CIA, Mossad behind Sudan Coup: US Analyst

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An American political analyst blamed the US and Israeli regimes for a recent military coup in Sudan and said the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Mossad were most likely behind the recent removal of Omar al-Bashir.

“I suspect the CIA and maybe Israel’s Mossad are behind al-Bashir’s removal - even though his forces are aiding the Saudis in Yemen,” Chicago-based Stephen Lendman told Tasnim in an interview.

Stephen Lendman is a writer, syndicated columnist, activist, News TV personality, and radio show host. He currently writes for MoneyNewsNow.com and VeteransToday.com and hosts, since 2007, a progressive radio show at The Progressive Radio News Hour on The Progressive Radio Network.

The following is the full text of the interview:

Tasnim: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was recently removed by a military coup after months of anti-government protests against his three-decade rule. A military council led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is now in power and says it will oversee a transitional period that will last a maximum of two years. What do you think about the latest developments in the African country? How do you predict the future of the developments? Would the military council hand over the power to a democratic government?

Lendman: Many post-WW II coups had dirty US hands on them. I suspect the CIA and maybe Israel’s Mossad are behind al-Bashir’s removal - even though his forces are aiding the Saudis in Yemen.

By its very nature, military rule is repressive. Just societies want a clear separation between military and political authorities, the former serving the latter.

Al-Bashier has been in power for about 30 years. The US wants him tried in the International Criminal Court because he hasn’t surrendered Sudanese sovereignty to Washington. The Trump regime wants a subservient puppet replacing him.

What's going on in Sudan should be for the Sudanese to decide, not a hostile foreign country like the US, meddling in the affairs of most other nations.

The coup virtually assures democratic governance will not come to power when the Sudanese military relinquishes it - likely to retain it for an extended period.

Tasnim: According to media reports, there have been some meddlesome measures by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Sudan. However, Sudanese protesters have declared their strong opposition to the two countries. What do you think about the future of relations between Sudan and the two Arab countries and do you think that the next Sudanese government would be an ally of the two?

Lendman: I heard something about the Saudis and UAE meddling in Sudan. What's going on in virtually all conflict theaters was orchestrated in Washington, likely together with the UK, other NATO countries, Israel and other regional ones like the Saudis and UAE in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa.

The Sudanese want foreign hands off their country. The US wants the country transformed into a vassal state, it aims the same for all other nations - notably Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran, along with control over their oil and other resources.

Most Arab countries go along with the US agenda. Because of its sovereign independence, Syria is targeted for regime change, Yemen was targeted because the US wants a puppet regime in charge of it controls, not the independent Houthis.

Tasnim: As you know, Sudan is part of Saudi Arabia's disastrous military campaign against Yemen. Given that a huge number of the Saudi-led coalition forces fighting in Yemen are Sundanese, what do you think about the effect of developments in Sudan on the protracted war on Yemen?

Lendman: What’s going on in Sudan will have no effect on the US war in Yemen, begun by the Bush/Cheney regime in October 2001 - shortly after its naked aggression on Afghanistan.

The key issue is this. The US under Republicans and undemocratic Dems want dominion over planet earth, its resources and populations - by whatever it takes to achieve its objectives.

Naked aggression, color revolutions, and old-fashioned coups like what’s being attempted in Venezuela are its favored strategies.

US rage for dominance is humanity’s greatest threat. I greatly fear the unthinkable nuclear war against Russia and/or China eventually. Together they’re the last powerful frontier against Washington’s hegemonic aims. If things turn out this way, we’re all doomed.

Sudan's army to make 'important statement' as protesters call for Bashir to go

As analysts fear collapse of law and order army says it will address nation ‘soon’

Thousands of demonstrators rally against Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, in the capital, Khartoum. 

The Sudanese army will make an “important statement soon,” state television and radio announced on Thursday morning, as thousands of protesters camped outside the military headquarters in Khartoum demanding the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir.

“The Sudanese army will issue an important statement soon. Wait for it,” a television anchor said.

State media offered no further details, as the rally outside the army complex entered its sixth day.

The news of an announcement from the army came as analysts warned Sudan could descend into anarchy if its political crisis is not resolved peacefully and rival factions within the security establishment fight for power.

The country, one of Africa’s biggest and most strategically important, has been paralysed by months of protests against the 30-year rule of its autocratic president, Omar al-Bashir.

Since Saturday, thousands of people have camped on a crossroads in the centre of the capital, Khartoum, calling for Bashir to step down.

Attempts by security forces to break up the demonstration have killed at least 22 – including five soldiers, who organisers said were defending the protesters – and injured more than 150.

A Sudanese woman holds a national flag during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum.

The area of the main protest in Khartoum has expanded slightly since the weekend, witnesses said. Makeshift medical facilities and water distribution points have been set up while protesters have organised cleaning patrols to sweep away rubbish. There have also been reports of protests elsewhere in the country of 40 million people, including Port Sudan in the north-east.

“These kinds of anti-government demonstrations are not new, but this time a much wider swath of society is involved … including professional classes who for decades were either driven overseas or co-opted [by the regime],” said Zach Vertin, an analyst at the Brookings Institution thinktank and author of a new book on Sudan and South Sudan.

Jehanne Henry, an expert on Sudan with Human Rights Watch, said the current round of protests had been boosted by “a greater mobilisation across the board”.

Another new factor is the apparent split within the security forces. Some elements within the military appear to be siding with demonstrators against armed militia loyal to Bashir and the feared intelligence services. “This is unprecedented. We are in a new landscape now,” said Vertin.

On Tuesday, demonstrators were seen hoisting soldiers on their shoulders while others joyfully saluted soldiers in armoured vehicles.

“This is an obvious endorsement that is better understood as a co-opting of the protest movement,” said Magdi el-Gizouli, an analyst with the Rift Valley Institute. “The events of April 6 and 7 have rehabilitated the moral standing of the army and affirmed its political weight.”

There have been reports of senior police commanders and militia leaders pledging not to harm the protesters, though it is unclear if these have been officially endorsed.

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Protest leaders have called on the army to help resolve the crisis, possibly by taking temporary control of the government. 

Sudanese soldiers flash the victory sign as they stand among protesters at a demonstration near the military headquarters in Khartoum.

“Sudanese always believe that transition should come through the military. All are mindful of what instability could cause. Any chaos could have a very high cost,” said Saif al Din Abdelrahman, a Sudanese economist and expert, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Analysts point to four possible future scenarios. One is a brutal crackdown by security forces loyal to the president. “There could be very serious violence. Massacres could ensue. In 2013 security forces were mowing down people ruthlessly and 200 died,” said Henry.

But Bashir might equally make concessions in the hope of retaining some power, perhaps accepting a more ceremonial role and pledging not to stand in elections in 2020. This is unlikely to satisfy the protesters, however, and would need backing from within both the military and the ruling National Congress party.

The US, Britain and Norway have all called on the Sudanese authorities to deliver a credible plan for a peaceful transition of power. But a problem here is that Bashir faces charges of genocide and war crimes at the Internationalcriminal court (ICC) and thus the possibility of arrest, trial and a lengthy prison sentence if he travels overseas. “It would have been much easier for a transition if there was no ICC. The indictment leaves few options [for Bashir],” Abdelrahman said.

The nightmare scenario is a collapse in government authority and widespread disorder.

Sudanese protesters run for cover after police fired tear-gas canisters at a demonstration in Khartoum.

Pro-democracy activists detained in recent months have been accused by state security agents of making such chaos more likely through their calls for reform, campaigners say.

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But analysts say it is more likely that a collapse of law and order would be prompted by the rivalries between different factions within the security establishment, not the actions of the protesters. Militias, soldiers, police and others loyal to individual commanders and political actors might fight for power on the streets of major cities, while remote areas slip beyond central government’s authority.

The consequences of such chaos for the region as well as for Europe and the Middle East would be grave.

Protest leaders say they are very aware of the examples of Libya, Syria and Somalia but are committed to bringing change.

“The Sudanese people have been resilient in trying again and again and this one may be the final straw for Bashir’s regime. We have reached a tipping point,” said Andy Atta-Asamoah, an analyst with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa.