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Predator Drone No Substitute for Diplomacy

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Predator Drone No Substitute for Diplomacy

Posted by David Sullivan on December 19, 2008

Predator Drone No Substitute for Diplomacy

Watching from afar as Robert Mugabe drives Zimbabwe from political crisis into economic meltdown into mass cholera epidemic is maddening. So I’m somewhat sympathetic to Richard Cohen’s desire to depose Mugabe by way of Predator drone. But we need to get past the idea that forcibly changing the personalities in charge of nasty regimes is the be-all and end-all of crisis management. As much as some may enjoy the thought of Mugabe receiving his pink slip via airmail, a more realistic approach would be to do some hard thinking about how to mobilize the diplomatic will among regional governments not just to ensure Mugabe’s ouster, but to provide the support that will help Zimbabwe’s citizenry climb out of the abyss.