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2008-06-19 Africa Subsaharan

Rice, Odinga, Lament Election Abuses in Zimbabwe

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Posted by Fred 2008-06-19 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 theyve done a fair amount of good in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and, IIUC, Ivory Coast. I suspect, given the particular situation on the ground in Zimbabwe, they might well be a good idea. Esp if the alternative is leaving Mugabe in power.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-06-19 09:16|| 2008-06-19 09:16|| Front Page Top

#2 The difference in those countries was that a blood-letting had taken place, or there was already a transition in progress, or it was got to early enough.

Zimbabwe will be difficult, if not impossible at this point, as a peacekeeping operation. It's too late to be a pre-emptive action. For all their talk, Zim's neighbors are and will remain passive about dealing with a fellow African 'revolutionary', so there won't be any local support. There hasn't been the usual African massacre-for-all (yet); there's plenty of arms, ammo, and 'war veterans'.

Any UN force inserted is going to be iffy given the political situations. The French dealt with the Ivory Coast because of their interest in it. The British were in Liberia and Sierra Leone, but it really is debatable whether they would participate with more than a token force. Same with Australia, et al. The other options are ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the AU or the stock Third-World-supplied UN forces. These are severely lacking in transport and logistics. And we've seen how well that's being played with Sudan.

The wild cards would be China and Pakistan. The latter has provided contract advisors (and pilots) to Mugabe's forces. And given China's interest in the country (and their long-standing support of ZANU-PF), it'd be like inviting the proverbial fox to a hen-fest.

Nope. If Mugabe and ZANU-PF are listening to their advisors, it'll stay at a slow simmer. Just hot enough to keep the diplomats yelping, but just low key enough to achieve their (and their patron's) objectives.

Posted by Pappy 2008-06-19 14:25|| 2008-06-19 14:25|| Front Page Top

#3 Those objectives being depopulation and pillage?

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2008-06-19 21:44|| 2008-06-19 21:44|| Front Page Top

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