"What we're telling them is there has to be a transitional government in Zimbabwe that leads to a free and fair, internationally supervised election," the official said.
"That is the goal, he stole the last one, we can't let that happen again," the official said, referring to a widely condemned election last March in which Mugabe won re-election.
"It has to be internationally supervised, open, transparent with an electoral commission that works," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The official would not say whether Washington had gotten positive reactions to its call from any specific country in the region, but said generally the "neighborhood" was increasingly aware of the problems posed by Mugabe's rule.
"The neighborhood -- meaning southern Africa -- is realizing that this is not going well, this is breaking bad," the official said. "The food situation is going to get nothing but worse, the economic scene is disastrous." The official noted that Zimbabwe's economy was now crippled by hyperinflation and an unemployment rate of 80 percent and that Zimbabweans were fleeing their country in droves to become refugees in Botswana, Mozambique, and South Africa.
In addition, the situation in Zimbabwe is hurting the economies of other countries in the region as potential investors steer clear due to fears about the spread of the crisis.
"The neighborhood is starting to realize that there is a downside to giving aid and protection to Comrade Bob," the official said, using a derogatory nickname for Mugabe.
"There is stuff happening, there is stuff happening behind the scenes," the official added, declining to elaborate.
The United States has been a vociferous critic of Mugabe in recent months and led a charge at the UN Human Rights Commission to condemn the Harare government - Sapa-AFP
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