White House Defends Decision to Work With Sudan
After CBS News White House chief correspondent Chip Reid suggested that the United States will now be "working more closely with somebody the president believes committed genocide," Gibbs said that "the president still believes that."
"But what we're trying to do is seek a comprehensive solution to this problem that, again, addresses both the humanitarian crisis that has happened and is ongoing in Darfur, as well as the comprehensive peace between the North and the South," Gibbs said at his daily press briefing.
Reid pressed Gibbs on how the administration justifies working more closely with a leader, in Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Court, and whose nation is on the state sponsor of terrorism list.
"Well, I'd take a bit of an issue with your characterization of this," Gibbs said. "There are hefty sanctions in place against Sudan. The president in his statement today mentioned that."
"Our policy includes pressure on the Sudanese government and incentives," the press secretary continued. "And if the government doesn't act in a way that helps bring about this comprehensive strategy, sanctions can be ratcheted up, pressure can be added. If they do take steps to address components of this, there are incentives."
In a separate news conference today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the new policy "reflects the administration's seriousness, sense of urgency, and collective agreement about how best to address the complex challenges that have prevented resolution of the crisis in Darfur and full implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement."
The White House had previously followed a more isolationist policy toward the Sudanese government. In a statement Monday, the president said, "going forward, all of our efforts must be measured by the lives that are led by the people of Sudan."
"After so much suffering, they deserve a future that allows them to live with greater dignity, security, and opportunity," he said. "It will not be easy, and there are no simple answers to the extraordinary challenges that confront this part of the world. But now is the time for all of us to come together, and to make a strong and sustained effort on behalf of a better future for the people of Sudan."
The administration declined to lay out the specific incentives or sanctions to which the Sudanese government could be subject.