The US Senate Foreign Relations wants the Obama Administration to create a comprehensive strategy for Sudan. Senators are pushing for a plan prior to the 2011 referendum, that they say, could break the country apart. Such is the folly of Senators. There is no compelling reason to hold the Sudan together other than to facilitate the exploitation of the country's vast mineral wealth and to not offend Arab interests. The other argument is that it would spur secessionist pressures elsewhere. While that can't be denied, the costs of forging nations out of unwilling populations are not insignificant.

The Southern Sudan is scheduled to hold an independence referendum on whether or not it should remain as a part of the Sudan sometime before March 2011. This is part of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the central government in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army that brought a cessation in a bloody 22 year long civil war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. The Southern Sudan is approximately 45% of the country.

The US has historically been against redefining colonial borders in Africa and Asia. It has long been my thesis that these borders, drawn of European whim and fancy, contribute to instability across the world. Artificial states, and the Sudan is a prime example, are inherently unstable, and it is my view that the interests of peace and development are better served when borders reflect the wishes of their inhabitants.

More from the Boston Globe:

There is no evidence to justify Sudan's presence on a U.S. terrorism blacklist, a senior American official said on Thursday, recommending that Washington eventually "unwind" some sanctions against Khartoum.

Sudan, along with Cuba, Iran and Syria, is designated as a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the U.S. State Department and is subject to sanctions, including restrictions on aid.

General Scott Gration, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, told lawmakers he did not know of any intelligence to justify Sudan's terror listing and suggested the sanctions were counterproductive to efforts to bring peace to Sudan.

"There is no evidence in our intelligence community that supports (Sudan) being on the state sponsors of terrorism list," Gration said. "It's a political decision."

The retired Air Force general's mandate is to try to sustain a 2005 peace accord that ended a two-decade civil war between Sudan's north and south and to help restore stability to the western Darfur region after years of fighting between government and rebel forces.

The north-south peace deal established an interim period, with a coalition government between the Muslim north and mostly Christian south and the sharing of oil wealth. It ends in 18 months with a referendum in the south on whether to secede.

"We are actually hurting the very development things we need to do help the south become ... if they chose to secede, a viable economic state," Gration said, noting that Washington could not bring in heavy equipment to build roads and railways.

"At some point we are going to have to unwind some of these sanctions so that we can do the very things that we need to do to ensure a peaceful transition and a state that's viable in the (south) should they choose to do that," he added.

In its latest report, the State Department described Sudan as "a cooperative partner in global counterterrorism efforts."

Gration said a U.S. policy review on Sudan was likely to be completed in a few weeks and Washington needed a relationship with Khartoum to deal with the north-south and Darfur issues.

He said violence in Darfur has decreased recently in part because Sudan and Chad are moderating their "proxy war," a reference to support for insurgents on each other's territory.

"It's getting significantly better," Gration said, it appeared that in the last month there had been 16 violent deaths in the region of which 12 were related to crime.

Darfur's six-year conflict erupted when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government, accusing it of neglecting the development of the region.

Estimates of the resulting death toll range from 10,000 according to Khartoum, to 300,000 according to U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.

While it is true that the Sudan is no longer a "state-sponsor" of international terrorsim, the government of Omar al-Bashir should be held accountable for unspeakable crimes against its own population. Genocide should not be rewarded by unwinding sanctions. It is also time to recognize the wishes of the people of the Southern Sudan.

For more on the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement, please visit the Enough Project. Its authors, Gérard Prunier and Maggie Fick, conclude:

The international community must direct renewed energy and commitment in the remaining interim period of CPA implementation toward the following strategic priorities:

   * Treat Sudan's problems holistically and prioritize CPA implementation as the central means of addressing the roots causes of Sudan's conflicts.

   * Encourage passage of the referendum law before the elections.

   * Focus U.N. efforts on establishing security at the local level through robust monitoring and coordination.

  * Develop coordinated short-term and long-term policy strategies on key questions.

 * Encourage negotiations between the NCP and SPLM on long-term wealth-sharing arrangements before the 2011 referendum.

The risk that a civil war in the Sudan remains a very real possibility nor has the situation in Darfur improved. The Obama Administration, while engaged, must remain vigilant. My concern is that Special Envoy General Gration is offering to reward Sudan without securing assurances that the government of Omar al Bashir will take steps to end conflict in the Darfur region and now restart one in the south.