Mugabe slams Bush's 'stupid' comments

Wednesday 24th December, 06:27 AM JST

HARARE —

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe Tuesday dismissed US calls for him to quit as “stupid,” saying they represented “the last kicks of a dying horse” as George W Bush prepares to leave office.

Speaking to supporters at a funeral, Mugabe again hit back at growing pressure from Western powers for him to step down, as UNICEF warned that a cholera death toll had risen to nearly 1,200 lives and was not yet in control.

“Only two days ago, the American administration declared that they are no longer accepting the process of an inclusive government. The inclusive government does not include Mr Bush and his administration,” Mugabe said at the burial for a party faithful.

“Let him keep his comments to himself. They are undeserved, irrelevant, quite stupid and foolish.”

Mugabe’s comments came two days after the top United States envoy for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said the Bush administration had lost confidence in the power-sharing pact between Mugabe and the opposition.

The 84-year-old described the latest U.S. criticism, which followed earlier calls from President Bush for him to step down, as “the last kicks of a dying horse.”

“We obviously are not going to pay attention to a sunset administration. Zimbabwe’s fate lies in the hands of Zimbabweans,” he said, days after telling supporters that “Zimbabwe is mine.”

Following a warning from UN experts that half of Zimbabwe’s population needs food aid and that the country’s health system had collapsed, UNICEF said Tuesday the cholera deaths had risen to 1,174.

“The disease… is still not under control,” UNICEF’s representative in Zimbabwe, Roeland Monasch, told a press conference in Geneva by telephone.

The state-owned Herald newspaper on Tuesday put the cholera deaths at “at least 750.”

Cholera is the latest crisis to hit Zimbabwe, ruled by Mugabe since 1980, with several Western powers pushing for him to go, saying his refusal to fulfill a September power-sharing deal with the opposition is leaving the country in ruins.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Washington would consult its allies on the imposition of international asset freezes and other sanctions against his government.

Speaking in South Africa on Sunday, Frazer said the deal could not work with Mugabe as president, calling the veteran leader “completely discredited”.

“We have lost confidence in the power-sharing deal being a success with Mugabe in power. He has lost touch with reality,” she said.

Mugabe was quoted in the state-run paper on Tuesday as describing Frazer as a “little girl” who was out of touch with reality in Zimbabwe and the rest of the world.

“She thinks that Africans are idiots, little kids who cannot think for themselves,” Mugabe was quoted as telling the ZANU-PF annual conference at the weekend.

Harare also hit out at the British government, which has called on Mugabe to go.

Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba said that Gordon Brown’s administration was also on its way out in Britain and that the prime minister was trying to gain relevance back home through “posturing” on Zimbabwe, the newspaper said.

Zimbabwe has been in political crisis since elections in March when the long-ruling ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament and Mugabe was pushed into second place by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the presidential vote.

Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, pulled out of a run-off after scores of his supporters were killed.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 33 Total Comments Show All

Sarge at 11:31 PM JST - 24th December

"Both are dictators, sarge"

Wrong, smith. Only Mugabe is a dictator. If Bush was a dictator, Jay Leno wouldn't be able to say stuff like this wthout fear of being jailed:

Did you see how happy President Bush was yesterday when he found out he won? Man he coudn't decide whether to give a victory speech or announce the invasion of Iran.
SuperLib at 12:16 AM JST - 25th December

Topics like this and the comments that follow are the equivalent of "fast food news." Or maybe Wal-Mart news. Hmmm...that's a tough call.
pointofview at 12:21 AM JST - 25th December

Has anyone been to Zimbabwe recently?

smithinjapan,

thousands of innocent people are dying everyday in countries that dont make the news. Wheres the cry from humanity? When the war in Iraq is over or when the troops depart, more killings will continue in Iraq and other low profile countries and nobody will once again show no interest. Zimbabwe needed the UN to help legitamize their political parties and they still can`t sort it out. And once again, if Bush is so bad he should have been voted out ages ago. Sad to say but it sounds like the American public are the authors of their own misfortune by not demanding Bush to get out ages ago. Does that mean the public are also responsible for the havoc in Iraq?
Maruku at 12:52 AM JST - 25th December

Point of view - respect but RE:

I dont see this inhumane nonsense being approved and directed by Bush or for that matter in the US.

One word: Rendition

At least Bob has the "excuse" of being a 3rd world geriatric geezer.
smithinjapan at 01:08 AM JST - 25th December

pointofview: "When the war in Iraq is over or when the troops depart, more killings will continue in Iraq and other low profile countries and nobody will once again show no interest."

It's a curious thing that you ask me this, because I can easily turn it back on you and ask the same thing; why won't the media care what happens in Iraq when the troops that should have never been there in the first place leave? That's certainly not MY intention, but my guess is, like with Viet Nam, you guys will be too busy being embarrassed over having rushed in illegally in the first place and wishing to forget about it all. As for the other places, we've asked you guys that all the time: if your objective for Iraq was to free the people from tyranny, why are you ignoring all the other countries? especially those that 'pose a threat'?

The answer, in short, is that people like bush are never true leaders, nor do they care about anything outside their direct sphere of influence (or what influences them). The reason those other nations don't make the news is because people can categorize them as far off places where the things that are happening don't affect them. Iraq is no different, no, save that bush and co. rushed in and suddenly you all pretend you care. As you pointed out, though, once the US is gone from the area you guys can go back to not caring about that, either.

If you want to ask why no one is doing anything about the other places, ask your president -- he only seems to care about nations with evil dictators if they have oil, or if it can make him look good. In this case, he asked a man who rightfully said bush's comments mean about as much as used toilet paper.

sarge: "Wrong, smith. Only Mugabe is a dictator."

As I said in my post, it's all a matter of semantics, with only one of the two dictators saying he's not one. bush pretty much fits the bill of your best socialist, my friend, and he has stolen a good number of your freedoms and even fooled about three people on this site into thinking it was for their own good.

Don't get me wrong, my friends, I'm 100% against Mugabe. In fact, if you guys honestly... and I mean from the bottom of your hearts... believe the invasion of Iraq was just and the sole purpose to get rid of a terrible man who killed many people, then go and invade Zimbabwe tomorrow. Do it! Depose the evil dictator and establish a democracy.......

Ahhh... but wait.... what interest is there in Zimbabwe? oil? nope. Neighbours with oil? nope. Need for military establishment in the region? nope. Attacked my daddy? nope. Basically, not only do you guys not actually believe that was the purpose for invading Iraq, but that bush is and was an utter failure from the get go. Again, an idiot no better than Mugabe, but with slightly better means to present himself to a crowd.
SuperLib at 03:23 AM JST - 25th December

The radical left give a free pass to Chavez, Morales, Putin, Ahmenijhad, Kim Jong Il, Castro, Saddam, etc. Why would anyone think it would be any different with Mugabe? I mean why venture out into strange waters and actually criticize another world leader when you can just park your butt at the pool and talk about Bush yet again? ;)
SuperLib at 10:38 AM JST - 25th December

smithinjapan: Ahhh... but wait.... what interest is there in Zimbabwe? oil? nope.

So what's your excuse for doing nothing?
Sarge at 10:51 AM JST - 25th December

"So what's your excuse for doing nothing?"

He doesn't have any.
pointofview at 11:30 AM JST - 25th December

smithinjapan,

Im actually against the war in Iraq and Im not a fan of Bush. My original point stated that Mugabe and Bush are not the same. Despite the dislike for Bush I highly doubt that the majority of US soldiers are walking around offing people as if it was their hobby, like in Zimbabwe. Secondly, we elect governments to represent us on an International level so technically it is their responsibility to sort out world issues. I try to look after the things in my surroundings but International disputes...Sorry out of my hands. Also, I`m not American.
smithinjapan at 11:59 AM JST - 25th December

pointofview: Understood, and no one on here actually thinks bush has personally done anything as bad as Mugabe, but people are still perfectly free to compare the two, especially when bush goes around saying Mugabe should quit when he should have himself long ago.
smithinjapan at 12:20 PM JST - 25th December

SuperLib/sarge: "What's your excuse for doing nothing?/He doesn't have any"

This coming from two of the arm-chair warriors from Iraq?? Please, you guys have absolutely no right to ask what someone is doing to support a cause. After you pick up a tin hat and a gun and head to Iraq, you can ask me a question like that. At least with Iraq I have joined some protests, signed petitions and wrote letters. You guys? Anything aside cheering on the web something you would never join yourselves?

My point is why bush says Mugabe is so bad but does nothing about him, but you guys claim it was so right to invade Iraq for the same reason; in other words, you so-called reasons for invading Iraq were all bogus, and therefore the government refuses to do so with Zimbabwe.

And don't think I didn't notice you simply couldn't answer my question. I'll pose it again; if Mugabe is such a bad guy, and if the reasons for invading Iraq were to dethrown an evil dictator, why not do so in Zimbabwe as well? I think I answered that before -- you know full well in your hearts that your reasons are bogus.

Again, bush is as bad as Mugabe in many respects, and you guys simply can't handle the fact that yet another shoe has been tossed in bush's face. This time by a guy who deserves the shoe himself, but nonetheless.
smithinjapan at 12:22 PM JST - 25th December

SuperLib: "The radical left give a free pass to Chavez, Morales, Putin, Ahmenijhad, Kim Jong Il, Castro, Saddam, etc. Why would anyone think it would be any different with Mugabe? I mean why venture out into strange waters and actually criticize another world leader when you can just park your butt at the pool and talk about Bush yet again?"

HAHAHAHA! Change 'the radical left' to 'bush' and, change the end to, 'when the armchair warriors can just keep their butt parked in front of the computers and cheer on the war(s) yet again?' and you're bang on! But then, do tell us how you're going to attack and depose all these leaders you consider evil, like you did with Iraq.

Or, will Zimbabwe be different?

Nope.
adamantine at 01:32 PM JST - 25th December

Robert Mugabe is no idiot. He is a highly educated man. The Left worldwide initially fawned over him in part precisely because he held numerous degrees, even attended Oxford at one point, and was a school teacher.

People on far Left look silly trying to liken George Bush to R G Mugabe when it is clear Mugabe loathes not just Bush the man but democracy he represents. You need only research the cynical insults Mugabe directs at Secretary of State Condi Rice to confirm this.

In the unthinking, adolescent desperation to appear clever these posters also overlook how such comparisons reflect on Obama.

Mugabe, like so many on the Left, declared that America was too racist to elect a "non-white".

Obama won the presidency; Mugabe has since congratulated Obama for his historic success, and says he is eager to work with him.

But in light of Mugabe's 28-year rule this presents quite an irony - it was in an America "ruled" by Bush that the son of a Kenyan farmer, "victim" of colonial British rule, rose to become leader of the most powerful nation in the world.
smithinjapan at 02:39 PM JST - 25th December

adamantine: Now that is a much better post, apart from a couple of the name-calling parts in the middle! Kudos.

I take only issue with one part: "Mugabe, like so many on the Left, declared that America was too racist to elect a "non-white"."

It wasn't just 'so many on the left' that thought so; there are many on the right who thought so, too, and STILL think so. However the majority of Americans, and clearly the left is included or Obama would never have won (thus making your comment a little moot), were willing to look past the issue of race in light of the fact that they wanted change from the same old men like bush who have done nothing but destroy your nation. I think it would be more apt to say that 'despite the people who do not want a non-white in office, many of whom are on the right, Obama was elected'.

Where the US and Zimbabwe differ in one important aspect is that, like it or not, bush could not go on for a third term, and he knows it and is not putting up a fight. What's more, bush's party was clearly shown the door and there's nothing they can do about that either, except regroup and try to win back the trust they squandered for eight years.

Anyway, again, this post was a much better argument than the last few ("Zimbabwe: the Canada of Africa", etc.).
Philosophy187 at 07:18 PM JST - 26th December

Mugabe slams Bush's 'stupid' comments:

Good!