But, what if the Sudanese Government decide to hit back at the West?
Attacking shipping in the Red Sea with aircraft (MiGs etc with sophisticated anti ship weaponry as well as iron bombs, or bombs pushed out the back of a transport) would cause real problems for the West. Sinking an oil tanker here or a container ship there would cause serious political and economic problems for the West, not to mention the threat to NATO/coalition naval forces operating in (or transiting through) the Red Sea? If Sudan is not above butchering their own indigenous black population, then it is not above blackmailing Western governments this way.
In late 2004 I mentioned this type of situation on the
Sea Jet thread. Try using the PPRuNe search function to look for "Red Sea Roulette".