The Foreign Service Journal, May 2007

and have a denial rate of less than 3 percent for non-immigrant nationals seeking U.S. visas. As of 2006, they must also have begun replacing their citizens’ machine-readable docu- ments with biometric passports. Senator George V. Voinovich, R- Ohio, who wrote the measure, says that the move can “improve both our national and economic security while helping to solidify relationships and improve good will toward the United States for years to come” ( http://voin ovich.senate.gov/public/ ). Business and education groups are the VWP’s biggest supporters, among them the Association of International Educators, the Heritage Foundation and the Coalition for Employment through Exports. The National For- eign Trade Council endorses the expansion of the VWP to protect the competitive U.S. lead in global tech- nology ( www.crn.com/it-channel/ 198500222 ). Not everyone agrees. Within the security community there are con- cerns that in the absence of a rigorous visa background check, terrorists and international criminals have easy access to the U.S. Victims of terror- ism are opposed as well. Michael Cutler of 9/11 Families for a Secure America believes that the VWP should be repealed altogether, and that the business community exercis- es undue influence on security policy ( www.911fsa.org/articles/art2006 jan31b.html ). The Government Accountability Office concluded in a July 2006 report that the VWP carries with it both risks and benefits ( www.gao.gov/new.it ems/d06854.pdf ). Noting that both Zacarias Moussaoui and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid came into the U.S. from VWP countries, the GAO explained that stolen VWP pass- ports are now a hot commodity, and emphasized the need for sufficient scrutiny over VWP procedures. — Margaret E. MacFarland, Editorial Intern Zimbabwe: Beginning of the End for Mugabe? On March 30, the central commit- tee of Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party opted to endorse President Robert Mugabe for the presidential election slated for March 2008 rather than agree to Mugabe’s proposal to extend his current term for two more years, until 2010. The proposal for extension had suffered an unprece- dented setback in December when, under threat of rebellion on the part of several influential members, the party’s annual conference refused to endorse it. Signs of discontent within the rul- ing party are the focus of new hope that Zimbabwe’s disintegration may be halted in the next year, and its bat- tered economy and body politic put on the road to recovery. In a report issued March 5, the International Cri- sis Group examines the political crisis going into the July parliamentary ses- sion ( www.crisisgroup.org/home/ index.cfm?id=1233&l=1 ). The ICG recommends negotiations among ZANU-PF and opposition leaders to bring about Mugabe’s retirement and form a transitional government to implement an emergency economic recovery plan and draft a new consti- tution. At a summit meeting of the Southern African Development Com- munity in Dar es Salaam at the end of March to discuss Zimbabwe, regional leaders mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to step up ef- forts to mediate the conflict between Mugabe and the opposition Move- ment for Democratic Change in Harare. Though it marks a departure from the group’s adherence to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states, the move was criticized by those who had hoped for a harsher stance toward Mugabe ( http://allafrica.com/stori es/printable/2007033.html ). The SADC summit also called for a study group to look at Zimbabwe’s collapsing economy and come up with plans to help. Unemployment stands at 80 percent. Once an agricultural exporter with a vibrant manufacturing center and 4.3-percent annual growth on average, Zimbabwe can no longer feed itself. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other aid agencies estimate this year’s harvest will only provide one- sixth of the corn needed to feed the population. 10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 7 C Y B E R N O T E S