It's not very often that I get to say, I'm actually proud of Mr. Bush. Yet, today I am. Although, his actions may only be symbolic I'm happy that he has decided to take some action.
President George W. Bush of the United States called Saturday for an international arms embargo against Zimbabwe in the wake of what he called a sham election and announced that the United States was drafting new economic sanctions that, for the first time, would target the entire Mugabe government.
"The international community has condemned the Mugabe regime's ruthless campaign of politically motivated violence and intimidation," Bush said in a statement from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, adding that he had directed his secretaries of treasury and state to develop sanctions "against this illegitimate government of Zimbabwe and those who support it."
The call for an embargo, which Bush coupled with a proposal to ban travel by officials of the government, was unlikely to be successful. U.S. officials said it would almost certainly run into opposition at the United Nations from South Africa, Russia and China; South Africa's position has long been that the Zimbabwe election is an internal affair.
The United States' own sanctions, by contrast, could be carried out unilaterally. American officials said the plan was to put pressure on Zimbabwe's gold and platinum mining industry, a crucial source of foreign exchange. The sanctions are expected to restrict the Zimbabwean government's ability to do business with U.S. companies, though it is unclear which agencies or state- controlled businesses would be affected.
"The international community has condemned the Mugabe regime's ruthless campaign of politically motivated violence and intimidation," Bush said in a statement from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, adding that he had directed his secretaries of treasury and state to develop sanctions "against this illegitimate government of Zimbabwe and those who support it."
The call for an embargo, which Bush coupled with a proposal to ban travel by officials of the government, was unlikely to be successful. U.S. officials said it would almost certainly run into opposition at the United Nations from South Africa, Russia and China; South Africa's position has long been that the Zimbabwe election is an internal affair.
The United States' own sanctions, by contrast, could be carried out unilaterally. American officials said the plan was to put pressure on Zimbabwe's gold and platinum mining industry, a crucial source of foreign exchange. The sanctions are expected to restrict the Zimbabwean government's ability to do business with U.S. companies, though it is unclear which agencies or state- controlled businesses would be affected.
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