November 20, 2007

Stupid Dems in Congress Moving to Cut Off Aid to Vital Ally Ethiopia

I've been reminding readers on a daily basis to keep an eye on the Horn of Africa. Somalia could well become the next Afghanistan if we allow the Islamic Courts Union (the African Taliban) to come back into power. The Ethiopian occupation of Somalia may not be ideal, but it is far better than the Islamic Emirate set up by the African Taliban. The Islamic Courts Union is backed by al Qaeda.

Even as Ethiopia has troops on the ground in Somalia fighting al Qaeda forces, the Democrats in Congress are preparing to end aid to that country. Ethiopia is fighting a proxy war on our behalf, and the Democrats want to cut off aid? Great timing.

Look, we should all be worried about human rights around the world. But Ethiopia's less than perfect record has to take a back seat to our own national interests.

We know areas controlled by the ousted ICU were scattered with al Qaeda training camps. Let's see...failed state....Islamists control.....al Qaeda sets up training camps....why does this all seem so familiar?

Oh yeah, does 9/11 ring a bell?!?!

The alternative to Ethiopia fighting the Islamists in Somalia is for U.S. ground troops to be sent in to do the necessary work. Does Congress really think that sending American troops to Somalia is a better idea then letting an ally do the work for us?

Even worse is the policy of neutrality between Ethiopia & Eritrea. The Islamists of the Islamic Courts Union are receiving money and arms through Eritrea. An all out hot war between the two countries would be tragic, but even more tragic would be to equivocate between our allies in the war against Islamic fanaticism in Ethiopia and a state that supports terror in Eritrea.

Now is not the time to end funding to Ethiopia. Now is the time to increase funding to Ethiopia. And I mean drastically.

Here's an op-ed from today's New York Times echoing the same sentiment, albeit in a bit more diplomatic and PC way.

UPDATE: Ace chimes in:

This measure -- an attempt to cut off our aid to ally-against-terrorism Ethiopia is part of an unmistakable pattern of Democrats seeking to undermine our allies and aid our bloodiest enemies.

Democrats routinely let the perfect become the enemy of the good, especially if the imperfect good happens to be a US ally.

Democrats strong on national security? Yeah right. That’s like saying O.J. Simpson is an advocate of womens rights.

NY Times:

Sadly, Congress is poised to fuel the march toward war by passing a bill that threatens to cut off technical assistance to Ethiopia, one of our closest allies, if it does not, among other things, release political prisoners, ensure that the judiciary operates independently and permit the news media to operate freely. Ethiopia has already freed opposition leaders, reformed parliamentary rules to give opposition parties greater legislative responsibility and approved a new media law that meets international standards. By singling out Ethiopia for public embarrassment, the bill puts Congress unwittingly on the side of Islamic jihadists and insurgents.

A far better approach would be to buttress Ethiopia against threats to its survival — by helping it resolve its border conflict and ensuring that it reopens negotiations with insurgents and traditional leaders and permits international investigation of reported military abuses (including allegations of rape and murder). Ethiopia has begun this process by allowing the United Nations and humanitarian aid agencies to assist civilians in the Ogaden.

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 12:17 PM | |