Despite the arrest of thousands of peaceful demonstrators, the further slaughter of hundreds more, and the trial the leaders of the democratic oppositions, the United States will not be joining other World Bank donors in revoking aid to the Meles regime. According to the article, the U.S. doesn’t feel this is necessary as there has been progress toward democracy and because the aid is being used for development projects and the combating of AIDS. Therefore, the aid is actually being used to help foster democracy. Or so the argument goes, which is why the ambassador has called the idea of withdrawing aid ‘unacceptable.”

So how are we supposed to punish a regime for its actions? Apparently by refusing to sell Humvees to the Ethiopian army because it used them in its repression of peaceful demonstrations instead of counter-terrorist operations. Sadly, this is how many of our allies in the war on terror use our military training and aid. They want it to help stay in power by repressing popular discontent. Meles doesn’t care about combating violent extremist groups as long as they provide a good excuse for being particularly heavy handed in his handling of dissent.

Sadly, again, even our humanitarian and development aid goes straight to the pockets of the regime, with only a minimal amount actually going toward helping people. Transparency International has listed Ethiopia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. As Ethiopundit details from a World Bank report (the same people who are now withdrawing their aid!), there is a network of hundreds of businesses and NGOs connected to the Meles government where the money goes, and more and more of it gets lost as it trickles down. So basically, a lot of the aid that is given directly to the government for development programs actually goes toward strengthening the network that holds the regime together.

Since the aid being given to the Meles government is being misused and is actually counter-productive to the promotion of democracy, what’s the problem with revoking it as pressure to reform?