ninme

The Times – The Sound of Silence<br/> It is time Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton railed against Mugabe’s tyranny

Zimbabwe has become an issue on which, as Edmund Burke put it, it is difficult to speak and impossible to be silent. But not, it seems, for Barack Obama, America’s President-elect, who last shared his view on Zimbabwe in June – despite having since spoken eloquently of how, under his leadership, America would pursue its interests through “the power of our moral example.”

Nor has silence on Robert Mugabe’s tyranny proved impossible for Hillary Clinton, Mr Obama’s chosen Secretary of State. When asked by The Times for her views on Zimbabwe’s deepening chaos, Mrs Clinton’s office referred our reporter to a statement she had made in June, while still on the campaign trail seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

Nor for Susan Rice, an expert on Zimbabwean politics and Mr Obama’s new Ambassador to the United Nations. Dr Rice’s experiences in Rwanda after the genocide turned her into a liberal interventionist. But not, so far, in Zimbabwe. …

Washington’s president-elect has long been a stern critic of Mr Mugabe’s repression. This is the moment to rebroadcast his revulsion. He has a chance to trumpet America’s new moral ambition, especially in Africa. A despot as shameless as Mr Mugabe might be tempted to flaunt Mr Obama’s silence as a measure of his indifference.

Hah.

So, what do we think? He doesn’t want to be be seen on the same side as something (even this something) as Bush? Or maybe he doesn’t want to kill the anti-interventionist (even if it’s intervening in this) buzz surrounding his campaign? Or is it that he just doesn’t want to touch anything actually serious.