The Courtship Between the SPLM/A and the USA During the War
2 min readSPECIAL REPORT-The Wonks who Sold Washington on South Sudan
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) – In the mid-1980s, a small band of policy wonks began convening for lunch in the back corner of a dimly lit Italian bistro in the U.S. Capital. After ordering beers, they would get down to business: how to win independence for southern Sudan, a war-torn place most American politicians had never heard of. They called themselves the Council and gave each other clannish nicknames: the Emperor, the Deputy Emperor, the Spear Carrier. The unlikely fellowship included an Ethiopian refugee to America, an English-lit professor and a former Carter administration official who once sported a ponytail. The Council is little known in Washington or in Africa itself. But its quiet cajoling over nearly three decades helped South Sudan win its independence one year ago this week. Across successive U.S. Administrations, they smoothed the path of southern Sudanese rebels in Washington, influenced legislation in Congress, and used their positions to shape foreign policy in favor of Sudan’s southern rebels, often with scant regard for U.S. Government protocol.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/special-report-the-wonks-who-sold-washington-on-south-sudan
South Sudan: U.S. Envoy Urges Govt to Resume Oil Production, Ease Tension With Sudan
Washington — To resolve South Sudan’s current economic crisis, the new nation needs to embark on a hard, pragmatic, and courageous approach such as resumption of its oil production and ease further tension with neighboring Sudan, the US special envoy for the two nations has said. Early this year, South Sudan shuts down its oil production following a dispute with neighboring Sudan over pipeline charges. Prior to the shutdown, South Sudan also accused Khartoum of allegedly confiscating its oil worth nearly $800m. Speaking at an event organized by the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) on Monday, Princeton Lyman said without oil revenue, many development projects in the new nation will be delayed and many basic services cut back.
http://www.sudantribune.com/US-envoy-urges-S-Sudan-to-resume,43230
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