* Although the war on terrorists in Africa has been largely fought alongside the military and police of allied nations, it's important to remember that terrorists cannot operate effectively without support from states. Caudia Rosett explains why Qaddafi is dangerous (first of all to his own people), and questions the wisdom of softening US policy toward Libya. Zimbabwe * Head Heeb reports that a shadowy rebel group calling itself the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement has vowed to remove Mugabe by force. AfricaBlog weighs the costs and benefits of a hypothetical armed rebellion against the ZANU-PF regime. * Meanwhile, several African heads of state go out of their way to defend Mugabe, make excuses for his thuggish behavior, and otherwise ignore the plight of the Zimbabwean people. In Africa, this sophisticated, nuanced policy is known as "quiet diplomacy." The rest of us call it appeasement. * And in case you've forgotten why Mugabe is worth removing, here are several ideas. Liberia * On the other side of the continent, another tyrant goes unpunished for his crimes, however, the recent War on Terror spending bill may have included $2 million to help bring Charles Taylor to justice. * Typically, this bounty was denounced as a blatant example of "state-sponsored terrorism." In the real world terrorism refers to violence targeted at civilians, not attempts to arrest an indicted war criminal. Uganda * daudi notes that the war against terrorists in northern Uganda shows little progress. AfricaBlog concurs. * Mostly Africa reports that in a new effort to defeat the LRA rebels, the Ugandan government is now employing "community militias." The new initiative has shown some signs of success. Ivory Coast * France's military intervention in the Ivory Coast took another blow this month with the apparent early demise of the once-celebrated Marcoussis Accords. * Believing that they now have the strength to defeat the rebels militarily, pro-government supporters are now telling French soldiers (very rudely) to leave Ivory Coast immediately. Instapundit has the story here and here. * JK: Winds of Change, meanwhile, can teach you how to say "quagmire" in French. Finally * The situation in Congo remains far from stable, but this surprisingly hopeful article from the Washington Post shows that some progress has been made toward forming a new government. * JK: Tacitus has a post on Rwandan Islam, which is growing quickly. When you read it, you'll understand why. * JK: That post builds on his East Africa Report, an early journal entry from his ongoing trip there. * If you feel like you still need more Africa-related blogging, you can check out BlogAfrica for more than sixty blogs (and counting!) about Africa from all over the world.