The reputable Small Wars Journal is, interestingly enough, one of the leading sources on the current plight in Zimbabwe. That expertise, originating in their aggressive study of the Rhodesian Bush War, has matured into pragmatic policy on statecraft and diplomacy — evident in the following excerpt (emphasis mine). Dealing with the Crisis in Zimbabwe:
That’s a bullseye — and it’s a 180 degree turnaround from Foggy Bottom’s current, myopic southern Africa policy. Instead of pressuring the SADC to clean out Mugabe and his ilk, the Obama administration is putting its faith in the dictator’s willingness to adhere to democratic process. Naturally, it’s going terribly. The small, landlocked nation is the lynchpin of the entire region. An economically viable Zimbabwe, with its railways restored to their former glory, would connect sub-Saharan Africa’s two top earners — Botswana and South Africa — with two potential top earners (Zambia and Kenya). Mugabe, with policies that make North Korea look like a model for effective economic stewardship, stands in the way of the region realizing that potential prosperity. So does President Obama, in his refusals to take a hard line against Zimbabwe’s thuggish leadership.
