Posted on 06/05/2008 7:57:28 AM PDT by Smogger
HARARE, Zimbabwe - U.S. diplomats and British colleagues were attacked as they tried to investigate political violence in Zimbabwe, American officials said Thursday.
The U.S. ambassador reportedly blamed the incident on President Robert Mugabe's government.
"Police put up a roadblock, stopped the vehicles, slashed the tires, reached in and grabbed telephones from my personnel, and the war veterans (Mugabe's supporters) threatened to burn the vehicles with my people inside unless they got out and accompanied police to a station nearby," Reuters quoted U.S. Ambassador James McGee as saying.
McGee said he believes the orders of intimidation are "coming directly from the top."
'Lawless country' "Zimbabwe has become a lawless country," McGee said. "The government is trying to intimidate its own people into voting what they consider the correct way, and now what they're trying to do is intimidate diplomats" from traveling into the countryside.
Paul Engelstad, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, said an Embassy employee was beaten and tires of cars in the convoy were slashed. Engelstad said the group was still being detained at a roadblock in rural Zimbabwe.
He said McGee, who did not go on the trip, was pressing Zimbabwean officials to release them.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Maybe Obama could have a dialogue with them, you know get down .
Jimmy Carters handiwork.
Put up a blockade around the entire continent ... check on it every 10 years or so to see if things have improved. In the interim, move the UN there where they can feel so much closer to home, then cancel our membership.
Next time, give the ambassador one of those special Mercedes we used to give embassy personnel in East Germany. Sure, their gas mileage wasn’t so hot, but you had to blow it apart before you could stop it.
President Robert Mugabe’s government.
Send Jimmy Carter over there to come back and Tell Us he has “peace in our time”
because Mugabe is just like a Nazi Killer
Will the Brits invade?
If our embassy people are at hazard from official representatives of the government, pull them. Now.
I’d say we should bomb them into the third world, but that would be an improvement.
My question is... Why haven’t we severed diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe years ago?
No. Let’s send over a pile of money and see if it improves.
You know in the old days this used to be an ACT OF WAR.
Admin mod, update is at post 13, please evaluate for update of thread title.
Casus belli
Jimmy Carter and Andrew Young helped Mugabe come to power, with their love for 3rd world “liberation” movements sponsored by the Soviets.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
God forbid the NYPD ticket a UN diplomat's vehicle for double parking.
Zimbabwe releases detained UK and U.S. diplomats
Now saying all diplomats have been released
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.