In the 90's Robert Klitgaard's Tropical Gangsters described the poverty and corruption that existed before the oil boom. 60 Minutes has also shown the abuse of public funds by poltical leaders and their cronies. I agree that the oil, not so much the volume as the secure access granted to the US, makes us overlook the political dysfunction in Equatorial Guinea. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe gets more attention because it has shown a great deal more industrial potential than EG. Also, the problem in Zimbabwe is a threat to the region. South Africa cannot absorb or stop the wave of Zimbabweans who would cross the border if things got much worse. There are already far more Zimbabweans and other African immigrants for South Africa's government and poor communities to accommodate. South Africa's inaction and Mugabe's bad behavior make the story. Sadly, it seems an invasion to depose Mugabe is the only solution. But his opponent hasn't proven himself to be a worthy democrat: not even within his own party/movement. And South Africa's intervention in Lesotho makes it reluctant to play a similar role in Zimbabwe. All of this makes the Zimbabwe story compelling. Hopefully, the press attention will move key players in Zimbabwe and the international community to do the right thing.

Sorry, but the reason Zimbabwe makes the news in the US is wholely racial. The conflict which generated most of the recent interest in Mugabe was his decision to transfer ownership of farms previously controlled by white-skinned citizens to members of his family, friends, and political associates. Nearly all story lines either directly restate this conflict or allude to it. Absent the white-black backstory, the political violence in Zimbabwe would attract the same attention of newsmerchants as do similar levels of violence in newly-minted Central Asian nations. Its all about creating a storyline which parallels the racial divisions within our society but allowing us to project our dark fantacies without the costs. Tragically, in nations without easily defined racial or religious divisions, all manners of violence may exist without a single word on the nightly news hour.