BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI | SA should tell this bozo Bozell, the undiplomatic US ambassador, to buzz off

Addressing the senate foreign relations committee during his confirmation as US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell set out his stall as a firm believer in the nonsensical fiction peddled by the Trump administration that the government was ill-treating or committing genocide against its own people, and pursuing policies harmful to the interests of the US. And he was presumably coming out here to stop all this nonsense.

He would, he told the esteemed lawmakers, state his country’s objection to what he called South Africa’s “geostrategic drift from non-alignment towards our competitors, including Russia, China and Iran”.

“I would press South Africa to end proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice and to pressure the International Criminal Court prosecutor to discontinue this lawfare, which is belied by Israel’s support for the ceasefire in Gaza and commitment to the rules of war throughout the conflict.”

He would also advance Donald Trump’s pet project of resettling Afrikaner “refugees” fleeing a government-mandated genocide in South Africa.

This man is clearly not coming in peace or to foster good relations between the two countries. He is, it seems, venturing into enemy territory, issuing demands and ultimatums before he’s even set foot in the country. He’s out to teach the natives to be on their best behaviour. Maybe to put it in a language familiar to people of his ilk, he needs to be disabused of any white supremacist notion if he thinks he’d corral runaway slaves back to some plantation or outhouse.

The thing about Trump and his crowd is that they’ve made bigotry acceptable. Prejudice is part of the package. The Maga credo is essentially about taking America back to the halcyon days of Jim Crow, when those of a darker hue knew their place. Instead of iron masks, whips, thumbscrews, shackles and chains, the overweening power of the American economy is now deployed to muzzle and silence those less powerful and least favoured.

Ebrahim Rasool was given 72 hours to pack his bags and leave the US as South Africa’s ambassador after he was declared persona non grata by Marco Rubio for uttering something mildly critical about Donald Trump — certainly nothing as hostile as Bozell’s comments about South Africa. What’s good for the goose surely should be good for the gander. But then who said life is fair? There are many among us who cheered and thought Rasool had got his just deserts. They aren’t too quick on the draw this time. Chances are they’re lining up behind Bozell.

But maybe we should cut Bozell some slack. He is, after all, no diplomat; just another right-wing bomb-thrower who got this cushy job for bowing and scraping to Trump

But maybe we should cut Bozell some slack. He is, after all, no diplomat; just another right-wing bomb-thrower who got this cushy job for bowing and scraping to Trump. He wasn’t even a believer, only coming on side after the president had pardoned his son for his involvement in the coup attempt on January 6 2021. He once called Trump a “huckster, a shameless self-promoter and the greatest charlatan of them all”. And added: “God help this country if this man were president.” He’s changed his tune now. There’s nothing as obsequious as a recent convert.

His utterances need to be interrogated, though. I’m not sure why Americans have issues with South Africa’s relations with Russia, besides the obvious differences over the war in Ukraine. After all, Trump is a buddy, if not a lackey, of Vladimir Putin. As for China, where does Apple assemble its money-spinning iPhone? In China, of course. GM, Ford, P&G, Nike, Coca-Cola and many others are all there. Everybody wants a piece of the huge Chinese market. So why is it anti-America when South Africa tries to get a share?

Their concern about Iran may have merit, but even American opinion is divided on the issue. Barack Obama led Western countries to enter into a nuclear deal with the Iranians. Trump is the last person who should complain about Iran. He has a cosy and lucrative relationship with the murderous Saudis. In sparring over Iran, he may even be carrying water for the Saudis, its arch-enemies. Bozell should, however, be applauded for saying the unsayable.

At the heart of this manufactured conflict is Israel. The US is merely taking up the cudgels on behalf of its biggest ally. Bozell says the ICJ case should be withdrawn because Israel is supporting the ceasefire. It is doing no such thing. More than 400 people have been killed by Israel since the deal was signed, and the US, its guarantor, has said and done nothing about it. As for Israel’s commitment to the rules of war, more than 72,000 dead civilians would disagree.

One wonders how Bozell hopes to achieve his mandate by making such hostile utterances even before he’s handed his letter of credence. Does he intend to stay marooned in his fortified bunker in Pretoria while fraternising only with the likes of AfriForum and other cave-dwellers?

President Cyril Ramaphosa would be making a big mistake if he allowed this country to be turned into a vassal of Trump’s America. He’s everything that this country is not. But Ramaphosa has already probably committed two cardinal sins as far as the American president is concerned. He had the temerity not only to invite himself to the White House, but he turned up empty-handed. Trump is a sucker for bribes. He’s turned the presidency into a thriving enterprise for his own benefit. A few gold coins would probably have made the whole thing go away.

American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose job is to make people laugh, wrote recently: “From a fascism perspective, this has really been a great year. Tyranny is booming over here.” And he wasn’t joking. All pillars of democracy, from science to the press, education and the judiciary, are under attack. Even the White House has not been spared. Trump is tearing down walls to build himself a ballroom. Morally these people can’t hold a candle to us. The government should nicely tell this bozo where to get off.