SHOULD NANCY PELOSI BE IN SYRIA?
I've a little more time than yesterday to say thank you to all of you who have got in touch about our trip to the States. We had a fascinating time. Some of you even blogged about the trip such as and .
On to today's talking points….
SHOULD NANCY PELOSI BE IN SYRIA?
'Sending delegations doesn't work. It's simply been counterproductive.' That's what President Bush thinks of Nancy Pelosi (speaker of the US House of Representatives) visiting Syria . 'A lot of people have gone to see President (Bashar) Assad....and yet we haven't seen action. He hasn't responded,' the President went on. And let's remember the Bush administration accuses Syria of interfering in Iraq and Lebanon and supporting terrorists. (Something Syria denies).
In reply Ms Pelosi said she thinks it is a good idea to `establish facts' and 'to build confidence' between the U.S. and Syria.
So two questions:
Is Nancy Pelosi undermining US foreign policy by visiting Syria?
And should America be engaging with Syria - a country Mr Bush famously said is part of an 'axis of evil'?
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IS A LOW-TURN OUT STRIKE CAPABLE OF UNDERMINING ROBERT MUGABE?
It's the first day of a national strike called by the Congress of Trade Unions in Zimbabwe and by all accounts it's has been far from universally observed. Many people can't afford to stay off work, or of course some may simply not want to protest at the Zimbabwean leader. Of course, the very high levels of unemployment, many Zimbabweans don't have a job to strike from.
So is this kind of civic action the best way or seeing Robert Mugabe pass power on to others? And if not, what is? Thabo Mbeki still thinks it's diplomacy. Asked by the Financial Times if he believed Mr Mugabe would ever peacefully renounce power, Mr Mbeki said: 'I think so. Yes. President Mugabe and the leadership of Zanu-PF believe they are running a democratic country.' He went on to say he'd be encouraging talks between Zanu-PF and the opposition.
I remember back to the show from Portland a couple of weeks ago when we discussed Archbishop Pious Ncube's call for Zimbabweans to be braver in standing up to Mr Mugabe, and to be prepared to die.
There are lots of solutions on offer - did today's low-turn out change what you think will work?
Speak to you later.
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