Center for a New American Security

In a word: Zimbabwe.

(Interestingly, those are pretty close to the words James McGee, the US Ambassador, used last month. McGee continues to impress.)

Today we have word that not only has opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrawn from the upcoming run-off election, but he's been forced to seek refuge in the Dutch Embassy for fear of attacks from ZANU-PF thugs after his party headquarters was raided. This is all on the heels of a systematic state terror campaign aimed at supporters of MDC, which nearly toppled Mugabe's loathsome regime earlier this spring.

More than a few of us on this blog are interested in other aspects of political violence and social movements beyond the narrow confines of counter-insurgency. Protest, repression, revolutionary heritage, and brutal political violence...unfortunately, Zimbabwe has it all.

This will likely get worse before it gets better. And look for a fair amount of blame to be placed at the feet of Thabo Mbeki whose once-ideologically aligned ANC government has refused to pressure Mugabe. The legacies of guerrilla wars never fade easily.

From TNR's, The Plank:

You probably haven't heard of James McGee. He's our Ambassador in Harare, Zimbabwe. He's also a black man, which frustrates the sick worldview of Robert Mugabe. Here's an excerpt from a news story earlier this week that made me smile:

The diplomats involved in the incident at a roadblock on the edge of the capital, Harare, had just completed a tour of hospitals and an alleged torture camp when police demanded they prove they had official permission to visit the sites. At one point, a police officer threatened to beat one of Mr. McGee’s senior aides. The officer got into his car and lurched toward Mr. McGee after he had demanded the officer’s name. The car made contact with Mr. McGee’s shins, but he was not injured.

Mr. McGee climbed onto the hood of the car while his aide snatched the keys from the ignition, then the diplomats used their mobile phone cameras to take photographs of the officer. Mr. McGee insisted the convoy be allowed through and the 11 vehicles passed through after about an hour.

The men and women of the foreign service put themselves through great sacrifice, but rarely do we hear of stories like this in which an actual Ambassador would put his own life on the line to send a message to a totalitarian, murderous regime: America is watching you.

Indeed. There's a pretty standard line offered by foreign service officers recounting the number of ambassadors killed in the line of duty vs. the number of general officers. (Charlie can't remember the former, but the latter is something approximating "zero since WWII.") Not all ambassadors spend their time at cocktail parties, and not all of America's influence comes from the barrel of a gun (but check out Jamie's novel suggestion for an Africom mission at the end of his post).