🇺🇸 A Sudan Conflict

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April 28, 2023

The Flag

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FLAG POLLS

📉 Thursday, April 27, Republican Presidential Nomination 2024: Trump 62, DeSantis 16, Pence 7, Haley, Ramaswamy 3, Scott, Youngkin, Sununu, Hutchinson, Christie 2 (Emerson)

📉 Thursday, April 27, Democratic Presidential Nomination 2024: Biden 70, Kennedy 21, Williamson 8 (Emerson)

🐎 Thursday, April 27, General Election: Trump vs. Biden: Trump 41, Biden 43 (Emerson)

🐎 Thursday, April 27, General Election: DeSantis vs. Biden: DeSantis 37, Biden 43 (Emerson)

TRENDING

Right: Biden's Reckless Gamble on Himself David Faris, Newsweek

Right: Leftist Invaders Are Colonizing Red America Stella Morabito, The Federalist

Left: GOP Agenda Is One Bad Idea After Another Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair

Left: Fauci Looks Back: Something Clearly Went Wrong David Wallace-Wells, New York Times

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QUICK CLICKS

Leaker's Secrets, Pence Takes the Stand, Till Accuser Dead

US: Airman Accused of Leak Has History of Violent and Racist Remarks, Filing Says (New York Times) + Denied a Gun License Over School Threat, Accused Leaker Jack Teixeira Later Got Top-Secret Clearance (Wall Street Journal)

US: Former Vice President Pence testifies to federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump and January 6 (CNN)

World: India accuses China of violating border agreements (Al Jazeera)

World: Alleged mafia boss arrested in Italian cathedral (BBC)

US: Carolyn Bryant Donham, who accused Emmett Till before he was lynched, dies at age 88 (NPR)

Entertainment: Jerry Springer, politician turned TV ringmaster, dies at 79 (AP)

FOREIGN POLICY

A Sudan Conflict

On Wednesday, Sudan's army and a paramilitary force fought on Khartoum's outskirts, disregarding a ceasefire. However, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has given initial approval to a plan to extend the truce for another 72 hours and send an army envoy to the South Sudan capital, Juba, for talks.

Reporting from The Left: How the West enabled Sudan's warring generals Mackintosh & Hansler, CNN

From The Flag: As the conflict plays out in Sudan, the political dialogue has overwhelmingly focused on the Americans who are still trapped there, as well as determining who bears responsibility for the conflict. Here's what both sides are saying.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden Has Abandoned Americans in Sudan

  • The inability to evacuate Americans from Sudan is an embarrassment and evidence of the Biden administration's weakened relationships with formerly "friendly" countries.

  • It's no surprise this effort to institute regime change in another country was unsuccessful, given America's track record in the Middle East and North Africa.

  • The White House has turned its back on Americans trapped in Sudan, abandoning them as they hunker down and "wait it out."

Under Biden, Americans abroad depend on other countries for their safety Tiana Lowe, Washington Examiner: "For the fourth time in his presidency, Joe Biden has had to evacuate an embassy in an ostensibly allied nation. And in what has become a sadly common occurrence, U.S. efforts to rescue American citizens are resulting in global embarrassment. Although Biden has boasted that the embassy evacuation is complete, the country has failed to clear out the rest of the 16,000 Americans still stuck in Sudan. … Biden has previously had to evacuate the embassies of Ukraine, Belarus, and Afghanistan, all countries that were both peaceful and friendly to the U.S. until the start of his presidency. Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration's actions by claiming that the Kabul evacuation was 'unique.' But that's hardly a defense when the White House is, both directly and indirectly, destabilizing the global order and encouraging allies to become enemies through the power vacuum it has created."

In Sudan, Another ‘Democracy’ Push Fails Walter Russell Mead, Wall Street Journal: "Nothing about the collapse should come as a surprise. Judging from the success rate of American democracy efforts in the Middle East and North Africa in the past 15 years, a blind hamster has a better chance of building a nuclear submarine than the State Department had of orchestrating a democratic transition in Khartoum. Since the Arab Spring, high-profile American efforts to promote democracy in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria have failed. … To balance and ultimately control the power of these military forces, the State Department and its ideological allies in Europe relied on two forces. The first was Sudanese civil society. Popular resistance to Mr. Bashir’s government led to months of unrest and opened the door to his overthrow as hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Sudan’s streets. Such popular movements are inspiring, but they have consistently failed to generate the organization and power needed to create democratic states across the region."

One more opinion piece from the Right: White House to Americans trapped in Sudan: You're on your own Karen Townsend, Hot Air

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

We Bear Some Responsibility for Sudan

  • The US and international community need to be launching a more coordinated and robust effort to evacuate citizens caught in the crossfires of this conflict.

  • Our approach to fighting violence and instituting regime change in authoritarian states is misguided, and we need to stop prioritizing the voices of the armed and corrupt.

  • Protecting American civilians abroad used to be a sacrosanct government mission. Now it’s falling to private citizens.

The U.S. should help civilians escaping Sudan’s violence — before it gets worse Sherine Tadros, Los Angeles Times: "There are reportedly an estimated 16,000 American citizens registered at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan. British and other European officials boasted of successful evacuations of their nationals. … [Foreign nationals] in Sudan feel abandoned by the international community. Heavy weaponry including artillery, tanks and jet aircraft have been used in densely populated areas in Khartoum. … There is no coordinated, forceful action by international governments or the United Nations, let alone a plan for those seeking asylum and making it across the borders — only statements of concern by officials. The U.N. and others should have robust setups at the refugee camps receiving those fleeing, and yet we see little movement. The lack of extensive U.S. media coverage of what is happening on the ground, or outrage at this attack on civilians in Africa, is saddening but unsurprising. … Governments worldwide, including the U.S., have a responsibility to help their citizens get to safety."

The Violence in Sudan Is Partly Our Fault ‍Jacqueline Burns, New York Times: "Armed groups and dictatorial regimes know that as long as they are participating in a peace process, international pressures will eventually — often quickly — ebb. If they are pressed into signing an agreement, there are typically very few effective mechanisms to hold them to it. What’s more, the time put into these peace processes — which in Sudan’s case amounted to decades — is spent by the armed groups amassing political and military power. … If the international community continues to prioritize the voices of the armed and corrupt over those seeking real political reform and representation, we can expect nothing less than the continued cycle of violence and human suffering witnessed over the past week in Sudan. The international community should not stop trying to end violent conflicts, but future efforts must consider who matters for peace and who does not." 

One more opinion piece from the Left: Why Aren’t We Evacuating Americans From Sudan? Elliot Ackerman, The Atlantic

FLAG THIS

Biden's Foreign Policy Credentials to Be Tested

As of February, 46% of American approved of President Joe Biden’s handling of the situation in Ukraine, and he held a 41% approval rating for his overall handling of foreign affairs.

Going forward, Biden faces tough challenges abroad amid the situation in Sudan and as tensions remain high with China and Russia.

Do you approve or disapprove of Biden's handling of foreign affairs?

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FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

No More Mussolini, Everyone Overthinks, Stunning Entryways

Mussolini and the Quadrumvirs during the March on Rome in 1922

On April 28, 1945, “Il Duce,” Benito Mussolini, and his mistress, Clara Petacci, are shot by Italian partisans who captured the couple as they attempted to flee to Switzerland. 

Today I Learned that a Guinness beer has only 10 more calories than a Bud Light.

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