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May 28, 2005
Sudan, Mass Murder, and the War on Terror
Nat Hentoff provides enlightenment as to why the Bush Administration has not been even more forthright on Sudan. It's basically a deal with the devil, he says. According to Henthoff, Ken Silverstein of the Los Angeles Times has revealed close intelligence ties between the two countries:
"The Sudanese government, an unlikely ally in the U.S. fight against terror, remains on the latest U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. At the same time, however, it has been providing access to terror suspects and sharing intelligencedata withtheUnited States." The Los Angeles Times' substantially and carefully documented report makes clear that this collaboration between our CIA and the Mukhabarat, the Sudanese equivalent of the CIA, has produced very important results in our war against terrorism. For instance "A U.S. source familiar with Sudan's cooperation said, 'They've not only told us who the bad guys were, they've gone out and gotten them for us.'"Ugh.Furthermore, a Muslim intelligence agency like the Mukhabarat "can 'get firsthand information, while we get 10th-hand information,' said Lee S. Wolosky, a former National Security Council staffer in the Clinton and Bush administrations." Accordingly, in countries where barbaric jihadists organize and plan against us and where the CIA has very limited contacts, Sudan's intelligence agents can be of considerable,andpossibly life-saving, help.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is the type of thing that separates the 'real world' from pure idealism. In a perfect world we would unilaterally condemn countries like Sudan without regard to such...complications. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out so neatly.
So What to Do?
Readers of this blog will know that I've recommended strong action against Sudan in the past.
I've gone so far as to say that we ought to bomb government buildings if that's what it takes to persuade their leaders to stop their mass murders. We did it in Kosovo, why can't we do it here?
Because we would lose a valuable source of intelligence, we're told. And those who make this argument should not be dismissed. One can be a human rights absolutist like Jimmy Carter, and look where it got him: he lost Iran and Nicaragua to dictatorships worse than the ones they replaced.
But the difference was that Carter pontificated about human rights without being willing to back up his words with action. He mussled our military. All his talk achieved was to alienate traditional allies. He undermined odious regimes without providing an alternative.
George Bush has so far not made this mistake.
My Recommendation
It's easy for me to talk, since I do not have access to the intelligence that Sudan is passing us. It may be good stuff, it may not. My position is that it had better well better be super-hot if its going to keep us from taking action against the Sudanese government for their continued mass murders in Darfur.
Posted by Tom at May 28, 2005 10:32 AM
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