HARARE - Mugabe These are just some of the sentiments of the former US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, revealed this week by WikiLeaks.
An analysis of the Zimbabwean situation, entitled The end is nigh and written by Christopher Dell as he was leaving his post in July 2007, is among the 250,000-plus confidential and secret documents gradually being released by Wikileaks.
The documents include correspondence between the US State Department and Washingtons embassies around the world. They focus on US policy and diplomatic relations between the US and countries in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.
Dells summing up of Zimbabwe gives insights into US thinking and objectives, as well as Washingtons opinion about the leading political players in the country. The former ambassador wrote that he felt the end was nigh for Mugabe, but that it was unclear how he would actually leave power.
Foreseeing the possibility of a coalition government, Dell said: Less attractive is the idea of a South African-brokered transitional arrangement or government of national unity. Mbeki has always favored stability and in his mind this means a Zanu PF-led GNU, with perhaps a few MDC additions. This solution is more likely to prolong than resolve the crisis and we must guard against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which perpetuates the status quo at the expense of real change and reform.
Dell describes Zimbabwes opposition as far from ideal, adding: the current leadership has little executive experience and will require massive hand holding and assistance should they ever come to power. The document advises keeping the pressure on in order to keep Mugabe off his game and on his back foot, relying on his own shortcomings to do him in.
Dell emphasises the importance of the US, stating that the UK is ham-strung by its colonial past and domestic politics, thus, letting them set the pace alone merely limits our effectiveness.Thus it falls to the U.S., once again, to take the lead, to say and do the hard things and to set the agenda.
WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organisation that aims to bring important news and information to the public. The organisation provides a secure and anonymous way for sources to leak information to their journalists, using a sophisticated electronic dropbox. They publish thoroughly verified original source material alongside news stories so readers and historians can see evidence of the truth.
Read the full document at www.thezimbabwean.co.uk.
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