Ethiopia's 'own Darfur' as villagers flee government-backed violence - Independent Online Edition > Africa: "But while Khartoum's counter-insurgency in Darfur has been described by the US as 'genocide' and by the UN as 'crimes against humanity', international condemnation of Ethiopia has, so far, been limited. Indeed, the US has given its backing to Ethiopia. America's top official on African affairs, assistant secretary of state, Jendayi Frazer, visited one town in the Ogaden last month. On her return to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, she criticised the rebels and said the reports of military abuses were merely allegations. 'We urge any and every government to respect human rights and to try to avoid civilian casualties but that's difficult in dealing with an insurgency,' she said. America sees Ethiopia as its principal Horn of Africa ally in the 'war on terror'. The US gave tacit approval for Ethiopia's Christmas invasion of Somalia which ousted the Union of Islamic Courts."
Broken Spring? : Information Clearing House This is a sequel to my June 2011 article, ‘After the spring’, on the upheavals in the Arab world. It is an article that has been painful to write, because it brings bad tidings and offers a pessimistic analysis of the upheavals, at least in the short term, in a number of Arab countries. The outcomes and potential outcomes of these uprisings have also acquired new, very significant dimensions. These include a complex entanglement with the accelerated preparations for a possible attack on Iran, and a poisonous, sectarian aspect that could have the consequence of ripping Syria and the Middle East apart.
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