U.S. policy toward Sudan is at a crossroads. Although the authoritarian regime in Khartoum remains on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, concern about its continued association with jihadists has been balanced by post-9/11 pledges of cooperation against al Qaeda. But with the world’s worst humanitarian crisis unfolding in Darfur—a government-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaign by Arab militias—the United States and the international community are threatening sanctions, while Sudanese hardliners warn that foreign intervention will constitute an attack on Islam.

How does Sudan fit into the global war on terrorism? Does the United States have a strategic, as well as a moral, interest in the crisis in Darfur? What practical steps should the Bush administration take to stop the catastrophe there? What interests, principles, and strategy should guide U.S. policy toward Sudan in a post-9/11 world?

These and other questions will be the subject of an AEI conference. Panelists include William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard; John Prendergast, special adviser to the president of the International Crisis Group and recently returned from extensive travel in Sudan and neighboring Chad; Ronald Sandee, a senior counter-terrorism analyst at the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands; and Thomas Donnelly, resident fellow at AEI. Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who recently returned from Darfur, will deliver the keynote speech.