Color Scheme

Cameron Hudson: I think its a mistake for SAF...

I think its a mistake for SAF to deny the strikes inside of Chad. They ought to own their actions and use it to make the point that the war is already internationalized and that 5 of their 7 immediate neighbors are actively supplying the RSF.
Cameron Hudson: I think its a mistake for SAF...
https://x.com/_hudsonc/status/2093808767494140356

Cameron Hudson: This story is wild and is a real...

This story is wild and is a real reflection on the callousness of US policy. "Four Cubans, one Brazilian and one Cameroonian refused to disembark in the Liberian capital Monrovia on 20 August; some of them were allegedly assaulted by ICE agents, who returned them to the plane and promised they would be taken back to the US. A few hours later, however, they were dropped off in another African country: Equatorial Guinea, one of the world’s most repressive and corrupt regimes, where armed men took them to a former luxury hotel turned detention centre in the capital, Malabo, where they have been held ever since."

Cameron Hudson: Just like in the Horn of Africa...

Just like in the Horn of Africa, the Trump Administration has no strategy for the Sahel. Except the Sahel is even less strategic to US interests than the Horn. So the idea of expanding our game of terrorist whack-a-mole from Somalia, to Nigeria, to Mali might play to a MAGA audience, make us appear tough, and might possibly undermine Russia in the region (which has never been a stated objective of this Administration), it risks making the US a target for these terror groups, encourage them to deepen ties AQ and IS core groups outside the Sahel, and send us down a slippery slope of escalation that neither the French nor Russians escaped from without serious damage to their pride and reputation.

Cameron Hudson: Sudan has not been forgotten...

"Sudan has not been forgotten so much as politically abandoned." I think many Western officials would argue that this isn't true. I see their statements, warnings, condemnations and even sanctions in response to what is happening daily in Sudan. But, as long as those same countries don't take the political decisions that are available to them, namely using their political and financial relationship with the UAE as essential leverage in bringing about an end to the war, then the accusation of political abandonment will apply.

Cameron Hudson: To clarify my commentary…

To clarify my commentary, my opposition is not to lifting sanctions on Eritrea, per se. There is a logic to it. Isaias is an important and powerful actor in a region of growing strategic importance. My issue is the manner in which such decisions get made. Yes there are upsides But there are also many potential downsides. A decision to lift sanctions cannot be considered in a vacuum as they might have been a few years ago. This is not simply a bilateral matter any more. Beyond that, I question the Administration’s own logic. Engagement without a strategy can be self-defeating. And I don’t believe we have a well articulated Horn or Red Sea strategy. And also, if Trump’s diplomacy is transactional then what do we get for lifting these sanctions? I understand what Isaias and Sisi get, but it’s not clear what the US gets. Isaias is not going to reform internally, he isn’t going to give the US a base. And even if he promised those things, why on earth would we trust him? He has survived through alliance building and then abandonment. Why would now be any different? My commentary was intended to create public debate around all these questions because discussions make for better policies and better outcomes for everyone. Secret talks suggest the US and Boulos are not interested in public debates. We can do better. ✌️
Read more