Bush Tightens Sudan Sanctions

President Bush ordered new, tougher sanctions against Sudan today, ratcheting up pressure on Khartoum to end violence in the Darfur region. In an effort to keep the government from exploiting US resources to carry out genocide, the measures beef up enforcement and increase the number of companies and individuals barred from trading with the US or using American financial markets.

The US will also press for Security Council action. But appealing to the UN is problematic: officials had asked the White House for more time to negotiate, and China, a major investor in Sudan, holds a Security Council veto. Beijing joined the Sudanese government in condemning the new sanctions, saying investment is a better way to effect change. (More George W. Bush stories.)