(The Economist) — America and Ethiopia Woyanne need each other, but their needs are not equal
THE alliance between the United States and Ethiopia Woyanne was born of pragmatism. In another time, they might have been enemies. Ethiopians Woyannes do not like American soldiers tramping on their soil. Americans dislike Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s bad human-rights record. Local elections due this month are a case in point. Ethiopia’s opposition, emasculated by the long imprisonment of its leaders (most of whom were pardoned last year) and weakened by its own divisions, will almost certainly be crushed in an unfair contest. “It’s going to be a stitch-up,” says a Western diplomat. “Control is what this government is all about.”
America jealously guards information about its more discreet military activities in Ethiopia, while advertising its soldiers’ do-gooding: digging wells, vaccinating animals and so on. Officially, it contributes only a sliver of Ethiopia’s $300m defence budget. Unofficially, it may have helped pay for the rising costs of Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s army, one of Africa’s largest. Some say America has a secret base in eastern Ethiopia to move CIA, special forces and “friendlies” into next-door Somalia; America says not.
What is certain is that the closest military ties between the two countries involve Somalia, which America fears may have already become an incubator of Islamist terrorism. That is why America backed Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s invasion of Somalia at the end of 2006. Its own air raids on supposed terrorist targets in Somalia have relied on Ethiopian Woyanne intelligence, though nearly all appear to have missed. American officials praise the Ethiopian Woyanne troops who are still in Mogadishu, Somalia’s battered capital, as peacekeepers; most Somalis see them as occupiers.
Leftist hardliners in Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s government think that its prime minister, Meles Zenawi, is doing the Bush administration’s bidding. That is not how the Americans portray it. Regardless of Mr Zenawi, who must answer to his party’s central committee and is anyway due to step down in 2010, the Pentagon wants to make Ethiopia a bulwark in a region where Somalia is a dangerously failed state, Sudan and Eritrea are pariahs and Kenya has troubles of its own. Ethiopia has other selling points. The African Union is based there. Its ancient Christian history stirs American evangelicals. Its poverty and population (at 80m, Africa’s third-largest) attract development-minded foreigners.
But Ethiopia is too poor to be rated an A-list client state. Even American hawks admit that selling guns to one of the planet’s hungriest countries, the “cradle of humanity” to boot, would look bad. America says the little it gives Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s forces is “non-lethal”: boots, night-vision goggles, medical kits and so forth. It would like to do more to train Ethiopian Woyanne troops for peacekeeping work. A measure of America’s realism is the way it has allowed Ethiopia Woyanne to buy arms from North Korea.
So differences remain. Many in Ethiopia’s 1.2m-strong diaspora in the United States have lobbied their congressional representatives to condemn Mr Zenawi’s government as tyrannical. A bill passed by the House of Representatives last year called for curbs on aid to Ethiopia Woyanne, but is unlikely to be passed by the Senate. Yet it points to a division between those in Washington (mainly Republicans) wanting to reward Ethiopia Woyanne for fighting terrorism in Somalia and those (mainly Democrats) wishing to punish it for its human-rights abuses at home.
Ethiopia Woyanne, for its part, had hoped for stronger support from America over its border dispute with Eritrea. It wants the administration to list two Ethiopian separatist groups, the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Front, as terrorists. America is reluctant. The process is complex; it has taken a long time to complete listing the Shabab, a Somali jihadist group. The Ogaden and Oromo fronts will go on fund-raising among their supporters in America, just as the Irish Republican Army once did.
Aid from European Union countries will probably keep flowing, however patent Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s human-rights violations. China will invest more. But Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s luck may run out. After several years of good harvests, a famine may set in this year. With 8m of its people likely to depend on food aid, much of it paid for by the Americans, Ethiopia Woyanne still needs America a lot more than America needs it.
18 thoughts on “Ethiopia and the U.S. – A loveless liaison (Economist)”
can you pretend to be a little professional about this; please stop crossing out Ethiopia and putting in Weyane, i mean, come on man! it is so distracting to the eyes, we get the picture that you and many others do not like them but lets rise above this and stop acting like fox news!!!!
As TPLF was NOT terrorist before any armed forces against weyanes can not be listed as a terrorists. weyane’s day is count down. USA is not reliable friend for ethiopia . we know them very well during the war between somalia and ethiopia. USA was siding with an islamice countries against the christian country [ ethiopia].Both BUSH’S AND WEYANE’S ADMNISTRATIONS ARE a failure . The dream land [ USA], IT IS ECONOMY IS CRUSHED DOWN AND THEIR DOLLAR BECAME VALUE LESS. SO USA needs an internatio9nal aid to feed them selves thanks to bush’s admnistration. USA’s history teaches us that america has always a closed alliance with the bloody dictators against the wish of the people for freedom and democracy. whether USA likes or not we , ethiopians will free ethiopia from USA’S SERVANT AT THE END OF THE DAY. THAT WILL BE THE END OF USA’S FRIENDSHIP RELATION WITH ETHIOPIA. WE , ETHIOPIANS DO NOT NEED ANY ONE WHO FAILED TO STAND BY THE PPL FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.
American And Ethiopian relationship is not a long lasting one. Because they depend on one man rather than 80 million people. Apparently, Ethioian people don’t need food aid from Americans rather a genuin policy for Ethiopian to have a democratic government.
The OLF has to move on this providing the abundant evidence (including form State Dept) to the world and US law makers that TPLF is the real terrorist group. Of course a terrorit with a country and US backing. Woyanne providing evidence to the US!!! just laughable. Cooked evidence. Wakeup people. For how long do the democratic countries allow the PM Meles hoodwink the world.
The strike out of all words Ethiopia is indeed distracting. I had to go to the Economist site to read this article. I understand your sensationalism but it is threatening your relevance. Please have some common sense.
A loveless liaison indeed. I’m a lil surprised the writer compared OLF and ONLF with IRA.
http://oromantic.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/the-economist-compares-olf-with-ira/
America is going to ditch woyane soon and move on to a healthy relationship.
yikerbelen
USA was siding with an islamice countries against the christian country [ ethiopia ]
are you stupid weyane or something?
Ethiopia is 50% Muslim and 50% Christian
No question there, The United Sates Of America’s leaders of Mr Bush did hurt 75 million Ethiopian people, favouring 2% of greedy terrorits who walked into Ethiopia using their killing machines, and refuse power by all means.
I never thought any American Administration would stoop so low as pumping money and weapons into minority terrorist elements such as TPLF to advance their butchery agaonst the Ethiopian people, while US marines trained and equiped more killers. What has Ethiopian people had done to be scape-goats during this war on terror? Our parents blessed the past American leaders for siding with them, but Bush Administration need to know that, they sided with the baby killers, rapists, looters. criminal terrorist regime of Mr. Zanawi who hails from dusty town of Adwa-northern tip of the country. As far as Ethiopians is concerned Mr Zenawi is a foriegner, who no one had heard of, little terror leader who came to place he does not belong to!
History would never forget, nor forgive for Mr. Zenawi have butchered innocent children, women, elders, scholars, university students, kindergarteners,nursery babies with their mothers with the help of American tax payers money. These are facts that can not be erased from those who lost their loved ones, whose number may even be more than what Hitler had killed.
tulu..u have the right to remain silent because ur proposition doesn’t make any sense.
COme on Wayane instead of working to put OLf and ONLF on terrorist list why don’t you do good and try to remove TPLF from terrorist list.
Hey,it is very clear that they need each other for mutual benefit,though the need is not balanced.America needs Ethiopia as an ally to stabilize the chaos in East Africa-somalia,but doesn’t want to be involved directly.The Melese regime gets confidence from the Western world,if that was not the case,Kinijit would have been the winning party in 2005.While the two are getting benefited,the Ethiopian people is paying the price in terms of drought and famine-that is the most scary scenario there.
The problem we are facing as a nation(Ethiopia) right now comes from the attitiude that we have towards one another.One may ask what is that attitude?It is the attitude for a lack of respect for ones’ opinion when we disagree on any matter.
It is okay to disagree but at the same time, it is also healthy to have a reasonable dialogue to solve our disagreement.
It may not be possible to have a resonable dialogue in Ethiopia since we do not have a freedom of speech,democracy or to that matter the proper enforcement of the respect for human rights and the rule of law.
That is not the case here in the US or even Europe.We can easily solve our problems and our differences through dialogue.So why are we not using it?Instead we are too busy bickering among ourselves and start labeling,bad name calling,destroying families and isolating individuals from our community just because they have a slight difference of opinion in approaching and solving problems we face as a community.
It is about that time and it is the responsibilty of every Ethiopians from every walks of life to change this way of life.We should not be afraid of anyone to express our feelings when it comes to situation that may affect us as a community, but we should also do it in a respectful manner.
Civic leaders,Community organizers,Parents,Teachers, and Youth leaders, I strongly ask you to encourage our citizens to participate in bringing about this change in our way of dealing with one another.Unless we come together and fight our obstacles as a unit, it will be a long time before we see a Strong,Free and Democratic Ethiopia.
Its a matter of time and patience to realize the fall of TPLF, hump is dry enough to uncover the brutality and Iron fist of the regime, misleading will not be rather chewable and US will not be there as it doesn’t have a clear and mutual interest to sustain their Financial and Military Aid to its fake alliance. Then, where will you go? To hell…. for ever.
Elias,
REPLACING WOYANNE WITH ETHIOPIA IS SOMETHING I AGREE WITH FULLY SINCE THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT REPRESENT US. HOWEVER, IT IS DISTRACTING FOR THE READER. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO PUT A DISCLAIMER AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE STATING THAT IT IS ER THAT REPLACED THE WORDS?
Birtukan, read my comment again. my comment focused on THE WAR BETWEEN ETHIOPIA AND SOMALIA BEFORE [ 1978] AT THAT TIME USA WAS BEHIND MEHAMED SAIDER BARE.
TULLU, OLF doesn’t need to go to state dep or any other place to lobby them. Geniue ethiopians do not considere OLF as TERRORIST group, because it has never committed any crime against innocent civilians and civilians property. we, ethiopians have another problem with OLF. OROMO as a majority in ethiopia, this ethnice group has a high responsibility to fight for the freedom all other ethiopians and the unity of the nation by coordinating all other ethiopians together. but interstingly enough, the majority ethnice group is challenging the minorities to break away from the unioin. that is the weaknest side of OLF which weyanes have been using it for their divide and rule white policy.
dear, feleke, our elias has done a good job. By any account weyanes do not represent ethiopia as a nation and ethiopians as the ppl. because Ethiopia is the land of the covenant and the ethiopia’s people are the people of the covenat, so TPLF has never been and will never represent ethiopia and ethiopians. the westren nations know very well that, but they are trying to associate Ethiopia with the trerrorist group TPLF. Ethiopia and it’s people will never take any responsibility for the crime which is being committed by TERRORIST TPLF and USA against an innocent somalia’s people in their own villages. So what elias is doing very well.I feel good . because the tegere’s inellectuals are committing a crime against the somalia people, not other ethiopians.
All the attractions Ethiopia has for America and America for Ethiopia, they both still don’t trust each other.
America thinks it is the only superpower and the richest country in the world. It also believes Ethiopia is the poorest country in Africa and may not function without the help of America. If Ethiopia for some reasons terminates its political and financial ties with America, America immediately will arm Eritrea, Ogaden, the OLF, and encourages the Ethiopians in diaspora to overthrow the Woyanne regime at a cost of accepting Ethiopia’s total dependency on America for buying everything from corn to gun and for hiring experts only from America and accepting thousands of missionaries from the Christian West.
Bulling the Woyanne regime with a weapon such as switching aid from Ethiopia to Eritrea, Ogaden, and the OLF, America will be very proud of putting the Woyanne regime under its strong paws from which the Woyanne regime has no power to get out and govern Ethiopia independently without the influence of the United States. Meles knows he is America’s puppet, governing Ethiopia to satisfy not the needs of the Ethiopian people but the needs of the Americans by preventing terrorist attacks on American interests. To stay in power indefinitely or at least until the Bush presidency is over, Meles must play a shrewd political game with Bush, i.e. he must convince Bush he is a dependable ally to Washington, and he has proved that he is so by invading Somalia. He must also convince Washington to put the Ogaden and OLF movements under its terrorist lists so that Meles could continue controlling Somalia until the Somalia government stands firmly on its feet.
On the other hand, Ethiopia can threaten Washington by refusing to accept America’s financial aid and arms delivery; Ethiopia can easily replace America with China, and to put insult upon injury, Ethiopian can easily build a relationship with Eritrea, giving Eritrea Badme and getting out of Somalia. Then the only card for Washington to play would be the OLF and the Ogaden movement; however, even these two movements can be influenced easily if Meles allows them to share power with him. Then Washington is left empty handed; its influence on Ethiopia and on the other parts of Africa will be shaken.
Frustrated and unable to influence Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, America then will turn its massive aid to Southeast Asia or to Latin America or come up with a new, honest, and practical plan to bring back Ethiopia and the other African countries as its allies. This time America should not give military assistance to Ethiopia; instead, it should help the Ethiopian farmers how to build modern irrigation, how to fight drought, malaria and other diseases. When America performs such tangible things, then the ordinary people will embrace America and proclaim that America is a great country and stick to Christian America rather than to the Communist China.