Invasion of Zimbabwe (2009) (President McCain)

The Invasion of Zimbabwe, codenamed Operation Democratic Change, was a military conflict between Zimbabwe and a coalition force from 27 nations under a joint COD-African Union mandate commissioned with removing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe from power following years of human rights abuses and economic mismanagment leading to hyperinflation and impoverishment and following Mugabe's refusal to step down following the result of the presidential election in 2008.

The deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe had resulten economic sanctions against Zimbabwe by some members of the UN, EU and the Concert of Democracies, and with immediate preparation for war by the United States of America and the United Kingdom following escalation in January 2009. The invasion of Zimbabwe began in March 2009 and was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which removed Robert Mugabe from power and installed Morgan Tsvangirai as the new President of Zimbabwe.

Situation in Zimbabwe
Following the chaotic implementation of the land reform by President Rubert Mugabe and his ZANU (PF) Party, Zimbabwe experienced a sharp decline in agricultural exports, traditionally the country's leading export producing sector. As a result, Zimbabwe wxperienced a severe hard-currency shortage, which has led to hyperinflation and chronic shortages in imported fuel and consumer goods. In 2002, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses during the land redistribution and of election tampering. Life expectancy at birth for males in Zimbabwe has dramatically declined since 1990 from 60 to 37, among the lowest in the world. Life expectancy for females is even lower at 34 years. Concurrently, the infant mortality rate has climbed from 53 to 81 deaths per 1,000 live births in the same period. Currently, 1.8 million Zimbabweans live with HIV. By July 2008, the hyperinflation was as high as 231,000,000% while continuing to grow.

As a result, popular support for Morgan Tsvangirai and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change increased up to the 2008 presidential elections. In the first round of the presidential election on March 29, Tsvangirai and his MDC won 47.9% and Mugabe's ZANU-PF 43.2%, thereby necessitating a run-off, which was to be held on June 27, 2008. Despite Tsvangirai's continuing claims to have won a first round majority, he initially decided to participate in the second round. The period following the first round was marked by serious political violence. ZANU-PF and the MDC each blamed the other's supporters for perpetrating this violence; Western governments and prominent Western organizations have blamed ZANU-PF for the violence. On 22 June 22, 2008, Tsvangirai announced that he was withdrawing from the run-off, describing it as a "violent sham" and saying that his supporters risked being killed if they voted for him. The second round nevertheless went ahead as planned with Mugabe as the only actively participating candidate, although Tsvangirai's name remained on the ballot. Mugabe won the second round by an overwhelming margin and was sworn in for another term as President on June 29. However, Mugabe retained control and has not conceded the election results that would otherwise put him out of power.

The international reaction to the second round have varied. The United States and states of the European Union have called for increased sanctions. On 11 July, the United Nations Security Council considered imposing sanctions on the Zimbabwe. The sanctions were vetoed by Russia and China. The African Union has called for a "government of national unity."

Preliminary talks to set up conditions for official negotiations began between leading negotiators from both parties on 10 July, and on 22 July, the three party leaders met for the first time in Harare to express their support for a negotiated settlement of disputes arising out of the presidential and parliamentary elections. Negotiations between the parties officially began on 25 July and are currently proceeding with very few details released from the negotiation teams in Pretoria, as coverage by the media is barred from the premises where the negotiations are taking place. The talks were mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki. A provisional deal was reached on September 11, 2008, involving Tsvangirai chairing the council of ministers and Mugabe chairing a new national security council. By the following January it remained unimplemented due to ongoing disputes between the parties. The results of this election were withheld for several weeks, following which it was generally acknowledged that the MDC had achieved a significant majority of seats.