Sudan a Boost for Obama's Scorecard?

by Michelle . · 2009-08-17 04:55:00 UTC
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Will Sudan be a relatively easy win for Obama --- "relatively" being the operative word --- or go down in the books as the president's first foreign policy failure?

While not seeking to oversimplify the conflict, Barron YoungSmith argues on The New Republic blog that, when compared to everything else on Obama's plate, Sudan could provide a rare opportunity for a "clear cut" foreign policy victory, with only "moderate presidential attention" needed.

That is, of course, if the Administration can course-correct and steer its own envoy back towards the path of (as Barron so aptly puts it) common sense, and a learned-from-history approach that demands substantive progress before rewarding Khartoum. (Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration has fallen out of favor with many Darfur advocates after seeming a tad too comfy with Khartoum.)

I'm not sure I follow Barron's argument completely, but I also hope that he might be right. He points to several examples from the history of US-Sudanese relations that should inform Obama's approach to situation currently at hand (and should warn against being overly conciliatory with the manipulative regime in Khartoum), but Sudan has become an international powder keg with the implications of peace, or the lack thereof, reaching far beyond its own borders. Even more, the Law of Unintended Consequences hangs over each move the Administration may consider.

The real question may be, then, not whether Sudan provides the opportunity for an easy win, but whether or not Obama can balance the many international crises competing for his attention.

[Photo from Barron's post at TNR: Then-Senator Obama speaks at a Save Darfur rally.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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