{"id":101189,"date":"2013-12-24T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-24T08:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=e572e58f724e4562b059bac064b91470"},"modified":"2013-12-24T08:15:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-24T08:15:00","slug":"conflict-in-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/conflict-in-south-sudan\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflict in South Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"
Conflict in South Sudan<\/b><\/div>\n
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by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n
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Until July 2011, Sudan was Africa’s largest country. Balkanization changed things. It’s now the third largest. <\/div>\n
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South Sudan broke away. It did so by national referendum. Ordinary people were lied to. They were told independence would elevate living standards.<\/div>\n
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Nothing changed. Business as usual continues. Internal conflict exacerbates things. Sudan’s history reflects longstanding violence. Ordinary people suffer most. More on this below.<\/div>\n
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Obama supported division. Omar al-Bashir’s Khartoum government is targeted for regime change. Division was step one.<\/div>\n
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At issue is Khartoum’s sovereign independence. Its ties with Iran. It’s supplying China with Sudanese oil. Its support for Palestinian rights. <\/div>\n
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Washington was involved in balkanizing Sudan. So were EU nations and Israel. They funded, armed and trained South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) forces. They supported other anti-al-Bashir elements.<\/div>\n
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They fueled violence. They wrongfully blamed Khartoum. They want US-led NATO involved. Humanitarian intervention is pretext for advancing America’s imperium.<\/div>\n
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Most important is Washington’s African agenda. It’s more than about oil. It’s for vast African riches.<\/div>\n
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In December 2006, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) was authorized. On February 6, 2007, it was announced. <\/div>\n
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On October 1, 2007, it was established. On October 1, 2008, it became operational. It’s mission is controlling Africa’s riches. <\/div>\n
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South Sudan is especially oil rich. Its other resources include gold, silver, diamonds, timber, limestone, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, and rich agricultural land.<\/div>\n
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Obama’s on vacation in Hawaii. On December 21, a White House<\/span><\/a> press release commented on South Sudan.<\/div>\n
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Four US military personnel were wounded, it said. They were “attempting to evacuate American citizens in Bor.”<\/div>\n
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Obama “underscored the urgency of helping to support efforts to resolve (internal differences) through dialogue.”<\/div>\n
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Dominance, not dialogue, is prioritized. Dozens of US forces were deployed to South Sudan. Expect others to follow. <\/div>\n
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Obama is getting America involved in more conflict. Doing so is part of Washington’s longstanding imperial agenda.<\/div>\n
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On Thursday, Obama said South Sudan “stands at the precipice.” Opposition forces control Bor. Juba is South Sudan’s capital. Bor lies about 125 miles north.<\/div>\n
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South Sudanese army spokesman, Col. Philip Aruer, said Juba was being heavily shelled. Obama lied saying:<\/div>\n
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“In 2011, millions of South Sudanese voted to forge a new nation, founded on the promise of a more peaceful and prosperous future for all of South Sudan’s people.”<\/div>\n
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“In recent years, against great odds, South Sudan has made great progress toward breaking the cycle of violence that characterized much of its history.”<\/div>\n
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“Today, that future is at risk.” America’s involvement heightens it. In a letter to Congress, Obama said he deployed 45 US troops “to support the security of US personnel and our Embassy.” <\/div>\n
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Expect others to follow. <\/span>“As I monitor the situation in South Sudan, I may take further action to support the security of US citizens, personnel and property, including our embassy, in South Sudan,” he said.<\/div>\n
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Conflict killed hundreds, perhaps thousands. No one knows for sure. UN Blue Helmets were attacked. They’re more enforcers and occupiers than peacekeepers. Their presence makes things worse, not better. <\/div>\n
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A UN statement<\/span><\/a> said two UN Mission to South Sudan (UNMISS) personnel were killed. The UN’s Akobo base was attacked.<\/div>\n
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South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar want him ousted by coup d’etat force.<\/div>\n
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Machar accused Kiir of attacking rival elements. He admitted wanting to be South Sudan’s next leader. His forces control oil rich areas.<\/div>\n
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Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement opposes Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).<\/div>\n
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Ban Ki-moon issued his usual pro-Western statement. He did so through his spokesperson. He ignored core issues needing to be addressed.<\/div>\n
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He urged both sides “to demonstrate compromise and leadership on behalf of the Southern Sudanese people, and to resolve their personal difference through dialogue immediately.”<\/div>\n
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In other words, he wants imperial interests supported. He doesn’t give a damn about ordinary people anywhere.<\/div>\n
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UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said conditions are worsening. “(O)f particular concern” is what’s ongoing in “Juba, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile and lakes States.”<\/div>\n
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“Right now, between 35,000 and 40,000 civilians are seeking refuge in UN bases across the country,” he added. <\/div>\n
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“In Juba, the Mission has strengthened troop presence, including with patrolling.”<\/div>\n
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UNMISS personnel “came under sustained attack” inside their compound.<\/div>\n
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Operations continue to evacuate vulnerable Blue Helmets. OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) noted concentrations of displaced people.<\/div>\n
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The World Health Organization said Juba’s Teaching Hospital received hundreds of patients since last Sunday. Around half are seriously injured.<\/div>\n
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Unity (aka Western Upper Nile) is one of 10 South Sudanese states. It’s oil rich. China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is involved. Washington wants US oil giants replacing it.<\/div>\n
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CNPC’s workers were evacuated to Juba. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said all Chinese citizens are safe.<\/div>\n
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“Due to the current situation, some Chinese companies are organizing evacuations,.” she explained.<\/div>\n
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Unity is ground zero for government v. opposition control. It’s the oil, stupid. It’s other valued resources.<\/div>\n
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Senior military defections split Kiir’s SPLA. On Friday, Major General James Koang Choul was the latest.<\/div>\n
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On December 15, Kiir denounced Machar on state TV. He did so in military attire. In civilian dress, he’s often seen wearing a black cowboy hat. George Bush gave it to him years earlier.<\/div>\n
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He called Machar a “prophet of doom.” He accused him of attempting a coup.<\/div>\n
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On December 19, Al Jazeera<\/span><\/a> interviewed Machar. It did so from a secret location. Days earlier, he barely escaped death, he said.<\/div>\n
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South Sudanese forces attacked his residence. They did so “with tank shells,” he added. They burned it.  <\/div>\n
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It’s now “rubble.” His bodyguards “were summarily executed. (His) life was in danger. (His) colleagues were being arrested for no reason,” he claimed.<\/div>\n
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“They are not plotters. It was not a coup. Nobody wants that.” He’s being used, he said, “as a scapegoat.” Kiir, he claims, wants the ruling SPLM party purged of rivals.<\/div>\n
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Last July, he ousted various cabinet members. He fired Machar. Media control was tightened. In August 2012, US advisor Ted Dagne was expelled. He supported South Sudan’s independence.<\/div>\n
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From 2009 – 2012, Cameron Hudson was Obama’s Sudan envoy. Washington and other Western governments collaborated with Mayardit. They helped him “balance (his) books and create the illusion of institutions,” said Hudson.<\/div>\n
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People in charge aren’t “technocrats,” he added. “(N)ow (things are) breaking down along (longstanding) ethnic lines.”<\/div>\n
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Post-WW II, civil war raged twice in Sudan: from 1955 – 1972 and from 1983 – 2005. Whether today’s conflict represents the beginning of a third one remains to be seen.<\/div>\n
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Washington was central to balkanizing Sudan. It helped establish South Sudan’s independence. Obama’s troop deployment shows he wants US interests protected.<\/div>\n
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At issue is controlling South Sudan’s resources. It’s deposing Khartoum’s government. It’s replacing it with a pro-Western one.<\/div>\n
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It’s dominating the African continent. It’s partnering with France’s neocolonial project. Months earlier it invaded Mali. It’s West Africa’s largest country. It’s more than double the size of France.<\/div>\n
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It’s resource rich. So is the Central African Republic (CAR). It’s another former French colony. President Francois Hollande deployed about 1,600 troops.<\/div>\n
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It’s not for humanitarian reasons. It’s to control CAR’s resources. It’s rich in largely undeveloped ones. They include oil, diamonds, gold, uranium and others.<\/div>\n
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Africa’s value lies largely in what’s beneath its soil. Agriculture and timber are important. So are offshore fishing waters.<\/div>\n
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Imperial powers want control. America wants the lion’s share. AFRICOM was established to secure it.<\/div>\n
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The scramble for Africa’s resources continues. South Sudan is one of many battlegrounds. Others preceded them. More will follow. <\/div>\n
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Ordinary Africans suffer most. They’re pawns in imperial conquests. Western interests control much of Africa’s riches. China is a notable challenger. Washington wants it shut out entirely.<\/div>\n
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Belgium’s King Leopold II ruled Congo until his 1909 death. He ran it like his private plantation. Other colonial powers operated the same way.<\/div>\n
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Neocolonialists replaced them. The same dirty game continues. Joseph Conrad (1857 – 1924) called exploiting Congo “the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience.”<\/div>\n
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Imagine what he’d say today!.<\/div>\n
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. <\/div>\n
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His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”<\/div>\n
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http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n
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Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. <\/div>\n
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Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n
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It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.<\/div>\n
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http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n

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