Now, a word from your sponsor

Another Bush (and earlier) policy unchanged by Obama: utilizing the list of state sponsors of terrorism as a carrot/stick to achieve ends unrelated to terrorism, rather than for, you know, listing states that sponsor terrorism. NYT: “President Obama has told Sudan that if it allows a politically sensitive referendum to go ahead in January, and abides by the results, the United States will move to take the country off its list of state sponsors of terrorism as early as next July, administration officials said Sunday.”