Mugabe's mistake?

Sometimes I wonder if Zimbabwean thug Robert Mugabe didn't make a tactical mistake. Wouldn't it have been easier for him to declare that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was funded by al-Qaeda?

All he had to do was claim to be an ally in the so-called war on terror and part of the "coalition of the willing" for freedom and liberty. If he did that, Mugabe would be free to boil his opponents alive (like Uzbekistan's dictator) or eliminate any semblance of opposition (like Eritrea's) all while maintaining the unflinching support of the Bush administration.