The Long Shadow of 1991-1996

Sudan's decision to host Osama bin Laden for five years created consequences that persist today:

Immediate Impact:

1. International isolation
2. "State sponsor of terrorism" designation (1993)
3. Economic sanctions crippling development
4. 1998 pharmaceutical factory bombing
5. Loss of international goodwill

Long-term Impact:

1. Sudan permanently associated with terrorism in Western minds
2. Reduced sympathy for humanitarian crises
3. Made it harder to attract investment or aid
4. Allowed Bashir to consolidate power during isolation
5. Created precedent for ignoring Sudanese suffering

The Bitter Irony: Sudan was punished for hosting bin Laden, but that punishment:

1. Hurt ordinary Sudanese, not the regime
2. Strengthened Bashir's grip by creating siege mentality
3. Destroyed pharmaceutical capacity needed for healthcare
4. Enabled Darfur genocide to proceed with less international scrutiny
5. Set pattern of international neglect that continues today

The War on Terror's Collateral Damage

After 9/11, Sudan became collateral damage in the War on Terror:

1. Western governments pragmatically worked with Bashir despite ICC indictment
2. Human rights concerns subordinated to counter-terrorism cooperation
3. Darfur genocide occurred while world focused elsewhere
4. CIA and other intelligence agencies developed relationships with Sudanese security services
5. Torture and extraordinary rendition allegedly involved Sudanese facilities

The message was clear: cooperation on terrorism mattered more than genocide. This taught Sudan's leaders that they could commit atrocities as long as they cooperated on Western security priorities.

Hassan al-Turabi's Vision Realized in Perverse Form

Al-Turabi wanted Sudan to be the center of an Islamic Renaissance, uniting the Muslim world. Instead, his policies:

1. Brought bin Laden, who exported terror globally
2. Resulted in Sudan's isolation and impoverishment
3. Contributed to South Sudan's secession
4. Led to multiple civil wars
5. Created current catastrophe where Arab militias commit genocide against African Muslims

The September Laws of 1983, which al-Turabi championed and which imposed strict sharia, "immediately pitted the country against each other and it is what made the people of southern Sudan swell the ranks of the SPLM/A."

Al-Turabi's Islamic project didn't unite Sudan—it destroyed it. The country he tried to reshape as an Islamic model became synonymous with chaos, genocide, and failure.

The Western Response: Selective Memory

Western countries remember Sudan hosted bin Laden, but conveniently forget:

1. They worked with Sudan's intelligence services after 9/11
2. Bashir cooperated on counter-terrorism while committing genocide
3. The pharmaceutical factory destroyed in 1998 was actually making medicine
4. Sanctions hurt ordinary Sudanese while enriching regime elites
5. Current crisis has roots in decisions made during and after bin Laden era

There's been no reckoning with how the War on Terror approach to Sudan contributed to current catastrophe. The focus on terrorism and Islamism obscured the real dynamics: ethnic conflict, resource competition, authoritarian power struggles, and superpower manipulation.