Cables expose America’s nakedness to all

Presidents Paul Kagame, Yoweri Museveni, Mwai Kibai and Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) during a summit in Kampala on October 22, 2008. Cables on other African countries had a lot to say about the leaders and their leadership. Photo/FILE

Leaked US diplomatic memos sent to Washington say Kenyan politicians have a weak backbone, always bending to international pressure.

The memos which reflect diplomats’ candid views on their host nations, shows America’s hand in key decisions made by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Cables on other African countries had a lot to say about the leaders and their leadership. We sample some of them:

President Yoweri Museveni: Uganda

The US diplomat in Uganda describes President Museveni as autocratic and warns of violence if the February 2011 presidential elections will not be free and fair.

A diplomatic cable accuses Mr Museveni of protecting corrupt ministers but commends him for his support of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.

“But the President’s autocratic tendencies, as well as Uganda’s pervasive corruption, sharpening ethnic divisions, and explosive population growth are eroding Uganda’s status as an African success story,” says the brief by ambassador Jerry Lanier.

The cable also depicts a president living in constant fear of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. At one time, Mr Museveni requested US protection for fear that the Libyan leader would shoot down his plane. The two leaders have disagreed over the political and economic future of Africa.

While President Gaddafi has been at the forefront campaigning for a United States of Africa, his Ugandan counterpart thinks otherwise, the cables say. President Museveni said he and former South African leader Thabo Mbeki, whom he blames for not offering an alternative to Libya’s approach, were then working together to counter the union proposal.

A cable written on June 18, 2008 discloses it was after a meeting five days earlier between President Museveni and former US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer that the Ugandan leader expressed growing tensions with the Arab state and fears for his life.

Arising out of their conflicting standpoints on the political unity of Africa, President Museveni feared an attack on his aircraft on President Gaddafi’s instructions. “(President) Museveni noted that tensions with Gaddafi are growing as a result, and he worries that Gaddafi will attack his plane while flying over international airspace.

“Museveni requested that the US and Uganda governments co-ordinate to provide additional air radar information when he flies over international airspace,” the June 18 cable states.

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President Jacob Zuma: South Africa

The US considers South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, a smart politician who has weathered many storms.

A cable by a US ambassador in South Africa, says Mr Mr Zuma used several tactics of political survival that give clues to his personality and leadership style. According to the diplomat, Mr Zuma is a highly persuasive, clever strategist, grassroots mobiliser who knows when to play victim for political gain.

A US diplomatic memo says that Mr Zuma’s rise to the pinnacle of South African politics at the same time that serious questions about his character were headline news “is an astonishing political achievement in itself.”

The diplomat observed that despite former President  Thabo Mbeki’s intellect and experience as well as his apparent success as a leader, politician, and diplomat, Mr Zuma out-maneuvered him by manipulating the party base and portraying himself as the victim using  the  ANC image-making machinery.

“Pundits thought Mbeki was the smartest and most effective political leader of his generation, but on December 17, 2007 the ANC declared Mr Zuma the clear favourite, beginning  Mr Mbeki’s surprising slide into political obscurity.”

And the US is optimistic about Mr Zuma’s success as President. “With a relatively weak opposition but respected courts and activist civil society, there is optimism that a Zuma administration will, at worst, muddle through,” says the cable.

His supporters’ adoration only grew as his detractors characterised him as an unlettered and corrupt buffoon surrounded by crass and intimidating socialist.

Throughout the political crisis he faced after President Mbeki fired him as VP, Mr Zuma focused on his oft-repeated assertion that he was innocent and that he was the victim of a systematic abuse of power.

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Hosni Mubarak: Egypt

US diplomatic memos on Egypt describe President Mubarak as an “indispensable ally” in the Arab World and supporter of a united Sudan. It says that at 81 years, Mr Mubarak is old but in reasonably good health.

However, the most notable problem is a “hearing deficit in his left ear.” According to the cable, the Egyptian leader responds well to respect for position, but is not swayed by personal flattery. “Mr Mubarak peppers his observations with anecdotes that demonstrate both his long experience and his sense of humour.”

However, the death of his grandson Mohammad affected him deeply and dampened his spirits. The brief says that if Mubarak is still alive it is likely he will run next year’s general elections again, and, inevitably, win.

“Despite incessant whispered discussions, no one in Egypt has any certainty about who will eventually succeed Mr Mubarak nor under what circumstances. He seems to be trusting God and the ubiquitous military and civilian security services to ensure an orderly transition.”

The Egyptian leader is also a firm supporter of unity of the Sudan which is scheduled to hold a referendum next month, says the cable. “Egypt views the stability and unity of Sudan as essential to its national security because of concern over its access to Nile waters and the potential for increased Sudanese refugee flow.”

The memo says that Egypt has been using development assistance in South Sudan to encourage unity. “But the Egyptians are jealous and sensitive to the Qatari foray into resolving Darfur, a crisis squarely in Egypt’s backyard.”

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President Robert Mugabe: Zimbabwe

To the US, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is physically frail but intellectually alert.

A US diplomatic cable describes Mr Mugabe as a ruthless dictator but brilliant tactician with a lopsided sense of economics despite his many degrees.

“He is fixated on land reform and sanctions, and is almost trance-like (monologue, soft voice) in discussing these subjects,” wrote a US diplomat after meeting him at his Harare office.

“He is generally alert and can keep up with a conversation. But physically, Mr Mugabe is frail,” observes the diplomat.

“He appears uncomfortable when seated -- he slouches and frequently turns his body as if to find a better position, and then sits straight up and speaks in a louder voice for a few seconds before lapsing back into the barely audible soft voice.”

The ambassador relays Mr Mugabe’s consisted calls for the West to keep off Zimbabwe’s affairs. Says Mr Mugabe in a cable:

“The countries of Europe and America want to dictate which way our politics should go and they talk about regime change. They want us to go down on our knees and beg. One day we should think about fighting them in the international courts.”

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Paul Kagame: Rwanda

A US diplomat in Kigali informed Washington of a report which recommended prosecution of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and nine other members of his government for their alleged involvement in the airplane shoot-down deaths of the Rwandan and Burundian presidents that sparked the 1994 genocide.

Due to the report by the French anti terrorism judge Bruguiere, the Rwandans immediately broke relations with France. “With relations getting worse and not better, Rwanda must be considered a “loss,” concludes the diplomat.

The French have since tried to improve relations, arguing that neither side should hold the other hostage over events dating to 1994 and before. They stress that France’s judiciary enjoys an independence that renders it immune from internal French government attempts to influence it.

Seeking reconciliation, Foreign Minister Kouchner met with President Kagame on January 26, 2008, in Kigali. Despite French optimism that the two sides can “compartmentalise” the genocide issue, Rwanda is not amenable to doing so, landing another hammer blow with the August 2008 report accusing French officials at the highest levels of complicity in the genocide.

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Isaias Aferwerki: Eritrea

In one of the cables, Ugandan President is reported to have told US diplomats that Iritrean President Isaiahs Afewerki “was preoccupied with trying to unseat Ethiopia Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Mr Museveni also observed that “Meles did not appear to be in any less control of Ethiopia.” President Museveni told then US top diplomat for Africa, Ms Jendayi Frazer that Isaias needed to be talked to by the members of the UN Security Council “who carry a big stick.”

He claimed that Eritrea continued to infiltrate weapons into Somalia and said that Mr Afewerki “needed to be intimidated.” Museveni argued that the council should consider a blockade or sanctions if Eritrea does not listen.

Ms Frazer is said to have told Mr Museveni that the US was considering options, ranging from designation as harbouring terrorists to drying up financial support, against Eritrea.

She asked if Uganda would be willing to accept those parliamentarians that chose to leave Eritrea. Museveni agreed and explained that the wife of former warlord Aideed was still living in Uganda.

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Muammar Gadaffi: Libya

According to a US diploma at in Tripoli, Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi relies heavily on rely heavily on services of Ukrainian nurse, described as a “voluptuous blonde.”

“She alone knows his routine. At one time, Gadaffi sent a private jet to ferry her from Libya to Portugal to meet up with him The cable talks of Mr Gadaffi’s intense dislike or fear of staying on upper floors, prefers not to fly over water, and enjoys horse racing and flamenco dancing. “The leader mus stay on the first floor of any facility that is rented for him.”

In his memo to Washington, the diplomat said that Mr Gadaffi had “diminished dependence on his legendary female guard force, as only one woman bodyguard accompanied him in a trip to New York.”

Protocol staff fear taking his portraits, even for official purposes. The diplomat says that Mr Gadaffi is is a complicated individual who has managed to stay in power for forty years through a skilful balancing of interests and realpolitik methods.

The US is advised to establish the motives and interests that drive the “world’s longest serving dictator,” and overcome the misperceptions that accumulated during Mr Gadaffi’s decades of isolation.