Whether he intended such a result or not, is it possible that Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the runoff election in Zimbabwe has finally forced the outside world to contemplate real action against Robert Mugabe and his regime? And could that action include the use of force? There are rumblings from Britain that military action could be justified.
The suggestion, from Lord Paddy Ashdown, the former European Union High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, is still a far cry from action. And the logistics would be potentially nightmarish, the precise mission unclear. But if this was Tsvangirai's hope, that his stepping away from the race would rouse the world from its compacency, it may have worked. And if this was not his plan, it nonetheless is a happy accident.
Thabo Mbeki is supposed to arrive in Zimbabwe later today to make one last push for Mugabe to embrace change, if not of his regime, at least within it. But Mugabe must see himself as having the upper hand now. Even as the world appears set to act, far too late to have any significant effect on the election process, Mugabe might be in a better position than he has been in at any point since the 29 March election. This grim irony may well not be lost on Mugabe.
