It authorizes support for ongoing, legally governed land tenure reforms, and authorizes an innovative approach to facilitating the development of commercial projects in Zimbabwe and the region. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I commend Senator Frist and his staff for their efforts on this matter. Right now a country of great promise and a people of tremendous potential are enduring a terrible campaign of lawlessness and oppression. Right now, one of the most important states on the African continent, economically and politically, is in crisis. To write off Zimbabwe, to lose this opportunity to speak and act on the matter, would be a terrible mistake.
States descend into utter chaos in stages.
Let us move to arrest Zimbabwe's descent today, not next year, when the problems will be more complex and more deeply entrenched, and not after 5 years of crisis, when Afro-pessimists will undoubtedly ignore the country's proud history and cynically assert that Zimbabwe cannot be salvaged. Let us be far-sighted, let us act now, pass this legislation, and stand firmly behind the forces of law, of democracy, and of justice in Zimbabwe. This is currently a manually administered mailing list. Personal requests for removal will be carried out immediately. The purpose of this list is not necessarily to redistribute published news reports.