By Alemayehu G, Mariam
Folded Arms: How are we going to sock it to Ethiopia?
An old African saying teaches, “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. I say, “When the dragon and eagle fight on the Ethiopian grass, there will be one and ONLY one winner. The Black Lion! Alemayehu G. Mariam
Author’s Note: I refer to my previous commentaries (Part I and Part II) on my extremely pessimistic prognostications on U.S. policy in Ethiopia under the Biden Administration. In this commentary, I shall discuss what I believe will be the second pillar of U.S. policy in Ethiopia under the Biden Administration: Defeating China in Ethiopia and thereby significantly diminishing and containing China’s influence throughout Africa. [1]
February 05, 2021
After a phone conversation with Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed on 4 February 2021, Mr. Antony Blinken, the new US Secretary of State, on his twitter account wrote: “I spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister @AbiyAhmedAli to express concern about the crisis in Tigray and urge safe and unhindered humanitarian access to prevent further loss of life. Despite current challenges, the U.S. stands ready to support reforms and peaceful elections.”
Dr. Abiy in his response the next day twitted back: “Thank you @SecBlinken for commitment to support #Ethiopia’s deep reforms that we will pursue undetterred. Our aspirations to democratize and build a multidimensional prosperous & peaceful country for all will be enhanced through strengthened Ethiopia-US relations.”