Will Democrats Punish Another Ally in the War on Terror?
I’m an American of Ethiopian origin who served in the Armed Forces of the U.S.
I don’t need to remind the writer the loss of life and treasury in Iraq in the name of bringing “Democracy” to Iraqis’. The least we can do is to not support dictators such as Mr. Zenawi of Ethiopia with our aid to oppress Ethiopians and commit crimes that could amount to genocide (currently going on in the Ogaden region).
Your writing is full of misleading statements in order to get undue support from readers. You mentioned that this bill “would prohibit the US from providing counter-terror and military support to Ethiopia.” That is completely wrong. The bill actually makes exception for exactly what you claimed would be prohibited. Here is the paragraph.
“Nonessential United States assistance shall not be made available to the Government of Ethiopia … ‘nonessential United States assistance’ means assistance authorized under any provision of law, other than humanitarian assistance, food aid programs, assistance to combat HIV/AIDS and other health care assistance, peacekeeping assistance, and counter-terrorism assistance.
It is easy to write an essay from one’s cozy office or living room about a region and country you may only know from reading books and gathering news articles. You at least need to be on the ground in order to speak of the state of democracy in the country.
You’re right the Ethiopian government is in Somalia. Did you ask why? Well, I wonder if you knew these facts about Ethiopia:
- there are an estimated 4.8 million orphans
- Only 22% of the population gets improved drinking water
- 31% primary school enrollment
- 3 doctors per 100,000 people
- More than 6 million people are at risk of starvation every year
- etc.
So, did you ask why such a government would choose to wage a war to its neighbors instead of address these terrible problems? It is to get people like you in the current administration to look away from its crimes. In your case and some officials in the current administration, it seems to be working.
Instead of using ‘national interest’ as cover, let’s just say it the way it is. Who cares about democracy in Africa, right? But look at the impact of lack of democracy on millions of people. This is not some abstract idea. I challenge you to just go to any of the countries you claim to be knowledgeable, live a day in the lives of the people, and then let us know your opinion.
