Re: [Marxism] Will Sudan be re-colonized?

[glparramatta <glparramatta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gowans, the tireless champion of Mugabe's ``anti-imperialism'' and 
opponent of  Zimbabwe's ``imperialist-agent'' working class and left, 
gets it wrong yet again, this time on Sudan, by putting a plus sign 
where Washington puts a (rhetorical) minus sign. Beyond Washington's 
cynical and theatrical bluster (and not much else) about the rights of 
the Darfuris, and its election-timed charges of ``genocide'', behind 
closed doors Bush and his gang are happy to deal with Khartoum's 
gangsters, because they know the regime and the narrow ruling class it 
represents serves its interests better than any alternative, in regard 
to the ``war on terror'' and maintaining ``stability'' in the oil-rich 
south. Darfur is just a distraction from that. Sure, every now and the 
US rulers have to apply pressure to keep Khartoum on its long leash in 
terms of its atrocities in Darfur, but as long as it is kept to a 
``reasonable'' level, Washington is happy to accept it (with a few 
stage-managed spats and periodic tough talk for the benefit America's 
right-wing Christian voters). Sudan is a classical example of 
imperialist hypocrisy.

As the following LA Times artice reveals:

Sudan aids CIA’s spy efforts in Iraq
Monday 11 June 2007.

By Greg Miller and Josh Meyer

June 11, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to 
spy on the insurgency in Iraq, an example of how the U.S. has continued 
to cooperate with the Sudanese regime even while condemning its 
suspected role in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Darfur.

President Bush has denounced the killings in Sudan’s western region as 
genocide and has imposed sanctions on the government in Khartoum. But 
some critics say the administration has soft-pedaled the sanctions to 
preserve its extensive intelligence collaboration with Sudan.

The relationship underscores the complex realities of the post-Sept. 11 
world, in which the United States has relied heavily on intelligence and 
military cooperation from countries, including Sudan and Uzbekistan, 
that are considered pariah states for their records on human rights.

"Intelligence cooperation takes place for a whole lot of reasons," said 
a U.S. intelligence official, who like others spoke on condition of 
anonymity when discussing intelligence assessments. "It’s not always 
between people who love each other deeply."

Sudan has become increasingly valuable to the United States since the 
Sept. 11 attacks because the Sunni Arab nation is a crossroads for 
Islamic militants making their way to Iraq and Pakistan.

That steady flow of foreign fighters has provided cover for Sudan’s 
Mukhabarat intelligence service to insert spies into Iraq, officials said.

"If you’ve got jihadists traveling via Sudan to get into Iraq, there’s a 
pattern there in and of itself that would not raise suspicion," said a 
former high-ranking CIA official familiar with Sudan’s cooperation with 
the agency. "It creates an opportunity to send Sudanese into that pipeline."

As a result, Sudan’s spies have often been in better position than the 
CIA to gather information on Al Qaeda’s presence in Iraq, as well as the 
activities of other insurgent groups.

"There’s not much that blond-haired, blue-eyed case officers from the 
United States can do in the entire Middle East, and there’s nothing they 
can do in Iraq," said a second former CIA official familiar with Sudan’s 
cooperation. "Sudanese can go places we don’t go. They’re Arabs. They 
can wander around."

The officials declined to say whether the Mukhabarat had sent its 
intelligence officers into the country, citing concern over the 
protection of sources and methods. They said that Sudan had assembled a 
network of informants in Iraq providing intelligence on the insurgency. 
Some may have been recruited as they traveled through Khartoum.

The U.S.-Sudan relationship goes beyond Iraq. Sudan has helped the 
United States track the turmoil in Somalia, working to cultivate 
contacts with the Islamic Courts Union and other militias in an effort 
to locate Al Qaeda suspects hiding there. Sudan also has provided 
extensive cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, acting on U.S. 
requests to detain suspects as they pass through Khartoum.

Sudan gets a number of benefits in return. Its relationship with the CIA 
has given it an important back channel for communications with the U.S. 
government. Washington has also used this channel to lean on Khartoum 
over the crisis in Darfur and for other issues.

And at a time when Sudan is being condemned in the international 
community, its counter-terrorism work has won precious praise. The U.S. 
State Department recently issued a report calling Sudan a "strong 
partner in the war on terror."

Some critics accuse the Bush administration of being soft on Sudan for 
fear of jeopardizing the cooperation on counter-terrorism. John 
Prendergast, director of African affairs for the National Security 
Council in the Clinton administration, called the latest sanctions 
announced by Bush last month "window dressing," designed to appear tough 
while putting little real pressure on Sudan to halt the militias it is 
widely believed to be supporting from killing members of tribal 
settlements in Darfur.

"One of the main glass ceilings on real significant action in response 
to the genocide in Darfur has been our growing relationship with 
authorities in Khartoum on counter-terrorism," said Prendergast, a 
senior advisor to the International Crisis Group. "It is the single 
biggest contributor to why the gap between rhetoric and action is so large."

In an interview, Sudan’s ambassador to the United States, John Ukec 
Lueth Ukec, suggested that the sanctions could affect his country’s 
willingness to cooperate on intelligence matters. The steps announced by 
Bush include banning 31 businesses owned by the Sudanese government from 
access to the U.S. financial system.

The decision to impose financial penalties "was not a good idea," Ukec 
said. "It diminishes our cooperation. And it makes those who are on the 
extreme side, who do not want cooperation with the United States, stronger."

But White House and U.S. intelligence officials downplayed the prospect 
that the intelligence cooperation would suffer, saying that it was in 
both countries’ interests.

"The No. 1 consideration in imposing stiffer sanctions is that the 
Sudanese government hasn’t stopped the violence there and the people 
continue to suffer," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National 
Security Council. "We certainly expect the Sudanese to continue efforts 
against terrorism because it’s in their own interests, not just ours."

Sudan has its own interests in following the insurgency because Sudanese 
extremists and foreign fighters who pass through the country are likely 
to return and become a potentially destabilizing presence.

Sudan’s lax controls on travel have made it, according to one official, 
a "way station" for Islamist militants not only from North Africa, but 
from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.

Some former U.S. intelligence officials said that Sudan’s help in Iraq 
had been of limited value, in part because the country accounts for a 
small fraction of the foreign fighters, mainly at lower levels of the 
insurgency.

"There’s not going to be a Sudanese guy near the top of the Al Qaeda in 
Iraq leadership," said a former CIA official who operated in Baghdad. 
"They might have some fighters there, but that’s just cannon fodder. 
They don’t have the trust and the ability to work their way up. The guys 
leading Al Qaeda in Iraq are Iraqis, Jordanians and Saudis."

But others say that Sudan’s contributions have been significant, because 
Sudanese frequently occupy support positions throughout Arab society — 
including in the Iraq insurgency — giving them access to movements and 
supply chains.

"Every group needs weapons. Every group needs a meeting place," said 
another former high-ranking CIA official who oversaw intelligence 
collection in Iraq. "Sudanese could get involved in the support chain or 
smuggling channels from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."

A State Department official said Sudan had "provided critical 
information that has helped our counter-terrorism efforts around the 
globe," but noted that there was an inherent conflict in the relationship.

"They have done things that have saved American lives," the official 
said. "But the bottom line is that they are bombing their people out the 
wazoo [in Darfur]. Dealing with Sudan, it seems like they are always 
playing both ends against the middle."

The CIA declined to discuss any cooperation with Sudan.

"The agency does not, as a rule, comment on relations with foreign 
intelligence organizations," CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said.

Ukec, the Sudanese ambassador, said "the details of what we do in 
counter-terrorism are not available for discussions." But he noted that 
the U.S. State Department "has openly said we are involved in countering 
terrorism," and that the assistance his country is providing "is not 
only in Sudan."

In the mid-1990s, the CIA’s relationship with Sudan was severed. At the 
time, Sudan was providing safe harbor for Osama bin Laden and other Al 
Qaeda leaders. But ties were reestablished shortly after the Sept. 11 
attacks, when the CIA reopened its station in Khartoum.

Initially, the collaboration focused on information Sudan could provide 
about Al Qaeda’s activities before Bin Laden left for Afghanistan in 
1996, including Al Qaeda’s pursuit of chemical, biological or nuclear 
weapons and its many business fronts and associates there.

Since then, Sudan has moved beyond sharing historical information on Al 
Qaeda into taking part in ongoing counter-terrorism operations, focusing 
on areas where its assistance is likely to be most appreciated.

"Iraq," a U.S. intelligence official said, "is where the intelligence is 
going to have the most impact on Americans."

In 2005, the CIA sent an executive jet to Sudan to fly the country’s 
intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, to Washington for 
meetings with officials at agency headquarters.

Gosh has not returned to Washington since, but a former official said 
that "there are liaison visits every day" between the CIA and the 
Mukhabarat.

(Los Angeles Times)

Louis Proyect wrote:

>Will Sudan be Re-Colonized?
>
>By Stephen Gowans
>  
>


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