Posted on 06/30/2005 10:45:10 AM PDT by HAL9000
Washington - US President George W Bush on Thursday accused Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe of "destroying" his country and urged countries in the region, especially South Africa, to pressure him to change."Next door to you is a person that is destroying a country because of bad policy, and it's not right.
"And the nations in the neighbourhood must be strong," Bush told reporters ahead of next week's G8 summit in Scotland.
Asked whether he was disappointed that President Thabo Mbeki has avoided publicly criticising Mugabe, Bush said: "I'm disappointed in Mugabe."
"The world needs to speak very clearly about the decisions he has made and the consequences" for those decisions, said the US president, who left little doubt he believed South Africa bears a special burden to speak out.
"My message has been very consistent: You're a great democracy, you're showing the world what is possible after the terrible period of apartheid, in terms of how to reconcile differences, and you're a very strong nation on the continent of Africa," he said.
But he again rejected using US assistance as a leverage on Zimbabwe, saying: "Are we willing to tie some of our aid to the position the position that nations take on Zimbabwe?
"No, because I don't want people to suffer, more people to suffer, as a result of Zimbabwe," the president said.
Darfur
Bush at the same time defended his policy of not sending US troops to Darfur.
He denied that he was softening on "genocide" there, because of counter-terrorism co-operation with Khartoum.
"That's a preposterous claim. It's not even close to the truth," Bush said.
"Ours is the nation that called this a genocide and we take this situation in Darfur very seriously."
As for sending US troops, "an effective strategy is to work with the AU and use AU forces to help keep the warring parties apart while we continue to press the Sudanese government, as well as rebel groups, for a comprehensive settlement".
Those people need to clean up their own mess instead of expecting us to put out every little fire all over the world.
There is not enough money in this entire country to make that continent a better place. After the trillions of dollars we have given them, what good has come of it?
I am sick to death of politicians throwing our money away for the sake of P.R.
Destroying Zimbabwe? Just because he stole the farms. killed the owners, plowed the farm, killed whoever got in his way, ordered the slaughter of all the animals?
Why has be been allowed to get away with this? Magabe has
been getting away with atrocities for years, where is the "Mouth" Maxine Waters and other members of the black Caucus, environmentalists, Peta, and all the other protestors. They scream when a red winged whatever is accidentally killed here?
The story is a mortal sin, it has been allowed to go on way too long.
Why do other countries think it's just fine to ignore atrocities going on next door?
I thought the Kelo decision was awful, too, but there's no need to adopt a "Durbin" level of exaggeration. It undercuts the reasonableness of the argument against Kelo to compare the Opinion of the Court to Robert Mugabe.
and when these new monies do not improve things - our country will be blamed for not giving more. there is no winning formula to this for the US.
Exactly. So I suggest we give nothing. It . . .does . . .no . . .good.
The story is a mortal sin, it has been allowed to go on way too long.
Exactly!
How many people did Hitlery harm? Juanita? Ron Brown?
The secret police could come back and takings in the US will be another one thier tools.
Ruby Ridge, Waco....
"...but there's no need to adopt a "Durbin" level of exaggeration."
Is one use of government guns to steal property any worse than another use of government guns to steal property? Just because Mugabe has done it and it has yet to be done here, doesn't make the comparison of potential disaster an exageration. When there is no right to own property, the citizens are slaves. That is true in Zimbabwe and it is true in the US.
The point is, the President has now spoken out about the policies of Mugabe, one of these policies is government force used to steal private property from the current private citizen to give it to a different private citizen. Has the left instilled a fear in the President? Is he afraid to speak out against the SCOTUS?
Perhaps because we haven't seen whole families hacked up with machetes in cold blood by gov't sanctioned roaming mobs? Perhaps because the US gov't isn't trying to starve out millions of its citizens?
Just a thought...
I realize this will tick off the members of the Church of Saint Randy Weaver, but there is no comparison between an attempt at apprehending a defiant crook that goes bad and a gov't that chooses to murder or starve more than a million of its own citizens. Waco was in part self-inflicted suicide, so also not comparable.
Not much different than when Democrats try and defend one of their lawmakers facing 30 felony counts by finding a Republican with a speeding ticket from 20 years ago and screaming, "See, both sides have had trouble with the law."
Amen. I couldn't care less what happens in sub-Saharan Africa. And I strongly suspect that I am not alone in that.
As should Reid, Pelosi and (hic) Kennedy!
Not yet. Just burning them out of their private property. Just buldozing homes to increase tax revenues. Just putting people under seige because they chose to practice the 2nd with an "unapproved" weapon.
You're right tho', machetes haven't been used by roaming mobs of citizens.
Isolated incidents do not add up to a general policy of terror. That's the same mistake the MSM and 'Rats make when they take isolated incidents like Abu Gharib and try to paint us as no better than Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Don't get me wrong -- I had no use whatsoever for Bubba and Janet and Donna and the rest of that sorry crew, but people that compared them to dictatorial regimes were just over the top and painted as wingnuts. We're better than that!
Self inflicted suicide? Posse Comitatus to you too.
There were, I think, over 100 in the Clinton Arkanicide list at two degrees of separation. And the routine use of the IRS against the enemies list according to Richard Poe. Then there was Vince Foster.
Lots of wreckage. There might have been more if it had not been for impeachment and our efforts.
Now, sure, the scale isn't there. But it could get there very fast if the blogs are shut down.
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