For the future, it would be good to know what exactly were the messages being sent by Susan Rice and Tulinabo Mushingi, because surely this was not the outcome that U.S. policy should have been working for.  As a U.S. citizen, I sure hope my foreign policy representatives were telling Blaise in no uncertain terms that if a popular uprising took to the streets and ousted him, he should not count on any support from the U.S. if he tried to claw his way back in the game.

And now, they should be telling him he should leave.  The major opposition leaders are all former regime members, and there is no reason to think their policies would be mis-aligned with U.S. policy of promoting development and containing AQIM.

Ambassador Mushingi should come right out and say, “Blaise Compaoré has proven himself incapable as President, and he should immediately resign, and finally be held accountable for the numerous crimes committed under his presidency, especially the killing of Norbert Zongo.”