IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, Don’t turn on Ethiopia:
A new war in the Horn of Africa would destabilize the region and bolster radical Islam’s push to build a Muslim caliphate.
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.
The new Congress seems to be putting itself unwittingly on these guys’ sides pretty often.