Global politics expert Sumantra Maitra joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss the latest on the war in Sudan and a new report alleging that ISIS is using Afghanistan as a terror base. #FoxNews

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Cornish oh yeah much higher right Meantime the United States evacuing Embassy Personnel from Sudan in the Middle of the night and what is being Described as a fast and clean operation Sudan is entering its second week of Violence as the government battles rival Militaries in the capital city and now Foreign governments could be looking to Move in Dr Sumatra maitra is a global Politics expert and Senior fellow at the Center for renewing America and joins us Now Dr major great to see you as always Look it is not every day that we discuss Sudan in the first block of the show so Why is this such a big deal why should Americans care Thank you very much for having me first Of all Um the current problem Rose when the Sudanis dictator bashir's government was Toppled by forces which were at that Point of time supported by Saudi Arabia And the Emirates the Sudanese forces I took part in the uprising and I've Been essentially divided into two Between the Army and the Air Force which Is the bigger force and the smaller but Relatively heavily armed and weaponized Militia called the rsf uh these are the Two forces which I currently fight Um Sudan is a very important Strategically placed region like since The time of the British Empire for

Example uh in the Red Sea and the Nile They've got massive gold reserves and It's the third largest African country With all sorts of foreign powers uh Having designs on it for example Egypt Packs the Sudanese Army the Emirates and The rsf uh to counter Iran's Growing Power but the us though uh the bigger Problem is Russia and China I'm not Really sure how much the Russians are Capable uh currently after their Ukraine Face blind but Sudan has always been Sort of like a subject of interest for Moscow because Moscow wanted to play Place around 500 troops and a few Warships before they kind of like got uh Admired in Ukraine the Russian Mercenaries for example are based in Done and they scope out the country's Golden uranium reserves China is a Bigger problem because China most Importantly have a base in Jeopardy Which is right next door with thousands Of soldiers and warships keeping Awards On the Horn of Africa now the Biden Administration wasn't really interested In the geopolitics or understanding the Geopolitics of the region and was Continuing the Obama era policy are Focusing on the human rights and Promoting liberalism in Africa instead Of a purely kind of like a narrow idea Of great power politics it has been like That for the last 10 years almost

Um you remember how recently Senator Vance talked about how the the American Ambassador picked for Ghana for example Is not someone who understands African Culture but essentially it's a work Foreign policy person uh with America You know not having any kind of Leverage In Africa since the Arab Spring in Sudan We we should have been uh for the last 10 years been in a detached and Determined fashion back the side we just Wanted to restore order but in this case We sort of went into moralizing uh the Binary instrument moralizing the country And I don't think it's capable of Capable enough to take a a tough cynical Kind of decision at this point so with All that being said do you think the Biden Administration they can really get A grasp and a hold on another conflict I Mean it's just conflict after conflict Around the world Right no uh to answer your question no Uh do you understand a conflict you have To understand the country's history not Just like its military prospects but Also it's history it's art it's culture It's it's you know it's it's uh it's Tradition for example I don't think the White United person knows anything about Sudan that much uh they know that Sudan Has been one of the North African East African countries uh you know it from The arrow spring onwards they have based

This kind of problems inside uh the Militia that is now currently the rsf Was essentially a militia which we acted Uh together and then we sanctioned uh in The 90s because it was uh created by the Same government in in which was toppled And it was one of the most criminal Organizations uh in the history of Sudan So I don't think the binary really knows What it's doing I think it kind of sees The from the it's reflection of the American uh idea of promoting Liberty in North Africa like the Democratic idea of Promoting liver between North Africa Which sort of like failed uh Egypt for Example is on our side and Egypt is Keeping currently a low profile because It's supposed to Sudanese Army we Haven't taken any stand so far but we Should I read in your notes you said You're worried that this could all Destabilize Egypt you know what I'm Worried about in the more near term our Federal government can't seem to get People out of locations first it was Afghanistan now it's Sudan we're telling People to shelter in place I mean what Has happened to the United States of America on the world stage when our People are in danger a topic for a Different day obviously but scary Nonetheless meantime it has been less Than two years since the U.S withdrew From Afghanistan leaked documents

Reportedly showing Isis is already using The country to plot Terror attacks Dr Matra every expert we had on said this Would happen when we left Afghanistan They said it before they said it as it Was happening and they said it in the Weeks immediately after why didn't Joe Biden and his team realize it I mean I'm glad you asked this question Because this is something which has been Bothering me like I'm I'm listening to Joe Biden say like you know even the Recent press release they said uh that You know the biggest problem with Afghanistan is because the previous Administration decided that we should Leave and therefore we were tied in our Hands to do anything about it and I I Thought that decision was taken at least Two years back before the original move Happened before the withdrawal happened From Afghanistan they had the time to Focus on the withdrawal they had the Time to figure out how to have Intelligence gathering in that country They had the time to figure out what we Call Over the Horizon capabilities like You know using drones and other things To keep an eye on the Isis Resurgence in Afghanistan they didn't do anything Recently the National Security Council Spokesperson Adrian Watson said to Washington Post that you know we Maintain the ability to remove

Terrorists from the battlefield without A permanent first presence on the ground And I'm thinking like yes that's true But we are not seeing any evidence to That currently however we are in sort of Kind of like a in a comical situation Where we are allied with the Taliban or At least of the section of the Taliban Which is just purely nationalistic so Broadly the Taliban can be divided into The ones which are more islamist and Militaristic and the ones which are just Purely Taliban nationalists and now what We are seeing is the Isis uh is Currently because Isis is mostly manned By people from Central Asia and uh Arab Arabia and Africa they are coming to Afghanistan they are trying to create The space they are trying to create this Organization from where they can launch Attacks not just India and Pakistan but Also to the near abroad and we are Seeing this conflict between increasing Conflict between the Nationalist side of The Taliban and I say it's crazy and we Yeah and we sort of we are kind of like In a in a in a in a tactical alignment So to speak with the Taliban I think It's a complete weird situation I think It could have been resolved before well Here we are I also think that it would Be naive for any American or anyone Around the world to think that Isis Wasn't plotting something but to see it

All laid out here like this makes it Much more concerning because now we can See it at face value doctors thank you So much for your time and your Insight This morning