Obama accused of 'making a deal with the devil' as he eases sanctions on Sudan

Mr Bashir earned a reputation as one of the world’s foremost champions of anti-Western terrorism in the nineties after he allowed a cast of terrorist kingpins, including Carlos the Jackal and, from 1992 to 1996, Osama bin Laden^[1], to settle in Khartoum.

Bill Clinton imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997 in retaliation and authorised air strikes against a pharmaceuticals factory in Khartoum the following year after accusing the Bashir regime of complicity in al Qaeda attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

But Mr Bashir, who is no ideologue, has gradually distanced himself from Islamist extremists. After purging his government of radicals, he is said to have taken action to stop Islamic State fighters from crossing into Libya and has won rare praise from Israel for stopping Iran smuggling weapons to Hamas through Sudan.

Analysts said that by easing sanctions, the United States was encouraging moderates in the regime to build on progress made so far.

“They are using a carrot,” said Magnus Taylor, Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank. 

“For the last decade there has been a lot of stick and the stick didn’t work. The trouble with having pariahs is that is is very hard to have any meaningful engagement with them. So it is definitely time for a different strategy.”

The easing of restrictions will provide a significant boost to the troubled Sudanese economy, but a number of sanctions will remain in place — as will Sudan’s ignominious position of sharing with Iran and Syria the US designation of “state sponsor of terrorism”. Mr Obama has also built in a clause that will allow sanctions to be reimposed if Sudan backtracks.

References

1. ^{^} Osama bin Laden (www.telegraph.co.uk)