“…the United States can have tough conversations with friends.”
borkena
August 28, 2020
The United States Department of State approved a plan to cut U.S. Foreign Aid assistance to Ethiopia, according to a report by Foreign Policy.
An estimated $130 million cut is believed to affect programs in counter-terrorism, security, military education and training, and anti-human trafficking – among other programs.
Emergency Humanitarian aid including food assistance and health programs won’t be affected by the cut, the source added.
The US action is informed by the move to “address” disagreement between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
State Department officials have, said the report by Foreign Policy,briefed Congressional staff on the decision. And they believe that the U.S.-Ethiopia relationship would not be affected because “the United States can have tough conversations with friends.”
However, The Foreign Policy report indicated that the decision has caused “friction” within the Trump administration.
In February 2019, thousands of Ethiopians took to the streets in Washington DC protesting President Donald pressure on their country during the Washington negotiation between the three riparian countries (Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt).
The US claimed to be an “observer” and facilitator in the negotiation but later issued a statement warning Ethiopia not to fill the dam before reaching an agreement with the lower riparian countries – a statement that angered Ethiopians further. Ethiopia rejected the statement at the time. Most Ethiopians have the understanding that the United States wants Egypt at the expense of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia completed the first phase of GERD filling during the first two weeks of July this year taking advantage of heavy rainfall that the country received.
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It’s beyond words how disrespectful the Trump administration has been towards Ethiopia unlike any of the previous U.S. leaders of both parties from Teddy Roosevelt in 1907 to Truman in the 1950’s and from Kennedy in the 1960’s to (who memorably accorded Emperor Haile Selassie the first state visit ever given to an African leader) to Nixon in the 1970’s and to Reagan’s principled stand against the communist junta in the 1980s to Ethiopia’s close partnership with the Bush and Clinton administrations in the 1990’s to Bush and Obama (who became the first U.S. leader to visit Ethiopia) in more recent years, all with the exception of Trump ( who falsely claimed the he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country from a big war, a possible reference to his failed work on GERD) all previous U.S presidents respected Ethiopia’s as a regional and continental leader in Africa more than capable of resolving it’s own neighborly disputes as time will show. We should have known for he is not only an unfit leader for superpower like the United States, but also philosophically and in world outlook unabashed ግልገሉ Mussolini white supremacist. It’s a shame America.
It’s a shame that some people, the Jack of all trades or nincompoops (depending on your vantage point), in the Diaspora were desecrating themselves before this super predator racist as the savior of Ethiopia and Africa inspired by their misplaced and awkward hate for Obama mostly copying and adopting the right-wing talking points. Here we are today in 2020 before Trump himself exposed them for who they truly are through his actions. In fact, somewhere publicly fantasizing that Trump will personally inaugurate Ethiopia’s dam in a triumphant victory so they could say “I told you so” I was correct in hating Obama.” Now that Trump, a fake Christian whom they thought identifies with them religiously (Obama is a Christian too), has proved them wrong beyond any reasonable doubt. What would they say now? They are too conniving to admit fault, but is it predictable enough that they might falsely sermonize (or prophesize. 😉 that hey’ve hated on Trump’s hair all along? Or despite plenty of publicly available evidence to the contrary, they might deny that they’ve ever supported him? Hell, this is the Trump era, shame knows no shame. We’ll see.