Can We Still Be Friends?

By Tony Karon and James Carney

For most foreign leaders traveling to South Africa, dropping in on Nelson Mandela is the equivalent of meeting the Queen in London--a task both customary and pleasant. But for President Bush's visit to the country on July 8, a session with the world's most sanctified icon of social justice "is not on the schedule," a senior White House official tells TIME. This is probably no oversight. The former South African President is, after all, among the most persistent and vitriolic critics of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy.

Just last Friday, Mandela lauded French President Jacques Chirac for opposing the U.S. invasion of Iraq--and that was one of Mandela's tamer shots during what has been a nine-month barrage of criticism. In January, Mandela called Bush a "President who has no foresight, who cannot think properly," and accused him of "wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust." Mandela has also accused the U.S. of ignoring the U.N. because it is led by a black man, and has repeatedly called the U.S. a "threat to world peace." During a visit to Ireland last week, he told his audience that the U.S. and Bush "are a danger to the world."

The White House, for its part, seems content to let Bush's itinerary serve as riposte. Despite Mandela's "unfortunate comments not just about the President but also about America in general," the White House official says, Bush means "no disrespect" by not meeting with Mandela. "We're focused on spending time with those who are in office now."

Perhaps, but Mandela may have anticipated the snub. Asked at the press conference last Friday if he would discuss the Iraq war with President Bush, he replied, "I know he's coming to see [President Thabo Mbeki], but I cannot be sure if he's going to want to meet me. So I won't be able to tell him anything." And Mandela seems ready to initiate detente: "I have said what I wanted to say," he added, "and I don't have to repeat it." --By Tony Karon and James Carney