London to Obama: Zimbabwe Is Our Affair

Jan. 2 (EIRNS)—The Times of London today carried an article by columnist Martin Fletcher, which claims that the situation in Zimbabwe is so bad, that the only solution is to have a multinational military force invade the country, to depose President Robert Mugabe. The Times is taking the lead in a campaign to blame the country's problems on Mugabe, and not on the nine years of economic warfare which have wrecked the country which once had the highest cultural levels in Africa.

While the Times has to admit that the probability of such a development is remote, the purpose of this psychological warfare campaign is to create an environment which will keep the incoming Obama Administration from joining other leaders from southern Africa, to defend the sovereignty of Zimbabwe.

The Times attacks the African Union and former South African President Thabo Mbeki, as well as South Africa under its present leadership, for not going along with the plan to wreck Zimbabwe, while claiming that the Mugabe government "like a tree hollowed out by termites, is just waiting to be toppled."

Meanwhile, Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who heads another opposition party, have urged the leader of the MDC opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai, to return to Zimbabwe to get on with the business of setting up the government, of which he, Tsvangirai, has been designated to be prime minister. The three political parties had agreed on Sept. 15, 2008 to form a government. His refusal to participate in the government, which he agreed to do during negotiations led by Mbeki, is now being used as the pretext for more economic warfare against Zimbabwe by members of the London-led Commonwealth and the Bush Administration. Tsvangirai has remained in neighboring Botswana.

The Bush Administration announced Dec. 21 that it would not support Zimbabwe, even if a unity government were formed, as long as Mugabe remained President. Timed with this announcement, the U.K. and Australia stated that they were increasing their economic warfare campaign against Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai took these developments as a signal from the Western nations not to join the unity government.

Will Somalia Become Another Afghanistan as Ethiopian Troops Pull Out?

Jan. 3 (EIRNS)—Ethiopia has begun pulling its troops out of Somalia, after a two-year presence there. The Western press is now predicting more chaos and conflict in what they describe as "the vacuum" left by the departure of Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian troops went into Somalia as part of a London-designed Global War on Terror policy.

Instead of introducing order in Somalia, the Ethiopian presence provided the pretext for the development of an anti-Ethiopian radical jihadist movement, Shabab, in Somalia. Shabab is alleged to have al-Qaeda connections.

Some moderate Islamic forces in Somalia hope that, after an initial conflict among Islamic groups, the departure of the Ethiopians could lead to the emergence of a moderate grouping which could begin building a government in Somalia. The country has not had a government since it was abandoned by the West in 1991, not long after the end of the "Cold War."

However, the Anglo-Dutch financier cartel intends to turn Somalia into another Afghanistan, which will minimally be able to threaten surrounding countries. The British-organized influence on Shabab, and the moderates, will make possible the level of permanent conflict necessary for Somalia to become another Afghanistan. Already, Shabab has called the various "moderate" factions agents of Ethiopia.

On Dec. 30, Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in reference to the piracy being run out of Somalia, said that the mobilization of naval fleets along the Somali coast would complicate the situation in Somalia and the region as a whole. He said that an international military presence will be a threat to the stability of the region, and that "the elimination of the phenomenon of piracy depends on resolving the Somali problem and reaching a lasting peace and stability there."

Since June, the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions calling on all countries to take part in patrolling the Gulf and waters off Somalia. The latest UN authorization allowed countries to "undertake all necessary measures in Somalia, including in its airspace" to stop the pirates.