Sudan: American Policy toward the Land of Endless Conflict

ABSTRACT Sudanese ethnic wars, mainly between African-speaking peoples in the south and the minority Arab regime in Khartoum, have ravaged Sudan for the past sixty years. The southern peoples have suffered tremendously because of fighting on their lands and racial discrimination. U.S. policy toward Sudan has varied over the years, with mostly an antiterrorist focus. It was not until the Bush (41) administration that the U.S. policy aimed to resolve the civil war. Bush's efforts were successful in ending the war and bringing about self-determination for the southern peoples, who opted for secession, and the creation of a newly independent state. While the north–south war ended in 2011, the minority Arab regime remains unstable, and violent insurgencies in other regions continue to simmer. Real peace will not come until the minority regime is replaced with an inclusive democracy.