Terrorism in Sudan - Essay Example

Terrorism: Sudan Terrorism is one of the most complex problems facing by the modern world at present. It is difficult to tackle terrorism effectively because of the wide spread roots of terrorism in different countries. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan etc are some countries from which the terrorists are operating. At present war on terror is going on in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, Sudan has not faced such problems even though its role in encouraging terrorist activities suspected for the last few years. “The U.S. has charged the Sudanese government of being liable for the al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole missile destroyer in 2000” (SUDAN-US: USS Cole Case, p.17026). Moreover, U.S. believes that Sudan is supporting various terrorist organizations in many ways to conduct attacks in various parts of the world including America. Since Sudan is a country with poor economy, it is easy for the terrorists to operate from its soil. It should be noted that poor countries normally has weaker administration and hence terrorists may not face much problems while operating from such countries. Poverty, unemployment, lack of education of the people, religious fundamentalism etc are some of the major factors which contribute heavily to the development of terrorism in Sudan. This paper analyses terrorism in Sudan, its dynamics in the past and present and the role of US in reducing terrorism in Sudan. Sudan is a strategic location for many of the terrorists. Majority of the people in Sudan are Muslims and they do not have enough education. Moreover, it borders with some of the prominent Muslim states like Egypt, Libya and some of the Muslim dominated African countries. Religious fundamentalism is widespread in Sudan because of lack of education of its public. These are the factors, which encourage Osama Bin Laden and his followers to select Sudan as his country of operation in the 1990s. America knows very well that Sudan is playing a major role in the spreading of various kinds of terrorist activities all over the world. It is believed that Sudan is currently providing military training and support to terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Algeria's Armed Islamic Group etc. Moreover, many of the Islamic terrorist groups in other parts of the world are sending their people to Sudan for getting proper training on conducting terrorist activities. The current Sudanese president is behaving like a dictator and he is using iron fist to suppress the agitations against his administration. Because of that, internal problems and political unrest are common in Sudan. The northern and southern regions of Sudan are behaving like independent states even though the current president is trying hard to stamp his authority all over Sudan. America has enforced lot of economic embargos and sanctions with the help of UN against Sudan for the last few years. They have also listed Sudan in the category of State Sponsors of Terrorism from 1993 onwards. From 1996 onwards, Sudan is under diplomatic sanctions by the UN. “The U.S. government offered to take Sudan off its State Sponsors of Terrorism list in exchange for the northern government allowing a referendum on southern secession to take place without obstruction” (U.S. Offers to Remove Sudan from State Sponsors of Terrorism List, p.39). However, the northern government is not much interested in this offer and hence internal agitations are still going on in Sudan. “In 2008, the International Criminal Court at The Hague charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur” (National Security p.86). In fact, the ICC issued arrest warrant against the president in 2009. Even though human right activists have seen this arrest warrant as a positive step, so far the president has been successful in avoiding or ignoring the arrest warrant. Al-Bashir’s anti-American or anti-western stands are inspirational to the terrorists in Sudan. His remarks against America and its allies are motivating Islamic terrorists to avoid second thoughts while selecting Sudan as their country of operation. Al-Bashir’s anti-American stands and words are famous. Al-Bashir recently, said that; “They (USA, UK and France) are all under my shoes” or “the UNSC and the ICC personnel should soak their resolutions and drink their water” (El-Tom). These words clearly indicate hatred feeling of Bashar towards westerners in general and America in particular. It should be noted that majority of the people in Sudan are living below the poverty line. The current president is doing nothing to develop the economy of the country. It is impossible for Sudan to develop properly without assistance from external sources since the internal resources in Sudan are negligible. Even though America has strong political differences with Sudan, still they are the major donors of humanitarian aid to Sudan. “For fiscal years 2005-2007, the U.S. Government committed over $4 billion to Sudan for humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping in Darfur as well as support for implementation of the peace accord and reconstruction and development in Southern Sudan” (U.S.-Sudanese Relations, p.11). Even though bilateral dialogue on counter-terrorism measures are going on between Sudan and America for the last few decades, still Sudan is not keeping away its hands from terrorist activities. America believes that Southern Sudan is a ticking time bomb, which can explode any time. It should be noted that Southern Sudan is blessed with oil revenues and hence poverty in this part is relatively low. Southern Sudan is behaving like an independent state and it is not providing enough oil income to the northern Sudan. Northern Sudan is not much blessed with natural resources and hence economic imbalances are existing between Southern and Northern Sudan. Thus, internal conflicts are growing day by day in Sudan not only because of political reasons, but also because of economic reasons. “The US government has said that, should Sudan fail to comply with the terms of the 2005 peace deal, it will seek to implement harsher sanctions on Sudan” (Sudan Defense & Security Report Q4 2009, p.1). It should not be forgotten that, US normally keeps aggressive stand towards the countries, which encourage terrorism. However, U.S. is keeping a liberal stand towards Sudan even though Sudan’s involvement in terrorist activities is clear to them. This is because of the strategic importance of keeping Sudan as a friend rather than an enemy. America does not like to spoil its image further by attacking Sudan. They know very well that their image is already spoiled among Muslims, because of their policies in Middle East and in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. America is keeping an open mind towards Sudan. They know very well that military intervention is not necessary to eradicate terrorism from Sudan. It should not be forgotten that Sudan is not a strong country like Iraq or Afghanistan. Sudan cannot tolerate any military interventions from America. So, America is currently trying to eradicate Sudanese terrorism with the help of UN and that also in a peaceful manner. To conclude, Sudan has definite roots of terrorism. It is a poor country, struggling with unemployment, lack of education, poverty, religious fundamentalism etc. Moreover, internal problems are causing huge threats to the sovereignty of the country. The current president is trying to stick in power by exploiting the people’s anti-American and anti-western sentiments. America on the other hand is trying to eradicate terrorism from Sudan with the help of UN and ICC like global organizations. However, the current Sudanese president is successful in blocking all such efforts until now. A political resolution is inevitable for Sudan to stay away from terrorism and concentrate more on economic growth. Works cited El-Tom, Abdullahi Osman. “New Sudanese Terrorist Alliance Threatens A Repeat Of September 11”. Web. 0 September 2012. “National Security”. Sudan Country Review. 2011, p86-88. Print “SUDAN-US: USS Cole Case”. Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social & Cultural Series. Mar2007, Vol. 44 Issue 3, p17026-17027. Print “Sudan Defence & Security Report Q4 2009”. Sudan Defence & Security Report. Oct2009, p1-45. Print “U.S. Offers to Remove Sudan from State Sponsors of Terrorism List”. Stratfor Analysis. 11/1/2010, p39-39. Print U.S.-Sudanese Relations. Background Notes on Countries of the World: Republic of the Sudan. Apr2008, p11-13. Print Read More