How Obama Can Stop South Sudan’s War

In the weeks leading up to South Sudan’s independence in July 2011, two sounds were inescapable in Malakal's market. Loudspeakers alternated between blasting the country's newly composed national anthem and President Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech. For many South Sudanese, the speech, with its references to slaves and abolitionists, resonated at a visceral level.

Now, nineteen months into a new civil war, as President Obama lands in neighboring Kenya, that marketplace and the dream of a peaceful future for the world’s newest country lies in ruin.