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| Well, this is a part of the world that I know little or less about, but from what I can gather, the Brits controlled it until after WWII and favored partitioning it up sending the northern and western portions to Sudan and the rest to Ethiopia, at the time ruled by Haile Selassie a pro-western dictator. It appears that the decision to federate Eritrea with Ethiopia came about in 1950 due to the strategic interest of the United States. John Foster Dulles our Sec. State at the time said: "From the point of view of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and considerations of security and world peace make it necessary that the country has to be linked with our ally, Ethiopia." Eritrea and Ethiopia have be virtually at war ever since, during that time the reason was mostly because Eritrea's location eliminated Ethiopia's access to the Red Sea. Today the war between Ethiopia and Somalia (with Somalia being backed by their arch rivals Eritrea and Al Qaeda) is being played as a war against Islamists for the obvious reasons, but I haven't a clue if Eritrea is really on the side of Al Qaeda or simply taking advantage of a situation to shoot some Ethiopians. |