Love Thy Neighbor

Nowhere is there greater concern about the crisis in Zimbabwe than in the one country that, by itself, has the means to make or break Robert Mugabe: neighboring South Africa. But President Thabo Mbeki doesn't yet appear ready to pull the plug on the man who's giving him so many sleepless nights.

South of the muddy-brown Limpopo River that separates the two countries, South African police and immigration officials have contingency plans to handle thousands of refugees if the presidential election results in civil war. Next to AIDS and the crime rate, Zimbabwe is just about the biggest crisis worrying...