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An East-West dlplomatic war
is being waged over the
strategic Horn of east Africa.
At stake is control of the vital
southern entrance to the Red
Sea.
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ectic scramble for power and
position is under way in a
key area of east Africa. The
dangerous "game" being played
could easily erupt into a fuli-Hedged
shooting war.
Observers now agree that the
crisis brewing in Africa's strategic
Horn region could, in fact, replace
southern Africa as the continent's
number one concern, and may even
overshadow-at least temporarily–
the more familiar regional issue of
peace in the Middle East.
The Horn, plagued with diplo–
matic mistrust between neighbors, is
radical!y rearranging itself. Tpe con–
figuration that eventually emerges
in that little-known corner of the
African continent cou ld have a
profound effect on both the econ–
omy and security ofthe West.
Severing Ties
Tn a move which caught American
officials by surprise, the radical left–
ist military government in Ethiopia
ordered five U.S. government facili–
ties closed last April and their staffs
out of the country within four days.
The sudden closures were widely
viewed as retaliation for the deci–
sion by the Carter Administration to
curtail military assistance to Ethio–
pia because of flagrant human
rights violations in that country. The
brutally repressive policies of LL
Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam, 39,
head of Ethiopia's ruling military
Dergue
(committee), have been la–
beled a virtual "reign of terror,"
possibly even surpassing the more
publicized butchery in ldi Amin's
Uganda (see accompanying inter–
view with a former high Ethiopian
official).
As the main supplier of modern
weaponry to Ethiopia, the United
States had enjoyed a close relation–
ship with that country for more than
20 years. The late Emperor Haile
Selassie, an unfiinching ally of the
West, signed a comprehensive arms
The
PLAIN TRUTH August-September 1977
by
Keith W. Stump
agreement with Washington · in
1953, wruch brought his nation over
a quarter of a billion dollars in
Americaó weaponry in thc years
that followed.
Since the Emperor's overthrow by
military officers in 1974, Ethiopia's
steady leftward drift-a stampede in
recent months- has altered the tra–
ditional power relationships in the
Red Sea region. The long-standing
"special relationship" between
Washington and Addis Ababa has
come to an end as Ethiopia's new
military rulers have charted a rigid
Marxist course for their country and
established close ties with the So–
viets.
During a visit by Col. Mengistu to
Moscow last May, Ethiopia and the
Kremlin signed a series of docu–
ments promoting cooperation be–
tween the two countries, including a
declaration of friendship and a
protocol providing for economic as–
sistance. There has also been specu–
lation that Ethiopia, in need of an
alternate arms source to replace the
suspended American aid, signed a
secret military pact with tbe Soviets
last December when a military dele–
gation visited Moscow. Intelligence
reports indicate that the first Soviet
arms shipments have already ar–
rived in Ethiopia to aid Mengistu in
his fight against secessionists in
Eritrea Province and otber interna!
enemies, including the increasingly
active anti-Marxist Etbiopian Dem–
ocratic Union (EDU). In addition,
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