Whether he intended such a result or not, is it possible that Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the runoff election in Zimbabwe has finally forced the outside world to contemplate real action against Robert Mugabe and his regime? And could that action include the use of force? There are rumblings from Britain that military action could be justified.
The suggestion, from Lord Paddy Ashdown, the former European Union High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, is still a far cry from action. And the logistics would be potentially nightmarish, the precise mission unclear. But if this was Tsvangirai's hope, that his stepping away from the race would rouse the world from its compacency, it may have worked. And if this was not his plan, it nonetheless is a happy accident.
Thabo Mbeki is supposed to arrive in Zimbabwe later today to make one last push for Mugabe to embrace change, if not of his regime, at least within it. But Mugabe must see himself as having the upper hand now. Even as the world appears set to act, far too late to have any significant effect on the election process, Mugabe might be in a better position than he has been in at any point since the 29 March election. This grim irony may well not be lost on Mugabe.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
