Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Is it the U.S's fault re. Ethiopia?
Does the United States have direct responsibility for the downturn in Ethiopia? Read the op-ed from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette above.
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3 comments:
I believe that the United States' was completely at fault in its decision to back the Ethiopian disruption of the government in Somalia. The U.S. should make sure it corrects what wrong it has done in this instance. The article makes a good enough case that the U.S. is only backing Ethiopia for reasons of material interest, and if it is correct in this, America is partially to blame. However, the blame can not be entirely or even MOSTLY placed on America in this case, as far as where its funds supporting Ethiopia have gone. If, as the article points out, the Ethiopian government was willing to spend "American money" on arms from North Korea, this is not the U.S.' fault. Nor is America at fault because Ethiopian's want to rid Somalia of an Islamic government, or that it got very irritated at the secession of Eritrea, which looks to have been the right move.
It seems to me that the more engrossed the United States becomes in combating what it believes to be militant Islamic regimes, the more caught up we become in world affairs. Is this a good thing? Absolutely not! How dare the United States back Ethiopia in its attack on Somalia! How dare we support another country as they violate the sovereignty of another nation with which we have no on going conflict. It is absolutely disgusting the way the the United States feels that it can invade other countries in order to carry out its political will. If we spent half as much time and resources thinking about ways to solve humanitarian issues and GENOCIDES which appear to be occurring in Africa, then the world would be a much happier place. Perhaps if the US was adult enough to talk through an issue, as Somalia requested then we wouldn't feel the need to bully and throw a temper tantrum when we don't get our way.
I agree with PJ's comment that despite the United States involvement, in the end Ethoiopia must be accountable for their own actions. Nonetheless, that in absoultely no way makes the United States intervention right. I couldn't help but think of the United States polcies in Central America during the Cold War while reading this article. When the socialist Sandistas took power in Nicragua in 1979, instead of sponsoring a United States intervention, the United States funding the Contras to fight for their own interest. In the same way they hide behind the Contras, they are hiding behind Ethopia to get what they want. The author mentioned at the end of the article that, "There was some thought that with the end of the Cold War in 1990 the United States would no longer work with scum-of-the-earth, outlaw governments. Ethiopia now is proof to the contrary." It is disappointing to see that the end of the Cold War did not bring the end of this practice. One can only hope that in time governments will learn to be more hesitant before following the United States advice and be able to see through to its true self-motivated intentions.
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