Meles Zenawi: An Impatient Ally

Some say the U.S. intelligence agencies are supporting elements within the TFG that aren ' t helpful to the reconciliation process.
Before the Shabaab took over, some in the U.S. intelligence community were playing a very negative role by supporting all sorts of warlords in the vain hope they could stem the tide of the Shabaab. That policy failed miserably. Since then, the main U.S. efforts are through the AU and the TFG.

What effects do U.S. counterterrorism operations have on broader policy?
There have been operations to try to kill some of these terrorists. That's OK. But when a disproportionate amount of resources and time are spent on hunting them down, as opposed to creating the right context [for nation-building], it can be counterproductive.

With regard to Eritrea, what ' s keeping the two countries from going to war again?
One stupid war is enough. We don't want to go to war, [although] it is not for lack of provocation: Eritrea has publicly and repeatedly stated that it is training and equipping Ethiopian rebels with the explicit objective of dismantling Ethiopia.

Local elections are beginning and a number of opposition leaders who were jailed in 2005 aren ' t participating. Some opposition parties say they ' ve faced intimidation, harassment. What is the state of Ethiopia ' s democracy?
We are consolidating democracy with every step. After 2005 we [had discussions] with the opposition to address some of their concerns. We changed the way the national election board was organized. We have changed the bylaws of Parliament to make it possible for the minority to set the agenda for debate. We are now processing a new press law that we very much hope will put our legislation on par with the best in the world. So we have continuously been addressing shortcomings. Now, every time there is an election here, somebody cries foul. That unfortunately appears to be the normal practice in the continent.

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