Airstrip One

Harare, Surrey

A posting in Samizdata has brought out an issue here. Now I will not go into a red rage because of their tut-tutting at Tony Blair supporting American interests militarily, just say welcome on board the national interest wagon - it's fairly lonely here.

Any way the tut-tutting goes on to the fact that Blair is not defending the national interest in Zimbabwe. What national interest?

Is this the same Zimbabwe that is a land locked country in Southern Africa whose main export is tobacco?

Zimbabwe itself is not in the British interest. In fact it is hard to think of a country where Britain has less of an interest. (Bhutan perhaps?)

Of course the white farmers are British. Or are they. A minority hold British passports, and a sizeable minority hold foreign passports - particularly from South Africa.

Rhodesia announced UDI in 1965. If the settlers really were British, they had 36 years to make up their minds and come back home.