sudan revisited

on august 19 1998 the US launched missiles into Afghanistan and the Sudan, in response to terrorist attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. the Sudan missiles destroyed the Al Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries factory, and its owner's assets were frozen by the US Treasury Department, as his factory was accused of producing/hiding/harboring chemical weapons. Eight months later, to no notice in the US media, the government unblocked the owner's (Saudia Arabian Salih Idris) assets with the admission that the bombing had been a mistake.
i haven't found direct evidence of the efficacy of the Afghanistan bombings, and thus can't comment on it. But the attack in Sudan was ridiculous and caused death and suffering for many people. The fact that the world's lone superpower felt it necessary to unload advanced munitions against a factory that it had no credible evidence to suggest was dangerous constitutes, in my mind, a war crime. From Media Monitors:

The ultimate consequences of the U.S. missile attack on Sudan has been the ongoing death of thousands of innocent Sudanese civilians who due to the destruction of the al-Shifa plant, have no access to medicines that would otherwise have been made easily available by the plant. The death toll, in other words, of the U.S. missile attack, has continued to increase to this day.

Try reversing positions, and imagine a Sudanese warship had launched missiles into the US and destroyed medical and pharmaceutical facilities. The response would be unequivocal and devastating, and the nation of Sudan would likely have been wiped off the face of the earth. But this does not enter into the equation. This was a terroist act. The Sudanese government asked for an apology. Needless to say, none has been forthcoming for the last eight years.
This is justice? ask the parents of the dead children.


The Independent Onlinearticle(archived at Refuse and Resist!)
What Really Happened?