On a Dilemma in the Horn

Ethiopia's quality-of-life indicators have improved in recent years, but poverty remains at crushing levels. Meles Zenawi's government has become increasingly intolerant of opposition, arresting dissidents, closing newspapers and websites. Human-rights advocates in the EU and US, including some in the US Congress, pressure their governments to cut aid to the regime. The US Pentagon, meanwhile, is adamant about strengthening Ethiopia's armed forces in light of the country's strategic location on the Horn of Africa and its forceful defeat of Islamists in neighboring Somalia. The debate often overlooks the impact on Ethiopia's citizens: Ethiopians suffer under a repressive regime and, if aid is cut, could suffer more. The international community confronts a common moral dilemma - how to assist a nation of impoverished people in a strategic area without strengthening their corrupt leaders. – YaleGlobal