Yet the Carter administration, led by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young, would have none of it. Mr. Young referred to Mr. Muzorewa, one of the very few democratically elected leaders on the African continent, as the head of a "neo-fascist" government.  President Carter refused to meet Mr. Muzorewa when the newly elected leader visited Washington to seek support from our country, nor did he lift sanctions that America had placed on Rhodesia as punishment for the colony's unilateral declaration of independence from the British Empire in 1965.

President Carter and Young would only accept a settlement in which Mr. Mugabe, a Marxist who had repeatedly made clear his intention to turn Zimbabwe into a one-party state, played a leading role. Mr. Young, displaying the willful naiveté that came to characterize Mr. Carter's mindset, stated that Mr. Mugabe was a "very gentle man" whom he "can't imagine ever pulling the trigger on a gun to kill anyone."

What are some of the legacies resulting from the new regime President Carter and Andrew Young foisted on the world through their concept of "regime change"?  Life expectancy for males has dropped to age 37 from 60.  Females have dropped to age 34.  The infant mortality rate has climbed to 81 deaths per 1,000 live births from 53.  The HIV rate is 1.8 million Zimbabweans out of a population of 13.5 million.  All land was redistributed, and 4,000 white farmers were evicted. In Jan 2007 all remaining white farmers (app 400) were to leave the country or go to jail.  Over 60% of their wildlife has died since just 2000.  According to their official figures the inflation rate as of July 2008 stood at 231,000,000%.  In 1998 the rate of exchange was 24 Zimbabwean Dollars (ZD) to one US Dollar.  Currently the official rate is 250,000 ZD or 250 new ZD.  They revalued their currency to 1 new ZD equals 1,000 old ZD.  The black market rate of exchange is 120,000,000 old or 120,000 new ZD.  This is merely a quick overview of the situation as Mugabe has created it.  The education, health, and culture, etc... have all declined.

Now, however, the Carter Center maintains no programs in Zimbabwe. There is probably more of a reason for this than simply due to Mr. Mugabe's recent ban on foreign aid groups.  As a matter of fact, when President Carter along with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Graça Machel (Mandelas wife) attempted to visit Zimbabwe in November of this year, he was denied a visa by Mugabe.

Since Mr. Carter was thrown out of office by the American people in 1980, he has spent his post-presidential years lecturing others on morality. The same year Mr. Carter lost a democratic election, Mr. Mugabe ascended to power in a violently flawed one. Yet over the past 27 years Mr. Mugabe has escaped being a target of President Carter's frequent meddling and criticism.

Rather than criticizing the American and Israeli governments for their stance towards Hamas, perhaps President Carter ought to focus his efforts on how to rid the world of the murderous despot in Zimbabwe whom he helped create.  Or better yet, go home to Plains, Georgia and stay there.