Five years after Congress declared that genocide was taking place in Sudan, the victims in Darfur and throughout the nation are still waiting for decisive U.S. leadership to help bring an end to their suffering and justice to their assailants.

After delaying for months, the Obama administration has unveiled a troubling new approach toward Sudan premised on the hope that the perpetrators of the genocide will now act as partners for peace. The new policy offers U.S. incentives for the Sudanese regime if it makes undefined ``progress.''

While the administration's desire to help the victims in Darfur is without doubt, its consideration of a policy that will count on Sudanese President Gen. Omar al-Bashir and his thugs to work with the United States is deeply troubling.

Bashir is a war criminal responsible for the deaths of more than 2.3 million people. The regime, rooted in radical ideology, is responsible for the ongoing genocide, which has claimed 300,000 lives and displaced three million more.

This cabal will never be part of a real solution to the crisis in Darfur and must not be viewed, much less treated, by the United States as a legitimate partner.

Engagement with and incentives to the Sudanese regime illustrate a stark reversal for the president, who called this type of approach ``reckless and cynical'' during his campaign for the White House.

It is disconcerting that the United States would make such an enormous policy reversal when it is clear that the Sudanese regime has done nothing to merit any sort of overture or rapprochement.

To be sure, a new comprehensive approach is the only way to bring an end to the crisis in Darfur. But enormous challenges remain, and they are only amplified by the involvement of the Bashir regime.

We need to help improve humanitarian access and support the deployment of a fully equipped peacekeeping mission with a clear mandate and robust rules of engagement to ensure civilian protection. We need to bring warring factions in Darfur to a political solution so that the people languishing in camps can go home.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) must be fully implemented so that the people in Southern Sudan can finally enjoy the freedom and development they deserve. We need to see the Abyei road map implemented, outstanding issues in the Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states resolved and the North-South border demarcated.

We need to see free, fair and transparent elections in April 2010, a referendum in 2011 and the results of each respected.

We also need to balance our efforts in Darfur with those in Southern Sudan, so that we do not sacrifice one region for the other. The conflicts in Darfur and Southern Sudan are inextricably linked and need to be treated that way.

But we cannot accomplish any of these goals without assuring the people of Sudan that our nation's strong stance against the Bashir regime will not wilt.

Last month, the administration's special envoy to Sudan, Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, touted engagement with the regime by saying: ``We've got to think about giving out cookies. Kids, countries, they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement.''

But believing that somehow ``cookies'' and ``gold stars'' will win concessions from Bashir ignores the terrible lessons of the past. Bashir is not a partner for peace and never will be.

U.S. policy toward Sudan must maintain strong sanctions, and U.S. leaders must refuse to be duped or appeased by empty gestures and window dressing designed to make us forget about the horror that has taken place in Darfur and beyond.

While relief has not reached the victims of this terrible tragedy as quickly as we had hoped, now is not the time to give up.

Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts and ratchet up pressure on those responsible for these atrocities, rather than capitulate in the face of their obstinacy.

Five years ago, we labeled the atrocities in Darfur genocide. We vowed to move quickly to end the suffering. We are again being called upon to uphold that vow. But we will not succeed in that task if we label this enemy a partner.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the U.S. representative for Florida's 18th Congressional District and serves as ranking minority member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

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