Zimbabwe is such a basket case now that it is hard to see how it could get much worse. It's true that Mugabe still controls the armed forces and his militia, and that massive civil disobedience (if it could be organized) would lead to bloodshed. Alternatively, an ambitious general could stage a coup, an option which would provide some short term relief but an uncertain future.

At the same time Zimbabwe's nearest neighbors (Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa) all seem reluctant to exercise any political pressure. Tanzania once played a key role in expelling Idi Amin from neighboring Uganda. I'm just too removed from East Africa now to play this kind of chess game.

Charley Noble