( CNN ) -- More than three years ago , the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Zimbabwe , Christopher W. Dell , wrote a valedictory note about the government of President Robert Mugabe . It was titled simply `` The End is Nigh . '' His advice to the U.S. State Department : `` Stay the course and prepare for change '' in the southern African nation . Today , President Mugabe is still in place , though he now heads an uneasy power-sharing government with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change ( MDC ) . The cable , dated July 2007 , is one of thousands obtained by WikiLeaks , some of which were published Sunday in The New York Times and four European newspapers that had advance access to the documents . Dell goes on to characterize Mugabe , who has been in power since 1980 , as `` a brilliant tactician '' who is `` more clever and more ruthless than any other politician in Zimbabwe . '' He also believes Mugabe is `` hampered by several factors : his ego and belief in his own infallibility . '' He notes that contacts within the ruling party , the ZANU-PF , are desperately seeking reform but acknowledge that it wo n't happen while the `` Old Man '' is still there . Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980 . Once one of Africa 's wealthier nations , with a thriving agricultural sector , it has deteriorated into economic and social turmoil . In 2007 , the same year the cable was written , Zimbabwe had the highest inflation rate in the world at 66,212 percent , according to the International Monetary Fund . Fuel and food shortages prompted Dell to say `` for the first time the president is under intensifying pressure simultaneously on the economic , political and international fronts '' and that Mugabe was `` running out of options . '' He says it up to the U.S. `` once again , to take the lead , to say and do the hard things . '' He admits in 2007 that Mugabe will `` not wake up one morning a changed man , resolved to set right all he has wrought . He will not go quietly nor without a fight . He will cling to power at all costs . '' Dell added : `` Mugabe and his henchman are like bullies everywhere : if they can intimidate , you they will . But they 're not used to someone standing up to them and fighting back . '' According to the cable , Dell said the `` optimal outcome ... is a genuinely free and fair election , under international supervision . '' Thabo Mbeki , former president of South Africa , had been trying to mediate in Zimbabwe and had , according to Dell , `` the best , albeit very slim , hope of getting there . '' When considering possible Mugabe successors , Dell is less than impressed with the options . He calls the MDC `` far from ideal '' and is `` convinced that had we [ the U.S. ] had different partners , we could have achieved more already . '' He goes on to lament that the current leadership would `` require massive hand-holding and assistance should they ever come to power . '' Morgan Tsvangirai , prime minister and MDC head , is characterized by Dell as a `` brave , committed man '' with `` star quality . '' However , Dell criticizes Tsvangarai as being `` not readily open to advice , indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him . '' Perhaps most tellingly Dell says of the MDC leader : `` Zimbabwe needs him , but should not rely on his executive abilities to lead the country 's recovery . '' Last week , Tsvangirai took President Mugabe to court , claiming he was making unilateral decisions regarding important Cabinet and judicial appointments in violation of the power sharing arrangement .
WikiLeaks releases 2007 cable from outgoing U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe . Christopher W. Dell likens President Robert Mugabe to a bully , predicts change . Dell was n't optimistic about Morgan Tsvangirai and other leadership options . Inflation and turmoil have plagued the southern African nation for decades .