Before the Islamic Courts overran Mogadishu, it was revealed that the CIA was supporting various warlord militias with hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to prevent them from taking over Somalia. The plan failed, however, and the group it advancing on the rest of the country. Life may not be good under the warlords, but the promise of a Taliban-like regime on the horizon doesn’t give much hope to the people of Somalia.

However, the United States has a backup plan in Ethiopia, which has now sent troops into Somalia in order to stop the Islamic Courts. The U.S. has given Ethiopia hundreds of millions of dollars in anti-terrorist training just for such an event that may occur. The government of Meles Zenawi has happily agreed to go along with the United States in defeating the Islamists because, really, all of that aid money is what keeps the government afloat. It’s a perfect arrangement for both. America gets what it wants, and Ethiopia gets…?

Well, Meles gets a lot. Ethiopia doesn’t really get anything.

This plan is rather convenient for Meles. He isn’t really losing any money because this entire war is being financed by the United States. If he is successful, he can depend on a longtime friend for his government. Only, it isn’t what one might consider democratic. You know, there is the whole problem of a lack of free and fair elections, thousands of people beaten and arrested when protesting the falsification, millions of aid dollars used for patronage instead of development, etc. This is simply one of those moments when the Bush Administration has to decide whether it really wants democracy in Ethiopia, because after this, there is no way that its support for the Meles regime will wither.

What the people of Ethiopia will be stuck with is a government that still doesn’t look after their interests. I realize that it is important to make sure that a Taliban-like regime is not established in Somalia, but at the same time the freedom of the Ethiopian people cannot be compromised because of it. The Ethiopian diaspora looks to this administration as their best hope at moving their country toward freedom, and it would be an opportunity wasted to win the hearts and minds of their people for America.