Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) West has permanent interests, not permanent friends

West has permanent interests, not permanent friends
By: By Tendai Midzi
Posted: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 2:58 am

TIME and again, we have heard that countries have permanent interests and not permanent friends. If a 'friendly' country threatens the national and foreign policy interests of another it ceases to be a friend.

We have seen this in recent weeks with the BP issue, which has threatened to split the US and Britain. The appointment of Bob Dudley, a non-British as chief executive of the embattled oil giant, is no coincidence. He is an American, who was raised in the Deep South, in Mississippi, and is the first American to head BP.

His appointment is a political move aimed at increasing US influence in the oil company. It is no coincidence that BP has started drilling in Libya only a few days ago. America needs BP oil, despite all the shenanigans going on. Take oil out of the equation and everything stops in the US, transportation, production, manufacturing, the list goes on and on. There is no magic replacement material for petroleum-based products available yet that is as economical as oil.

President Obama's promise to "kick ass" in relation to the oil spill in the Gulf, and his whole attitude towards BP, has everything to do with BP's alleged influenced in the release of the Lockerbie bomber; and attempts by the US to have a controlling stake in BP -- a mainly British company.

Goldman Sachs deliberately polluted the world economy, being responsible for almost pulling down the entire world economic system, yet they were only fined $550m – after hearings and trials. Yet BP pollutes four states in one country and is ‘fined’ $20 billion – before any justice is permitted.

Americans did not join World War II until Pearl Harbour was attacked. It is public knowledge that by the time D-Day had come the Russians were already approaching Germany and the threat of communism taking over Europe was more of a concern to enter the war than “the US being concerned about the welfare of its allies”.

Same story for The Marshall Plan. It was designed to prop-up Western Europe only so it does not fall for communism, as Greece and Italy so nearly did.

The recent revelation by Dr Lovemore Madhuku that his National Constitutional Assembly has run out of funds is true testimony of the west's permanent interests.

Lovemore Madhuku's NCA has served its purpose, as the MDC-T nearly did had it not entered the inclusive Government. There is no option left for the west except to try and "influence politics in Zimbabwe from within". Zanu-PF and President Mugabe simply resisted western manipulation and pressure.

The US, Britain, Netherlands, Canada and the rest of the west will not keep pumping money into organisations that do not serve their foreign policy objectives. They will fund a corrupt regime in Iraq before they can fund the constitutional exercise in Zimbabwe. They will have more conditions on funding the constitutional exercise in Zimbabwe than on pumping millions into Afghanistan where the end is not in sight, and where the body count of western servicemen in increasing daily.

It is no secret that groups like the Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe, the various student bodies, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, Lawyers for Human Rights etc are today (or woon will be) suffering from lack of funding. They no longer serve a very useful US foreign policy objective. America would rather use other public diplomatic approaches to influence politics in Zimbabwe.

President Obama would rather give scholarships to individuals to "Americanise" them, and run "workshops" in the country aimed at selling American-style democracy to Zimbabweans, than fund a group that will not increase its visibility.

The "cold war" still goes on. The power of China on the continent threatens the US and the rest of the west.

Dr Madhuku should know that his organisation is quickly losing relevance in a new Zimbabwe. They cannot keep singing the same mantra for too long. They do not even represent a single voter in Zimbabwe -- they have no constituency. They cannot even guarantee what they call a "people driven constitution". Theirs is an "NCA-driven constitution".

Other organisations like the many media outlets that ostracised Zimbabwe's leadership when the western heat was on are already in the dumps. Many analysts have become exhausted and exasperated and broke.

Even the much anticipated Daily News has failed to take off despite having been awarded a license months ago. NewsDay has no more news or influence than BBC or Al Jazeera or Reuters or AFP.

Many organisations that thrived in the 2000-2008 period will slowly disappear and many individuals, who led anti-Zimbabwe campaign from the diaspora on the hope that a new government will take over and promote their western style ideas, will remain wounded and haunted by their past as funding runs dry. They will battle to find relevance in a new Zimbabwe.

In the meantime, Zimbabwean patriots will work together, fight sanctions and thrive in a resource-rich nation, and feel proud that never at any point where they tempted to sell their birthright to a forein government, business or entity.

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Tendai Midzi is a senior lecturer in economics at the London Metropolitan University. He can be reached via tendaimidzi1 *** yahoo.com

Labels: CIVIL SOCIETY, LOVEMORE MADHUKU, NEOCOLONIALISM

posted by MrK @ 5:10 PM