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(HERALD) Charles Ray’s Damascene moment

Charles Ray’s Damascene moment
Thursday, 15 September 2011 02:00

It happened to Saul, on his way to Damascus to sin. He saw the light, repented, assumed the name of Paul and went on to write more than a third of the New Testament from his letter to the Romans up to Hebrews, 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament.
He also covered Acts from Chapter 9, where his experience is recorded, up to Chapter 28 capturing his born again work.

This was the Damascene experience that spawned one of the prolific writers of the New Testament, whose God-inspired works shape Christianity, as we know it today.
On Tuesday this week US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, had his equivalent of the Damascus experience after he requested to meet and was granted a meeting with President Mugabe.

It remains to be seen whether Ray will repent, politically that is, and start preaching the gospel of total black economic emancipation or Mugabeism to his bosses in Washington who foisted ruinous economic sanctions on us for over a decade simply because we decided to demand ownership of what is rightfully ours or whether he will remain a Saul till he is despatched to some awful post like

Kabul where his predecessor Christopher Dell was thrown after coming unstuck in Zimbabwe.
This is what Charles Ray had to say, with an ear-to-ear grin, after meeting President Mugabe.
"Any discussion with him (President Mugabe) is fruitful. The man has an encyclopaedia of a brain."

Add to this what Dell had to say on the same subject in a leaked diplomatic cable dated July 13, 2007; ‘‘Robert Mugabe has survived for so long because he is cleverer and more ruthless than any other politician in Zimbabwe.
"To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician and has long thrived on his ability to abruptly change the rules of the game, radicalise the political dynamic and force everyone else to react to his agenda.''

Now that same cable had no kind words for the MDC leadership saying in part, ‘‘Zimbabwe's opposition is far from ideal and I leave convinced that had we had different partners, we could have achieved more already. But you have to play the hand you're dealt. With that in mind, the current leadership has little executive experience and will require massive hand holding and assistance should they ever come to power . . . Tsvangirai is also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him.

"He is the indispensable element for opposition success, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power.

"In short, he is a kind of Lech Walesa character: Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to lead the country's recovery.

‘‘Arthur Mutambara is young and ambitious, attracted to radical, anti-western rhetoric and smart as a whip. But, in many respects he's a light-weight who has spent too much time reading US campaign messaging manuals and too little thinking about the real issues.

‘‘Welshman Ncube has proven to be a deeply divisive and destructive player in the opposition ranks and the sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better''.
The question then is; knowing all these flaws in the MDC-T leadership and being cognisant of President Mugabe's intellectual capacity and aptitude, why does the US back MDC-T and work to unseat President Mugabe and Zanu-PF? Why do they want to foist on us people they know do not have what it takes to govern?

The answers are simple.

In the case of MDC-T, should it ever win power, it will be the US and its allies which will be running the show. They do not give a damn about the appeal of the mask, for it won't be the one making the decisions, those behind it will.

In the case of President Mugabe and Zanu-PF, the US made it clear when extending its sanctions every year that ‘‘the actions and policies of certain members of the Mugabe regime pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.''

A foreign policy of plunder and domination.

The onus is on all progressive Zimbabweans to see past the US' designs and shun MDC-T and all it stands for. Let's choose leaders, not those who will be led by westerners through ‘‘massive hand-holding.''

Labels: CHARLES RAY, MDC, NEOCOLONIALISM

posted by MrK @ 5:02 PM