal Court for the heinous crimes being committed in Darfur and Nubba Mountains.
Eventually, the regime of Omar Alabashir started to change the de facto policy and it swiftly took a landmark action to deport all Iranian preachers from Khartoum and it consequently shut down all the Iranian Shia schools in Sudan, prompting the swift rapprochement with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia restoring the robust bonds with this blessed country the land of revelation on which Angels descended to report the Islamic religion. The Sudanese regime immediately realized that it was pursuing wrong track and consequently commenced the intelligence operation to crack down on terror groups movements in Iraq and Somali lands and it handed over high confidential report to the American Central Intelligence Agency, as well as classified information to the American Intelligence community as a substantial evidence to prove its policy against sponsoring terrorism. US-based Los Angeles time’s newspaper reported on 2008 that the Sudanese government was cooperating well with CIA to counter terror groups in Iraq and Somali lands and it also reported that the regime of Omar AL Bashir was conspicuously the eyes and ears of CIA.
I would obviously confirm that the policy changes of the Sudanese government was the real trigger of accelerating the action of sanctions being lifted once and forever, specially that when the Sudanese government took a historical decision to participate in the operation of (Decisive Storm and hope Restoration) in Yemen to send Sudanese special forces and military personnel to fight Houthi in close collaboration with the coalition forces in that region along with the Saudi army. All these actions preserved the good image of the Sudanese government and prompted UAE and Saudi Arabia to reconsider this Sudanese decisive cooperation against the terror organizations. Ultimately, the Saudi and UAE diplomats kept lobbying in USA Security Council to write off the American sanctions and they actually did it. However, still there are key actions and files that should be settled to lift Sudan from list of countries that sponsor terrorism, including the concrete actions to swiftly cooperate with US Intelligence agencies under Donald Trump Administration. However, US Administration has completely lifted these economic sanctions, but it actually maintained Sudan on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Sudanese government has to take further steps to be dropped off this list, including to maintain constant rapprochement with US Administration to confer on most critical issues like ceasing fighting in Darfur and construct special US attaché office in Khartoum to be in charge of monitoring all criminal and terror activities that could transpire in the region and the horn of Africa. I strongly suggest that Sudanese government should start to launch a diplomatic initiative to hold a Sudanese-American forum on Intelligence issues typically like the forum of sessions of Security and Intelligence Services in Africa (SISA) that is periodically convened in Khartoum every year. Such meetings could swiftly exchange the good intentions and result in concrete and positive actions between the two countries concerning the security challenges. Sudanese government should steer clear of supporting the global initiatives that are in stark contradiction with USA policies which are advocating for countering the American policies, such as North Korean file.
We expect positive actions that would be taken in the future including writing off Sudan name from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.