Obama Is Failing Sudan

When is comes to Sudan, Barack Obama has been worse than even George W Bush, argues Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, who despite his many failings, managed to secure the 2005 deal that ended Sudan's 20-year civil war. Obama's "incoherent, contradictory and apparently failing Sudan policy" is setting the stage for a bloody war or another round of genocide next year, when oil-rich Southern Sudan is likely to vote to secede.

So far it has been all carrots, no sticks, says Kristof. Obama must work alongside China, Britain, Egypt, and others to secure peace and he should appoint Joe Biden to oversee the process. The stakes couldn't be higher: "In a place like Sudan, American diplomatic malpractice could lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths," warns Kristof. (Click here to read about plans for a Rhino-shaped city in South Sudan.)