Obama says U.S. should lead drive to force fair elections in Zimbabwe or unseat Mugabe

What?! And get the U.S. involved in yet another conflict?

Personally, I think the U.S. should lead drive to force fair elections in the U.S. first.

Taka

Something needs to be done in Zimbabwe, otherwise the citizens are going to have to face another 5 years of Mugabe or one of his henchmen.

Sanctions aimed at Mugabe and his top aides is a good start, but it is usually difficult to implement sanctions without harming the people, too.

Insert a specially trained strike force and they will be shot at by the "War Veterans", andf if the Strike Force shoots back it would be a breach of sovereignity.

Maybe the best way is to supply weapons to the populace and get the to overrun the Govt?

Ohbama wants to run the world affairs before he can take care of his own country. Again, it shows that he shoots from the mouth too much.

Elections are okay as long as Tsvangirai is not included. He is a traitor.

What a moron! First he wants to disarm the US, then he wants to waste billions of tax payers money to go nation building with hopes and dreams.

Americans, please don't vote for this wanker! He will kill your country! His CHANGE is a sum of all government interventions that caused previous crisis's from great depression to oil shocks.

nisegaijin - You have my word I won't be voting for this guy.

Taka313 - "Personally I think the U.S. should lead ( the ) drive to force fair elections in the U.S. first."

Personally, I think that statement is preposterous.

Something needs to be done in Zimbabwe, otherwise the citizens are going to have to face another 5 years of Mugabe or one of his henchmen. Sanctions aimed at Mugabe and his top aides is a good start, but it is usually difficult to implement sanctions without harming the people, too. Insert a specially trained strike force and they will be shot at by the "War Veterans", andf if the Strike Force shoots back it would be a breach of sovereignity. Maybe the best way is to supply weapons to the populace and get the to overrun the Govt?

What are you serious? What part of the US constitution allows that? How about leave them alone and let them decide their own fate?

I think the US should consider all options.

Sarge, Zurg and nisegaijin,

I missed the part where Obama said that the wants the US to go nation building or to engage in armed intervention. It seemed to me that Obama said that Zimbabwe's neighbors (most notably probably South Africa) should pursue a negotiated transition of power. He is not talking--at least not now--of spending US dollars or US blood.

I know you all would prefer that McCain had called for this action so that you could criticize Obama for not doing so. But I commend you on your versatility. Or maybe you think we should do and say absolutely nothing.

...or rather, "where Obama said that he wants..."

mccain is a bigger idiot who was wrong from day one on iraq. plus, take a look at his little enron energy loophole he supports.

in any case, the US will have to eventually do something because europe and canada are too weak and have no spine to do anything.

dano2002 - europe and canada showed sound judgement by not barrelling into Iraq with George Bush.

Senator Obama has already done enough damage in Africa by lending support to his cousin, a militant Muslim whose party is challenging secular rule in Kenya. I'd hate to think what he could do as president. He thinks America has 57 states - I doubt he could find Zimbabwe on a map. His handlers need to limit his verbal outbursts.Let him talk about solar power and what not. His proneness to gaffes is already damaging his chances. He's making Bush look like a scholar.

You guys sound like a bunch of neocons.

if he's advocating the 'taking out' of mugabe, i'm definitely voting for him

Look at your own election problems first, America.

Obama, the Democrats’ probable nominee, says U.S. and regional leaders should join to spread word that President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwean government “is illegitimate and lacks any credibility.”

I don't see where Obama has advocated going into Zimbabwe. I didn't see where he mentioned force at all.

Let's close our eyes and make up more stuff to attach to Obama. < :-)

RedMeat - "His proneness to gaffes is already damaging his chances. He's making Bush look like a scholar."

LOL!

Psst...let's not mention John "No, what I REALLY meant was - " McCain, the guy you back who has made more blunders and flip-flops since March than Obama has made in a year.

"Obama said Tuesday, “regional leaders backed by the international community should pursue an enforceable, negotiated political transition in Zimbabwe to make sure Mugabe goes.”

Do you have a problem with this?

Our people are going to vote, and that vote will decide whether we have won or lost.”

What Mugabe means is, Our people ARE going to vote for Zanu-pf, because we are going to check each ballot paper back to the voter and get them if they don't ... and that vote for Zanu-pf will decide whether Zanu-pf have won or lost. JT - it's an interesting article which brings us up to date on what's unfolding in Zimbabwe. The 90% of the article about Zimbabwe is the interesting bit, the other 10% about what Obama may or may not think about Zimbabwe could be a footnote to the rest. Seems like what candidates in the US say about what's happening in Zimbabwe is more important than what's happening in Zimbabwe. As far as most of the world is concerned this is US local news, not world news. Worth knowing, but as a footnote. Also encourages most posters to focus on their own US electoral process and what anyone might or might not have said, as if the events in Zimbabwe are simply a backdrop to their own electoral process. It's much more important for most of us in the rest of the world to focus on what regional leaders are saying and doing/not doing. What any other governments or candidates are saying is just secondary to the real actors in this situation.

shut up obama, no one cares about africa and their problems. resume operation spoon feed in iraq/afganistan.

This just in (www.cnn.com)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai called Wednesday for armed international peacekeepers to secure a new presidential election in the country where violence has marred a runoff set for this week.

Obama already behaves like US's commander-in-chief.

wow, here we have a country begging for help but will probably not recieve meanwhile....

japanyesterday, what are you suggesting?

Footnote: Zimbabwe has no oil to speak of so the Bush administration is unlikely to invade.

I support regime change here. By force if necassary.

Madverts - sure you do. Don't we all? :-)

'Obama' and 'fair elections' in the same sentence, a headline no less! Is this a joke, a new JT feature of some kind?

Obviously Obama counts on few people, MSM journalists least of all, looking into his involvement with the disgraced ACORN group (implicated in vote fraud in 12 states, convicted in Washington) or testimony from one of his first opponents in the Chicago area to the effect that he employed some very unethical methods and had his rival disqualified, leaving him to be the sole candidate. In moving to the state and then national senate later he defeated two opponents whose campaigns imploded when divorce records were made public, in one case against wishes of both former husband and wife.

Who broke Zimbabwe? Who needs to fix it? Not America. And would they trust a nominally African-American man made president of a predominantly 'white' nation? Should they? Who could blame them for their skepticism? The once-powerful European nations that colonized and plundered Africa and what became Zimbabwe - Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy - all have sizeable minority populations, but in not one of these countries have those of African descent achieved anywhere near what minorities in the US have. Zimbabwe probably can't see America any more clearly than can all the dimwit Europeans who insist US intervention in Iraq was all about stealing Hussein's oil cuz he tried to assassinate Bush's daddy. I reckon the EU and or the UN would object to and even sabotage any substantive US intervention in Zimbabwe, since it would make Europe and the UN look that much more pathetic.

"Who broke Zimbabwe?"

Robert Mugabe.

Next...

I support regime change here. By force if necassary.

Really?

RedMeat - "Who broke Zimbabwe? Who needs to fix it? Not America."

Maybe you can outline for all of us here on JT why America is trying to 'fix' Iraq?

RedMeatKoolAid - "America. And would they trust a nominally African-American man made president of a predominantly 'white' nation."

There's that inherent racism again. Apparently black people (no need to mention Obama is half white) aren't good enough for RedMeatKoolAid.

I must be wrong, but I thought this was the 21st century.

RedMeatKoolAid makes me think we are living in the 19th century....

Come now, where is the international left's faith in the United Nations? Why would Zimbabwe's neighbors want US intervention? We are the most despised country in the world, remember?

RedMeat - who said Zimbabwe's neighbors wan US intervention?

Madverts - "I support regime change here. By force if ( necessary )."

Where's "here"?

Obama needs to support free and fair elections in the US and stay out of Zimbawe's mess. haven't we already had a painful lesson in interventionism these past eight years?

Obama, the Democrats’ probable nominee, says U.S. and regional leaders should join to spread word that President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwean government “is illegitimate and lacks any credibility.”

Ooooooohhhh! That's a great idea. Very likely to get results.

If that is impossible, Obama said Tuesday, “regional leaders backed by the international community should pursue an enforceable, negotiated political transition in Zimbabwe to make sure Mugabe goes.”

"Enforcable": You mean US troops, Mr Obama?

"to make sure Mugabe goes.”: So you don't care about free and fair elections? Just the outcome you want?

Mubmo Jumbo symbolism without a spine.

the headline mentions Obama but the actual article only talks about him for the first 4 sentences, then it rambles on for 3 pages about what everyone and their grandmother say should be done. very poor piece of journalism...

Obama is trying to sound presidential, but if he intends to return the troops home from Iraq, he shouldnt be meddling in other nations affairs, much less talk about REGIME CHANGE.

Ah yes, we see an Obama foreign policy shape up. Of course, the Oba-messiah will solve the worlds problems, and then some. In the magic world of pre-election hype, everything is possible.