04 Khartoum 0108: Supporting Human Right and Democracy*

* The next three cables were overlooked earlier.

04 Khartoum 0254: Darfur Diplomacy Update

 Also, see note below.

From my journal of March 2:

"Had a pleasant and productive lunch with the Foreign Minister at his Blue Nile-side residence. With British ambassador and Dutch charge. Lasted three hours. We refined the formula for the meeting in Chad. When I got back, learned that USAID is still doing some free-lancing, except since they are in charge, they think it's me doing the free-lancing. But we appear to be on track. In the end, may have to bow out and let them take the seats and – they think – the glory. The way we do foreign policy has degraded mightily in the years I have been in the business."

04 Khartoum 0252: Government and Darfur Rebels Accept Chad Plus Meeting

Also, see note below.

Note:  The reference to an "external player" mentioned in para 2 was to political appointees from USAID.  They were trying to prevent a Darfur negotiation from moving forward unless it was folded into the North-South peace process.  These USAID officials were pro-SPLM and very much opposed to the Khartoum regime.  They saw bringing the Darfur conflict into the wider negotiations with the government as a way to increase pressure on it and perhaps further dismember Sudan.  These USAID appointees came from the Christian fundamentalist NGO community supportive of the SPLM as Christian black Africans vs Islamic Arabs.  They originally sought to keep Darfur off our agenda because they saw it as a distraction to the "main show."

The following is from my journal entry for March 8.  The "perfect storm" I was hoping to avoid was the reaction from USAID Washington to our joint EU/US effort to get Darfur talks going without bringing in extra issues.

"I think missed a weekend somewhere. I had 15 minutes of free time in the office today and didn't know what to do with it. Started at 8:15 with the UK ambassador and wound up at 8pm after a two hour meeting with a senior official. Along the way, spent another 1½ hours with the French Ambassador. Got home to a dark house and microwaved one of the dishes James left for me. Of course, at least I have a cook and don't have to clean my own dishes.

I've been doing a bunch of stuff – to avoid a “perfect storm” – without DC reaction. Won't have any until tomorrow given time difference. Another consequence of not having a weekend."

Journal Entry for February 26, 2004: Trying to Catch Up with USAID

Started the day running a bit late because I actually slept until my alarm. Checked the email, used my exercise bike and took a shower, leaving a bare 15 minutes for breakfast. At ten, I met the leaders of the new SPLM office in Khartoum. They were clandestine but now the youth and women’s section had become open. I made them feel welcome (and reported same). Bright, committed and focused. It was a pleasure to meet them. For lunch, I went to [my military attaché's] house to meet a couple of Sudanese generals and the local military attaches. Spent some time talking with the PLO attaché. He was polite and likable. I am glad I don’t defend US policy on Palestine for a living. Spoke to Pasquale a couple of times by phone to do him a favor – get extra pages into his passport – and about leaving for the Nile on Sunday. Did some office work and eventually wound up at the British ambassador’s place to hear from him – he was just back from Kenya – what USAID policy on Darfur is. What I mean by that, is that USAID – one part of the USG – is not telling the State Department – another part of the USG – what it is doing about meeting Darfur rebels but is talking to Her Majesty’s Government. After leaving, and on the way to the Japanese Ambassador’s for dinner, I managed to call Nairobi via Washington and transmit the intelligence on USAID to my State Department boss soon to arrive in Kenya. (He had earlier called me from Amsterdam to see what I knew.) Dinner was quite excellent Japanese food including sushi and tempura. The Ambassador had actually brought a Japanese chef with him, the only one to apply for the job. Also at dinner were the Libyan, quite jovial, and his wife, a UN person from Yemen and the Greek Ambassador. The Greek looks dour all the time but is simply Greek – cynical about everything but also with a happy appreciation of the absurd. The Yemeni had a simply endless list of problems that would make the peace process in Sudan “much more difficult than everyone believes.” Another day in the life.

Journal Entries for February 13 & 14, 2004:

February 13:  The house is empty again and I'm fading already.  It was an exciting few days.  Between USAID and State fighting it out and at the same time trying to end two wars, there were moments of interest.  Was fun watching McKinley operating.  He can't stand to see a moment go by without launching a bureaucratic or policy-oriented action of some sort.  Compared to him, I am a watcher and I draw lines that he fudges with ease.  Though to be fair to myself, I have been doing pretty well here with the little info that filters to me from DC.  Armed with the information gleaned from my visitors and their "elephant love-making," I believe we can stay a bit ahead of the home office.  The next two months will tell if the peace process will work out or not.  After that, US domestic politics, the elections and the coming of a new Assistant Secretary from USAID will pull the rug out from under a balanced approach to Sudan.  I alerted my CT guys here to beef up cooperation so we can create some countervailing facts on the ground.

I plan to sleep in tomorrow and then do nothing.  Even closed the Embassy comms so no one has an excuse to work.

February 14:  Meant to do nothing but spent most of the day working on getting government people to understand that my visitors in Darfur did not get arrested and to let them know they will have big political problems with the US if they don't move quickly to stop the violence.  Finally did get to relax with dinner of stuffed peppers from the food stash left by James.  Then went out onto my patio for a martini, which I am hoping will depress my system somewhat.  Running on adrenalin and 5 hours sleep, I need to come down a bit.

04 Khartoum 0119 -- Trip to Juba

Journal Entry for November 17, 2003

It's getting hard to keep things in perspective. I went from dealing with the serious issues left by the recent threat and meeting with embassy staff (American & local) to discuss this with them to a phone call from the Director General. You can bet on how I looked forward to the Ops Center connecting him to me. Sure enough, not good news. Not a late recognition of my deserving advancement or a word on how well I was handling the current crisis. No, he wanted to tell me that AID Director* thought he had not been treated well enough during his recent visit. Then I went to see the Egyptian ambassador for a scotch and a chat. I enjoy talking with him. Home for dinner and then after dinner, I discover the back lights are out. In the current context, makes me predisposed to paranoia. Then I talk to USAID Washington about a food shipment being held up by a rebellious Agriculture Minister. There is an open feud over this pitting the Minister against the Vice President (and "strong man") and Foreign Minister who told us last month that we could ship despite GOS concerns over GMOs. (Hardliners vs "moderates.") The senior USAID official (who was on the trip) told me we have only days before the food problem will lead to costly diversions. (But "no", he knew of no problem with Andrew.) Then the RSO calls me to tell me the government is already withdrawing police from our facilities including some from my residence. I'm beginning to wonder just what the early signs of coup would be here. I call the desk just to chat. They feel good because the peace delegations had a good meeting in London. (For all I know, they were talking to dead men walking.)

 

What part of this do I take seriously? I don't think I can handle all of it. Think I'll concentrate on police guards.

*Note:  Andrew Natsios was the Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), 2001-06.  USAID was a hotbed of USG support for the "Christian" African rebels (SPLM) fighting the Khartoum government in southern Sudan.  The SPLM boosters within the USG did not like the Embassy constantly raising the distracting issue of Darfur.  But Natsios also understood the need to be seen doing something about Darfur by sending food aid while the Sudanese government went ahead with its ethnic cleansing there.  (Natsios reportedly said in a 2003 interview that the total cost of rebuilding Iraq would not cost US taxpayers more than $1.7 billion.)