What Pressure?

MSNBC headlines that Robert Mugabe is bucking international pressure after stealing the election this past Friday. What pressure? The UN can barely scrape together a consensus to write a weakly worded statement. Sanctions are being blocked by China and South Africa, and the African Union's members are busy calling Mugabe a hero. For that matter, MSNBC reported that Mugabe was lauded as a hero. Do they not read their own copy?

Meanwhile, today's MSNBC report leads with the fact that Mugabe dismisses out of hand the idea of a power sharing agreement, which is the proposal put forth by the African Union.

Zimbabwe on Tuesday dismissed calls for a Kenya-style grand coalition government to resolve its election crisis, saying the way out would be decided the "Zimbabwean way".

President Robert Mugabe, 84, was sworn in for a new five-year term on Sunday after election authorities announced he had won a landslide victory in a one-candidate presidential run-off ballot that was boycotted by the opposition.

"Kenya is Kenya. Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe. We have our own history of evolving dialogue and resolving political impasses the Zimbabwean way. The Zimbabwean way, not the Kenyan way. Not at all," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba told journalists at an African Union summit in Egypt.

I noted yesterday that Mugabe had no reason to even consider such a thing since he's the one in charge.

Why would a dictator give up power when he maintains absolute control over his failed state (of his own creation no less)?

As for the Zimbabwean way, Mugabe must be referring to the 80+% unemployment rate, crushing poverty and endless hunger because of his economic policies that have utterly ruined the country. Or, Mugabe is referring to his intimidation and oppressive tactics to destroy the opposition political party led by Morgan Tsvangirai. Either way, Mugabe will not be held accountable for any of his destructive policies by the international community until someone actually deposes him - a very unlikely scenario.

UPDATE:
Via Instapundit, this opinion piece eviscerates the left for supporting Mugabe all these years and only now coming around to the idea of deposing Mugabe. Had they taken this tact years ago, the misery endured by millions of Zimbabweans might have been avoided.