American Foreign Policy Toward the Sudan: From Isolation to Engagement
Abstract
American policy toward the Sudan was redirected in 2000 from the isolationist policies of President Clinton to the intensive engagement of the Bush Administration. In the 1990s, Sudan was perceived as posing a serious security threat to the U.S. Following the 1989 Islamist revolution, U.S. attention focused on Khartoum's support for terrorism, the long running civil war, regular humanitarian crises, and egregious human rights abuses. American security concerns were also raised by regional instability fomented by the Sudan's support for cross-border insurgencies. The Clinton Administration's effort to isolate the Sudan failed for lack of multilateral cooperation. By 2000, President-elect Bush intended to focus only on U.S. vital interests and core relationships rather than on peripheral areas such as Africa. Candidate Bush even remarked that, "While Africa may be important, it doesn't fit into the national strategic interests." When President Bush entered office he did not view the Sudan as a priority country because no vital U.S. national interests were at risk and Sudan had no capacity to threaten the U.S. Nevertheless, influences from various constituencies converged to alter this view in the first year of Bush's tenure. These influences resulted in Sudan being designated a priority country for U.S. policy in Africa.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA441626
Entities
People
- Raymond L. Brown
Organizations
- National War College