Just fine in the Sudan

Oh, so that's why Omar Bashir told al-Hayat yesterday that he wasn't afraid of the United States over Darfur.

Robert Zoellick with Sudanese VP Ali Osman Taha yesterday (via al-Jazeera):  a man he can do business with?

Who is Ali Osman Taha?   Allow Eric Reeves, Darfurologist extraordinaire, do the honors (from his MERIP Online piece sent out a few minutes ago, should be on-line soon): 

"Certainly on the list, then, is First Vice President Ali Osman Taha, presently the most powerful member of the NIF. It is widely known that Taha has taken primary responsibility for Khartoum's Darfur policy, even as he was chief NIF negotiator (and concession-maker) in the peace talks with the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement that concluded in Nairobi, Kenya on January 9."

Lovely indeed to see a senior American official cheerfully sharing a photo opportunity with such a fine, upstanding gentleman.