Ethiopia, the United States, and the Soviet Union

Book excerpt: The United States and its Western allies donate mil­lions of dollars in emergency aid to alleviate the effects of the Ethiopian famine. Despite this aid, the Marxist regime in Ethiopia continues resolutely hos­tile to the United States and a firm friend to the Soviet Union whose emergency aid has been minimal. Moreover, the regime is pressing ahead vigorously with its socialist programs of population resettlement, agricultural collectivization, and state control of the economy, even though these pro­grams may aggravate the effects of the famine. This important book, based on extensive first hand knowledge, traces events in Ethiopia over the last decade or so and offers much new information. Korn shows how Ethiopia switched from being an ally of the United States to an ally of the Soviet Union and how various efforts by the United States to regain Ethiopia’s friendship have failed. He dis­cusses the coming to power of Colonel Mengistu, his ruthless methods, and his utter commitment to Marxism-Leninism. Korn explores the effects of Marxist rule and the famine on the Ethiopian people. He looks at the civil war in Eritrea and Tigray and at other threats to the regime from both inside and outside the country and explores how the situation is likely to develop in the immediate future.