In a recent audio tape, Osama bin Laden exhorted his followers to wage war upon the West in Sudan.
Not satisfied with all these intrigues and crimes, America moved on to stir up more strife. One of the areas of gravest strife was western Sudan, where some differences among the tribesmen were used to trigger a ferocious war among them that consumes everything in its way, in preparation for sending Crusader forces to occupy the region and steal its oil under the cover of maintaining security there. It is a continuous Zionist-Crusader war against the Muslims.
In this respect, I urge the mujahidin and their supporters in general, and in Sudan and the surrounding areas, including the Arabian Peninsula, in particular, to prepare all that which is necessary to fight a long-term war against the Crusader thieves in western Sudan. Our aim is clear: that is, defending Islam, its people, and land, and not defending the Khartoum government, although there could be common interests between us. Our differences with it are great...
I urge the mujahidin to acquaint themselves with the territory and tribes of the province of Darfur and the areas surrounding it. It has been said that the people who know a certain territory can conquer it, and that those who do not know a certain territory are conquered by it.
This flies in the face of the fact that the U.S. forced Western oil companies out of Sudan, an action inconsistent with the purported goal of stealing Sudan's oil wealth.
Once the United States could threaten rogue states with barring American, and with pressure, other western countries’ oil companies from exploration and production in those countries. This is precisely what happened in Sudan in the 1980s and 1990s, with Canada the last western country shamed out of the sector. Yet China and Malaysia quickly filled the vacuum.
Currently, the biggest importer of Sudanese oil is China.
Over recent years, China's state-owned firms have become active participants in Sudan's oil development. In 2000, the Khartoum government awarded a consortium led by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) a concession in the Melut basin east of the River Nile... The Chinese firm is the largest shareholder in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company which dominates the country's production...
Already, China is the largest importer of Sudanese oil and Beijing hopes to keep it this way.
It's clear that Bin Laden wants to bait Western leaders into sending United Nations forces into Sudan, and open up another battle front against the West. However, it's also clear that China has no interest in allowing such to happen, as that would endanger their oil supply. It seems that Bin Laden has not factored the Chinese response, whatever that might eventually be, into his plans.
It seems that the U.S. apparently has been aware of the risks of sending U.N. troops with regard to providing fuel for anti-Western propaganda, and thus has instead been backing peacekeeping efforts by the African Union as a proxy.
The United States welcomes the African Union’s April 28 [2005] decision to increase the size of its Darfur peacekeeping force. The current 3,320 African Union troops will expand to more than 7,700. The United States supports the African Union’s consultations with NATO on potential logistical assistance, and calls on all African Union member states to provide additional forces to Darfur quickly.
We view the African Union as playing a central role in resolving the crisis in Darfur ... The United States has already contributed more that $95 million to support the African Union mission so far, and looks forward to supporting the expanded mission. The United States will continue to work with the African Union and the rest of the international community to support efforts to resolve the crisis in Darfur.
Accordingly, I don't expect Western military forces in the form of U.N. peacekeepers to enter Sudan any time soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment