Mugabe and the Europeans

The European Union has, rightly and largely successfully, managed to isolate Robert Mugabe and his reptilian support staff by maintaining travel sanctions against them. And yet for reasons that baffle the imagination, both France and Portugal are considering circumventing the prohibitions by using loopholes to invite Mugabe or his aides to summit meetings. What could they possibly be thinking? There has been lip service to fears that if Mugabe is not invited other African countries would boycott the meetings, but is this really that big of a concern? Inviting Mugabe to participate in any international meeting would be a mockery. Let's hope that the former colonial masters, both of which did so much to destabilize the continent, step back and reconsider if they are in fact leaning toward inviting Mugabe to participate in any sort of meeting that won't end with Zimbabwe's Big Man stepping down from office.