Zimbabwe: Am I supposed to care?

According to the Telegraph, the UN Security Council has issued a statement claiming that the forthcoming "run off" for Zimbabwe's Presidential election can not be fair.

Honest.

"The Security Council regrets that the campaign of violence and the restrictions on the political opposition have made it impossible for a free and fair election to take place on June 27," the 15-nation body said in its non-binding statement.

That'll have Mugabe trembling in his boots - a non binding statement that fails to mention the word "Mugabe" at any time.

The British-drafted statement was watered down from an earlier version, which explicitly blamed Mugabe's government for the crisis and said Mr Tsvangirai would be the legitimate leader if a credible run-off vote could not be held.

Watered down, no doubt to get China and South Africa on board, but I'm pretty sure the original statement would have been a pretty diluted affair. What is needed is something like this .....

"The UN recognises that Mugabe is a murdering thug who has systematically raped and pillaged the nation of Zimbabwe for his own ends and those of his cohorts for more than a quarter of a century. The UN determines to take whatever action is necessary to end the brutality being perpetrated upon the people of Zimbabwe"

..... followed by sending in a snatch team backed up by 5000 troops to round up Mugabe and his henchmen and drag their naked snivelling forms through the streets of Harare. That is what they should do - but they won't, because the UN is part of the hand-wringing socialist "cabal" that put Mugabe in power and helps to keep him there.

As a right wing conservative, I look at what is happening in Zimbabwe and wonder why I am supposed to care. This is a problem created by the left - Mugabe was/is a well known Marxist - and maintained by the left through aid programmes and South African support. Let them deal with it.

It's their perfect opportunity to prove that the left can handle despots - it is the perfect proving ground for the socialist blocs of the UN and EU to demonstrate how the left deal with the dictatorships they create (there are lots more after this one) - so go on, deal with it. And no - dealing with it doesn't mean waiting for Mugabe to die.

I'll start caring when the left start taking it seriously (beyond weasel words and hand wringing).