MDC wary of Mugabe deal ‘plot’. Many MDC supporters and officials we have spoken to here in Zimbabwe believe that the President Robert Mugabe has no intention of ceding any real authority to their leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Some fear that a power-sharing formula could be a trap at best, and a political death sentence at worst. — Messages from Zimbabwe

Mugabe should not be president. Allowing Mugabe to take the president of Zimbabwe’s seat at this weekend’s SADC summit mocked the democratic principles Mbeki and others say they hope to consolidate in Africa. — Bosses blog

Day of the crocodile. Zimbabwe’s longtime ruler, Robert Mugabe, made a brutal sham of recent elections, after banning Western journalists. The author, a native, reports from the inside on Mugabe’s campaign of terror—and the extraordinary courage of those who’ve confronted “The Fear.” — Vanity Fair

A reason for doing nothing about Mugabe. From Vanity Fair:”The world’s major powers are unlikely to take significant steps against Mugabe. Zimbabwe lacks both of the two exports—oil and international terrorism —that attract direct intervention.” Forget the oil part, but it seems a good thing to send a message to dictators that if you don’t cause trouble for other countries we will leave you alone. — James D. Miller