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Zimbabwe: U.S. Saw Mbeki as Biased Towards Mugabe

WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.

Original Post Date: 2010-11-30 Time: 09:00:02  Posted By: News Poster

By Lance Guma

The United States former ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, highlighted what he felt was former South African President Thabo Mbeki’s bias for Mugabe and ZANU PF during his mediation efforts in 2008.

On Sunday the WikiLeaks website released over 250 000 damaging documents made up of US diplomatic and intelligence reports from around the world. According to one confidential 2007 diplomatic report, Ambassador Dell said ‘Mbeki has always favored stability and in his mind this means a ZANU PF led GNU (Government of National Unity), with perhaps a few MDC additions.’

He continued by saying; ‘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.’ This revelation confirmed what many Zimbabweans believed, Mbeki wanted to ensure Mugabe retained power under a half baked power sharing deal, despite Mugabe losing elections.

Ambassador Dell went on to give his blunt assessment of Zimbabwe’s political leaders. He said of Mugabe; ‘He has survived for so long because he is more clever and more ruthless than any other politician in Zimbabwe. To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician and has long thrived on his ability to abruptly change the rules of the game, radicalize the political dynamic and force everyone else to react to his agenda.’

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai got a mixed review from the diplomat who said; ‘He is a brave, committed man and, by and large, a democrat. He is also the only player on the scene right now with real star quality and the ability to rally the masses. But Tsvangirai is also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him.’

He went on to say the MDC leader was; ‘….the indispensable element for opposition success, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power.

In short, he is a kind of Lech Walesa character: Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to lead the country’s recovery.’

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara was described as ‘young and ambitious, attracted to radical, anti-western rhetoric and smart as a whip. But, in many respects he’s a light-weight who has spent too much time reading U.S. campaign messaging manuals and too little thinking about the real issues.’

Mutambara’s Secretary General in the party, Welshman Ncube, was described as; ‘….a deeply divisive and destructive player in the opposition ranks and the sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better. But he is useful to many, including the regime and South Africa, so is probably a cross to be borne for some time yet.’

The Ambassador also bemoaned what he described as the lack of any real talent in the MDC, saying Tendai Biti and Nelson Chamisa were the only exceptions. ‘The great saving grace of the opposition is likely to be found in the Diaspora. Most of Zimbabwe’s best professionals, entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, etc., have fled the country. They are the opposition’s natural allies.’

On Monday SW Radio Africa spoke the US Embassy spokesperson in Harare, Sharon Hudson Dean, who told us the diplomatic ‘cables’ as they are called do not reflect the official US government position. She said these were part of the everyday ‘conversation’ between the ambassador on the ground and the US government.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa meanwhile said they would not rush into commenting, as they wanted to seek the official word from the US government on the leaked documents. ‘I cannot just shoot from the hip,’ he said while promising the party would issue a response at the appropriate time.

Original date published: 29 November 2010

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201011300503.html?viewall=1