Crazy Bugger
Differences abound between Angola before and during the civil war there and Zimbabwe today, but the one common factor is wealth and control of natural resources in military hands.
UNITA, the Angolan rebel force, controlled diamond mines for decades, using controversial civilian labor, to extract the highly profitable resource. These so-called Blood Diamonds allowed UNITA to wage war against the a dysfunctional government and other rebel groups, with implicit support from DeBeers and other diamond companies.
The result was 500,000 dead in a 27-year conflict.
Now, in Zimbabwe, Mugabe has yielded control of many diamond mines in that country to the army to placate his antsy generals. The army, in turn, is using forced labor, including children and prisoners, to extract diamonds.
Zimbabwe is teetering on the verge of civil war. Diamond mines under military control will only exacerbate the situation further.
Way to go, Mugabe.
