Brilliant sleuthing, B. Thanks so much!
About the “nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize” thing (Grieboski), it is always a quite meaningless claim– one usually made by insecure ignoramuses– as there is, really, no formal nominating process. The Norwegian Nobel Committee does its own research, generates and then deliberates upon its own list of top candidates. Anyone can “nominate” others (or possibly himself), but it doesn’t add up to anything.
The Committee also strongly frowns on any hint of self-promotion for the prize.
So look, I’ll “nominate” you; you “nominate” me, and presto! This blog would then contain a discussion between not one but two distinguished persons “nominated” for the Nobel Peace Prize… Nah, in light of my “insecure ignoramuses” analysis above, it seems like a stupid and inappropriate move.

Posted by: Helena | Dec 12 2008 14:50 utc | 4

Thanks, b.
It all kind of goes to what Condi Rice said a few months ago in another arena if it were even remotely true:
“First of all, Kazakhstan is an independent country. It can have friendships with whomever it wishes,” she said. “That’s perfectly acceptable in the 21st century, so we don’t see and don’t accept any notion of a special sphere of influence for Russia in this region.”
Same goes between Eritrea and Iran — if it were true to begin with. Remember, America has all kinds of weaponry and troops in many countries supposedly to help them with security and doesn’t see any problem with American missiles in Poland and other eastern European countries either as just an example.

Posted by: Ensley | Dec 12 2008 15:04 utc | 6

we’ve discussed it here over the span a few years, but eritrea has a fascinating & complex history. wrt the u.s., it hosted for many years a key listening post & even served as a proxy for training rebel forces in southern sudan. the core problem now, to shorten a more complex contextualization, and eritrea is a great textbook example to prove this point, is that it is not onboard w/ foreign designs on the HOA (mostly led by the u.s.) and, thus, has to be demonized.
shabait, the web presence of eritrea’s ministry of information, is usually worth a read. it will help you to understand why some want to stop them / shut them up
for instance, a new press release from eritrea’s ministry of foreign affairs warns that

In the waning days of the Bush Administration, and as the world awaits a breath of fresh air in US global engagement, some State Department officials are making a last-ditch attempt to tie the hands of the incoming administration in the strategic Horn of Africa region. These officials are once again seeking to have the United States declare Eritrea a “state sponsor of terrorism,” an objective they failed to achieve only a few months earlier, when many in and outside the administration were unconvinced by the accusations and thought the whole idea counter-productive and detrimental to the cause of peace and stability in the Horn of Africa as well as US interests.
…
Eritrea’s position on Somalia has been clear from the outset: i) end foreign intervention as it will only aggravate the situation; and, ii) allow Somalis to find homegrown solutions to their problem. We opposed the US-Ethiopian military adventure in December 2006, stating that Somalia will be a “quagmire” for the occupation force. We consistently called for constructive engagement with all relevant Somali actors. While others tried to divide them, branding some “moderates” and others “extremists”, we questioned the wisdom of such an approach and encouraged Somalis to establish an inclusive and broad alliance to reconstitute their country. Our perspective has been proven right on all accounts.
In light of these facts, it is clear that the motives of the US officials who are, at this late hour, trying to slap the terrorism label and impose sanctions on Eritrea, go beyond the blame game. They intend to obstruct any move to bring US-Eritrea relations back on track.

or, consider the following commentary
The Making of ‘Failed States’: The Evil Mission of the Western Powers in the Horn of Africa

As the Horn of Africa yet again finds itself submerged in an abyss of mess due to the deliberately destabilising role being played by Western forces and their regional servant regime in Ethiopia, accusing fingers are instead being pointed at law-abiding Eritrea in an attempt to transform the stable nation into another Somalia. This brief article intends to show that the Western powers are indeed on an evil mission of creating ‘failed states’ in the Horn of Africa in their bid to control the strategic and resource-rich region.
‘Failed state’ as defined here signifies lawlessness, certain calamity and/or popular feeling of hopelessness in a given nation largely due to an absence of capable and popular leadership that serves the interests of the majority of the population. And Somalia perfectly fits this definition thanks to the illegal and immoral US-Ethiopia invasion and occupation of Somalia, and the unpopular puppet regime they installed in Mogadishu to serve the interests of the occupiers. Somalia, like Afghanistan and Iraq, is thus a case of a deliberately rendered ‘failed state’ through direct military intervention and occupation.

Posted by: b real | Dec 12 2008 16:48 utc | 8

@Menelik – maybe you can stop screaming and read the post before commenting? Thanks.
And that request does certainly not mean that anyone here disagrees with you.

Posted by: b | Dec 12 2008 18:52 utc | 10

we see clearly this pattern of western powers to WEAKEN AND DIVIDE ETHIOPIA !!!
There is some truth in that. There is something wrong with that too. The ‘western powers’ game is to weaken everyone that resists its demands. That is not selective to Eritrea or Ethiopia or any other tribe, region or country. It is worldwide.
My advice to Eritreans, Ethiopeans and others in Africa is therefor: unite in resisting these demands. The quarrel between yourself is small in reality and artificial increased by those ‘western’ and ‘westernized’ who make profit off that quarrel.
Menelik – you still seem to be stuck in the local quarrel which is just what the ‘west’ wants you to be stuck in. As long as you are in there and fight the Ethiopia vs. Eritrea war the ‘west’ will profit from you.

Posted by: b | Dec 12 2008 20:26 utc | 12

The hapless Eritrean “opposition” can not tell the tree from the forest. They would start any rumor (this is not the first, and won’t be the last) that they think would create trouble to the “dictator” demonstrating their weak way of going about deposing him. They are indeed a sad bunch!

Posted by: Emnet Hadera | Dec 13 2008 0:05 utc | 14

The writer sounds he is from Eritrea (supporter of PFDJ).

Posted by: Yodit | Dec 13 2008 1:23 utc | 16

Yodit,
I will not surprise if the writer is Sophia her self. She posted the link on dehai as the website is less known.

Posted by: Taffla | Dec 13 2008 2:20 utc | 18

Menelik you have to be ashamed walking around with that stupid name “Menelik”. Yelemedech tota hulegezeye shemeteta. You cannot repeat stupid Menelik military strategy Eritrea has reverse it upside down. If it was not for Eritreans you ignorant and still stupid Ethiopians could not have city or life. Look what have you accomplished you idoits with the so called pathological lies of the “3000” years of “independance” you become the most ignorant and the poorest people in the planet and cannot even feed your own family, but proud to beg and use it against your own people. In the first place, your identity is fabricated by Westernerns as they found a good stupid candidate to toy around. You have an identity crisis and it is crashing all over your face. Even with all the help from Soviet during Mengistu, now from US and Europe you cannot even win one freaking war except bulling in the Internet where no one is watching you. I know you cannot repeat a word of what you just said in front of an Eritrean except ecohing to yourself. Ethiopians are the most stupid creatures of the planet who for no reward go into war with anyone. The US and Europe still toying around with your country and you are sitting here talking to yourself. With all your numbers living and working aborad you cannot even help or feed your own people. Do not even dare talking about Eritrea it is too complicated for your donkey head. Something never change you will always be a donkey no matter where and how long you live. You Ethiopians are desparate to establish relations with Eritrea but it is going to happen in our terms. Now you got burn and do not know how to fix it that is your problem. With all this problems that your country is facing how come the US is not fixing your economy? Because the only thing they want is to use your stupid people and country as staging host to spread the virus to the rest of the contnet. Your country women sleep around with lots of AIDS infected men for cheap money and even reject work permit in many foreign countries for failing the AIDS test. Your lies about being Jewish decendant to immigrate to Israel ended up being slaves in Israel. Now Dijibout is toying around with you because you are desparate for sea access. How come the US never developed your country economically? It will defeat its plan of occuping your country. Do not eve dare to speak that you have a country, it is under US and Europe colony still and even more now than ever. We got rid of Menigistu but thanks to your donkey head you invited slavery by the window, and now that you do not have neither the guts nor the means to kick them out you are more than ever new era slaves with fony flag and name “Ethiopia”. You will never own your country anymore it is gone and lost, until you raise your arms as men to kick out your masters. See who is in democracy now? See who is being dicated now? The Ameharas with the aid of US and European set up Weyane to get into border war with Eritrea, but guess what garbage-in and garbage-out as you are you got what you deserve the merdic Weyane and US-Europe combo dictatersip. I do not expect you to understand the heroisim and noble standard of our president Isayas and our people, it is beyond the scoop of your donkey brain. Go ahead do what you are best in doing begging and bending to your masters as you are slaves.
Saraha,
=============================
I have read the shameless comments of “b real”,obviously an agent of Eritrea’s díctator Isayas Afeworki.
Do you guys know that actually the oridinary Eritreans do not support that dictator and that they are so desperate that they even flee to Ethiopia, a country itself ruled by another dictator and US puppet Meles ?
Both two dictators are from the same ethnic background,Tigre and they fought together until 1991 Ethiopian “communist” dictator Mengistu and were victories in may 1991 thanks to USA support.
Both dictators Meles and Isayas quarreled in 1997 when Eritrea introduced its own currency Nakfa(a funny name intended to offend Ethiopians just like if the Russians call their currency Stalingrad to offend Germans).
Until 1997 Eritrea used Ethiopia’s Birr and demanded a 1-1 exchange rate against the Birr.For Ethiopia that was an unacceptable demand by Eritrea because there was nothing Eritrea had to offer Ethiopia except port services and Eritrea could buy everything from Ethiopia.
Imagine in the years from 1991-1997 Eritrea was one of the leading exporters of coffee although not a single coffee tree grew in Eritrea. The trick was Eritrean merchants bought cheap coffee from Ethiopia and exported it for hard currency like USD.The Eritreans were also involved in criminal activities that harmed Ethiopia like printing money and exporting goods,not just coffee, bought in Ethiopia with birr overseas.So Eritrea was a parasite and Eritreans were doing fine in the years 1991-1997.
So when Eritrea introduced Nakfa in 1997 Ethiopia also introduced at the same time and as a reaction a new birr,and Eritrea was angry because it had accumulated billions of birrs in its banks and planned to use them to buy goods from Ethiopia.
So people that was the real reason for the quarrel between the two dictators from the same ethnic group Tigre and who fought together Mengistu.
And then followed the Eritrean invasion against Ethiopia in 1998. That is the story the parasite losing its HOST ethiopia,and suddenly it had no sources of income. Eritrea has little to sell to the world market, it survives thanks to remittances from one or two million of its immigrants in the west and elsewhere,including Ethiopia.
It is very sad that Eritrea even allow countries like Italy and Iran to dump toxic materials on its coast as eritrean opposition
groups report.
Well, finally it was a mistake by the USA to have helped Eritrea,one of the 14 provinces of Ethiopia, to separate.USA and the west would have less trouble today if they had opted for a united Ethiopia, but the USA always wanted to WEAKEN Ethiopia.
By the way also Djibouti belonged to Ethiopia and was supposed to be returned back to Ethiopia in 1977 by France after a 99 years lease,just like Hong Kong.
So we see clearly this pattern of western powers to WEAKEN AND DIVIDE ETHIOPIA !!!
Posted by: Menelik | Dec 12, 2008 2:48:05 PM | 11

Posted by: Saraha | Dec 13 2008 3:00 utc | 20

Hi to everyone new to this site.
You may also be interested in this series that b real contributed here a while ago:
Understanding AFRICOM: A Contextual Reading of Empire’s New Combatant Command

Posted by: b | Dec 13 2008 8:06 utc | 22

These officials are once again seeking to have the United States declare Eritrea a “state sponsor of terrorism,”
THAT IS WHAT DESPERATE ERITREA IS, THE ONLY CHANCE FOR THAT BARREN
LAND TO EARN MONEY IS AS WRITTEN IN THE ARTICLE FROM ETHIOMEDIA ALLOWING ONE’S LAND TO BE A DUMPING GROUND FOR TOXIC MATERIALS OR SELLING WEAPONS FOR TERRORISTS, ALL PROVEN !
Eritrea’s position on Somalia has been clear from the outset:
WEAK UP DREAMERS YOURS IS A TINY COUNTRY, IT MATTERS LITTLE WHAT YOU THINK.
i) end foreign intervention as it will only aggravate the situation; and, ii) allow Somalis to find homegrown solutions to their problem.
We opposed the US-Ethiopian military adventure in December 2006, stating that Somalia will be a “quagmire” for the occupation force.
I SEE THAT IS WHY YOU ARE TRAINING AND ARMING TERRORISTS SO THAT WHAT YOU ALLEGEDLY SAY COMES TO REALITY, HA HA !
ALL THE STUFF BELOW IS PROPAGANDA AND DONT THINK ANYONE WILL BUY YOU THAT !
We consistently called for constructive engagement with all relevant Somali actors. While others tried to divide them, branding some “moderates” and others “extremists”, we questioned the wisdom of such an approach and encouraged Somalis to establish an inclusive and broad alliance to reconstitute their country. Our perspective has been proven right on all accounts.
In light of these facts, it is clear that the motives of the US officials who are, at this late hour, trying to slap the terrorism label and impose sanctions on Eritrea, go beyond the blame game. They intend to obstruct any move to bring US-Eritrea relations back on track.
or, consider the following commentary
The Making of ‘Failed States’: The Evil Mission of the Western Powers in the Horn of Africa
As the Horn of Africa yet again finds itself submerged in an abyss of mess due to the deliberately destabilising role being played by Western forces and their regional servant regime in Ethiopia, accusing fingers are instead being pointed at law-abiding Eritrea in an attempt to transform the stable nation into another Somalia. This brief article intends to show that the Western powers are indeed on an evil mission of creating ‘failed states’ in the Horn of Africa in their bid to control the strategic and resource-rich region.
‘Failed state’ as defined here signifies lawlessness, certain calamity and/or popular feeling of hopelessness in a given nation largely due to an absence of capable and popular leadership that serves the interests of the majority of the population. And Somalia perfectly fits this definition thanks to the illegal and immoral US-Ethiopia invasion and occupation of Somalia, and the unpopular puppet regime they installed in Mogadishu to serve the interests of the occupiers. Somalia, like Afghanistan and Iraq, is thus a case of a deliberately rendered ‘failed state’ through direct military intervention and occupation.

Posted by: Menelik | Dec 13 2008 22:01 utc | 24

Ethiopia and Joseph Griebosky – A match made in hell
Sophia Tesfamariam
December 12, 2008
There are some stories that are reported that make your head turn and the latest unsubstantiated report by Joseph Grieboski, another Zenawi-phyle takes the cake. The 8 December 2008 report, “Iran deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles to Eritrea”, is transparent in its motives. its sources are also not to hard to find. Those of us who have received the Press Statement released by ENOUGH know that Jendayi E. Frazer and the US State Department are hell bent on placing Eritrea on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism and this latest flurry of news items by Greiboski and the minority regime in Ethiopia, is part and parcel of that deceptive and dangerous, not to mention irresponsible misinformation campaign.
Greibosky´s record shows that he may have a lot in common with the regime in Ethiopia-a propensity for lies, deceptions and distortions. Before I get to Griebosky´s distortion of the truth, allow me to present the Press Statement released by ENOUGH on 9 December 2008 which will shed some light on the Greibosky-Jendayi Frazer-Meles Zenawi latest campaign. According to ENOUGH:
“…As the Bush administration prepares to leave office, it is taking three ill-considered actions that threaten to exacerbate the already catastrophic situation in Somalia and tie the hands of the incoming Obama Administration. The Bush administration is: 1) urging Ethiopia to keep its armed forces in Somalia until after the administration leaves office; 2) pushing for authorization of a U.N. peacekeeping mission to protect the fractious and impotent Transitional Federal Government after Ethiopia´s departure; and 3) moving to place Ethiopia´s arch-rival Eritrea on the U.S. State Department´s State Sponsors of Terrorism list. There is little indication that the Bush Administration has thought through the implications of these major steps that would not only prolong the violence on the ground, but would hijack the incoming Obama Administration´s policy prerogatives while leaving it with an even more intractable crisis in the troubled Horn of Africa…”
We will have to wait and find out if Condoleezza Rice´s trip to Ethiopia to learn more.
Let me get back to Griebosky.
His report is also a perfect example of how these individuals and groups disseminate information through the internet (he didn´t get coverage by mainstream media), without ever verifying them, only because they came from “inside sources”. There is a lot that needs to be known about Joseph Grieboski, the lucrative Institute for Religion and Public Policy which he founded. His record is quite clear to Eritrean Americans who have followed his anti-Eritrea campaigns at the US State Department, to place Eritrea on the “List of Countries of particular Concern” for religious freedom. I will not detail his record and those of his associates just yet. Suffice it to mention that his latest “project” is Eritrean refugees, and sooner or later, I knew he would take the bait and he did. In a future article, I will detail Griebosky´s record and allow the readers to judge for themselves.
Greibosky has been working to put Eritrea on various US State Department lists for quite sometime now, something his Ethiopian handlers want desperately. So he attempts to deliver with this wild story, even for a fanatic like him, this is far reaching. Here is what he wrote in Cutting Edge on 8 December 2008:
“….Local sources have reported that Iran recently sent soldiers and a large number of long-range and ballistic missiles. The military basing came after Iran signed an accord with Eritrea to revamp the Russian-built refinery used by the Eritrean Oil Company, also known as Assab Oil Company. As the world´s second largest import of gasoline, Iran is sensitive to a Western plan to obstruct its access to refined product as a part of broad sanctions provoked by Teheran´s nuclear activities. Iran needs nearby oil refining ability. Using protection of the Eritrean refinery as a pretext, Iran has set up its military operation there, and has been patrolling with unmanned surveillance drones…”
There is a saying in Tigrinya that says something like “dhri adgi ziKede, tirat adgi lemede”-meaning, those who chase behind donkeys, fart like donkeys… and Grieboski fits that description perfectly. The mercenary information launderers fed him erroneous information received through their own “networks”, and that stuff about the donkeys applies to them too…
First of all, if he had any decency he would go ahead and let his readers know that the sources are the same individuals and groups, mercenaries hired by the minority regime in Ethiopia to fabricate and launder information about Eritrea and that the “diplomats” are none other than the Ethiopian Embassy, who were his guests at a 23 November 2008 event he hosted in his hometown, Scranton Pennsylvania. He also neglected to mention his close ties to the regime in Ethiopia and that he functions as a lobbyist on their behalf…when he is not globe trotting to find “religious hot spots”.
His story is designed to divert attention away from the real story in the Horn of Africa which is the illegal US-backed Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia and the quagmire created by the ill-advised policy for Somalia executed by Jendayi E. Frazer and her Horn confidante Meles Zenawi, the genocidal leader of the minority regime in Ethiopia. Greiboski has undermined his Institute and the many think tanks and groups in US Government who have relied, and paid handsomely, for his research and reports. The corrupt minority regime in Ethiopia is now engaged in their own version of “pay to play” politics in Washington.
It should be recalled that on 13 March 2007, Mr. Grieboski hosted a round table meeting with the Ethiopian figurehead President Girma Woldegiorgis and has worked hard to strengthen his relationship with the regime since. When Meles Zenawi´s Aggazi forces slaughtered innocent Ethiopians on the streets of Addis Ababa and killed over 200 people for protesting the regime´s stealing of their votes, slaughtered innocent men, women and children in the Gambela, Ogaden, and Oromia regions of Ethiopia, US lawmakers decided to take action. They introduced HR-2003, known as the Ethiopian Democracy and Human Rights Bill, besides Jendayi E. Frazer´s State Department and the regime´s group of no less than 12 lobbyists, led by Dick Army; it was Grieboski´s Institute that wrote to the United States Congress to kill the Bill. Here is what he wrote:
“…Ethiopia has made outstanding progress in democratic development, human rights, religious freedom, political and civil rights. Despite this improvement, the House of Representatives wishes to impose its own timeline and its own standards on Ethiopia’s advance… H.R.2003 is a threat to American political and security interests in the Horn of Africa and in Africa as a whole and only serves to alienate yet another ally with a sticks-but-no-carrots approach to foreign policy…It is imperative that the United States Senate reexamines the merits of H.R. 2003 as currently drafted and amend the bill to provide the appropriate democratic tools and capacity-building agenda, before it causes undue harm to American interests…”
Congressman Smith would know more about Meles Zenawi´s history. Here is what he had to say then:
“…given the recent history of systematic human rights abuse by the Meles regime and the credible reports of rape and slaughter in Ogaden, it is hard for any reasonable person to trust the government or anything it might say without independent verification, fresh accountability, genuine transparency, and systemic reform…I believe that neither we nor the international community has pushed the Meles government hard enough on human rights issues because we have been satisfied it cooperates with us to some extent in the war on terror…Everything that has happened since 2005 has only made the need for our legislation more compelling…The war on terror is very important, but no regime that terrorizes its own citizens can be a reliable ally in the war on terror. Terrorism isn´t just a military issue. It is also a human rights issue. Terrorists come from countries where their governments fail to respect their human rights…”
Mr. Grieboski should stop regurgitating the regime´s spills and pay attention to what other credible sources have reported about the regime´s murderous reign. Allow me to remind him of human rights record of the regime he is shielding in order to advance his own personal agendas. These are well documented by those who are serious about human rights and are not using it to enrich themselves and those in their “networks” who shamelessly claim to be concerned about “religious persecution”.
Meles Zenawi’s security and military apparatus massacred 44 University students in cold blood in Addis Ababa in 2001.
On May 2002, Meles Zenawi’s forces massacred over 100 people in Awassa, his forces committed illegal acts against innocent citizens who were demonstrating against a change in the administrative status of Awassa. Security agents used machine guns mounted on armored vehicles to fire into a group of unarmed peasants, workers, women and children. Twelve of those killed were children.
In what was described then as “Africa’s Kosovo”, the shameless bigoted leader of the Tigrayan minority regime in Ethiopia, in 1998 and 1999 deported over 80,000 innocent Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin and confiscated over a billion dollars worth of their hard earned belongings right under the watchful eye of the African Union, UN and EU Ambassadors. Meles said, “The Ethiopian government has the unrestricted right to expel any foreigner from the country for any reason whatsoever. Any foreigner, whether Eritrean, Japanese, etc., lives in Ethiopia because of the goodwill of the government. If the Ethiopian government says ‘Go, because we don’t like the colour of your eyes,’ they have to leave.”
Dubbed “Operation Sunny Mountain” by Meles Zenawi and his minority regime, plans to procure Annuak territory, a zone coveted by corporate interests for its oil and gold, were laid out at a top-level cabinet meeting in Addis Ababa led by Meles Zenawi on September 2003. At that meeting, “the militant ethnic cleansing of the Anuaks” was openly discussed and a coordinated military operation to systematically eliminate Anuaks began on 13 December 2003. The minority regime in Ethiopia willfully burned villages, massacred hundreds of Anuaks and Nuers and caused over 15,000 inhabitants of Gambela to flee to neighboring Sudan and Kenya.
Meles Zenawi´s minority regime rigged the May 2005 Elections and stole the people´s votes igniting the nationwide protests. Having declared a “State of Emergency” on 16 May 2005, and after taking full command of the police, security and army apparatus, the genocidal regime detained all the opposition leaders, journalists, civil society leaders and opposition supporters on trumped up charges of treason and inciting violence, and detained over 40,000 Ethiopians all over the country while its military and security forces massacred over 100 people.
Misusing arms and equipment originally intended to boost Ethiopia’s “antiterrorism efforts” along the country’s border with Somalia, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia has acknowledged Meles Zenawi´s regime´s usage of “Humvees”, US military vehicles, to harass, intimidate and terrorize Ethiopians.
On 24 December 2006, using various pretexts invaded and occupied sovereign Somali territories. Amnesty International reported that Ethiopian troops are killing civilians by slitting their throats and gang-raping women. Somali civilians were, according to witnesses, “slaughtered like goats.” The illegal invasion and occupation of Somalia has resulted in the displacement of over one million internally displaced persons and nearly 3.5 million “on the verge of starvation”. It has been called the greatest humanitarian disaster in the history of Somalia.
So why is this human rights advocate palling around with Meles Zenawi´s mercenaries and looking the other way as Meles Zneawi and his clan commit horrendous international crimes and violate every human right of Ethiopians, Somalis and more? It´s “pay to play” season and Griebosky and his team have scored. This is what the mayor of Scranton said on 23 November 2008 during the event sponsored by Grieboski and the guest list included the Ethiopian ambassador to the United States:
“…This morning, Scranton will enter into a sister-city relationship between Scranton and Mekele, Ethiopia, a city of 169,000. Doherty said he first met officials from Ethiopia during the institute´s diplomatic dinner at the Scranton Cultural Center in July…”
But that is not all. This story also helps his information gathering on Iran. It seems Griebosky and another individual were paid well-$175000 worth- by the Smith Richardson Foundation to edit and produce:
“….The Iran Report, a weekly survey of political, economic, social, and geopolitical events concerning Iran…”
I suppose gathering bogus and fabricated stories is all part of the game…it worked in Iraq…now thousands are paying for that horrendous miscalculation…but who cares…after all its Moslems that are being slaughtered, not Christians.
Finally, on the Iran-Eritrea fabrication and distortion, instead of relying on his dubious “network” for his reports on Iran, he could have made a simple call to the Eritrean Embassy in Washington, DC. Eritrea has not provided any bases to Iran in Assab or anywhere else in Eritrea. In addition, if he had done a bit of homework, he would have known about the deceptive tactics used by the regime in Ethiopia for the last 17 years in which it constantly put out reports about “Eritrea providing bases for Israel”, all of which turned out to be pure propaganda and fabrications…something the regime and his handlers seem to have perfected. Today, it is Iran, next it will be…
By the way, why isn´t Griebosky questioning Ethiopia´s close ties to Iran? What about the many business agreements signed between the two countries? Is he afraid he will fall out of favor with his “network” of friends in high places? There used to be a time when he did call a spade a spade…Allow me to remind him of what he said about Ethiopia and Sudan in an article posted on Survivors International on 7 august 2001. In that Griebosky wrote about “oil revenues help fuel the Islamic government’s war on the Christians and animists in Sudan’s south” and this about Ethiopia:
“…Ethiopia was the first country in the region to reach an oil agreement with Sudan. A contract was signed June 15 for an annual supply to Addis Ababa of 120,000 tons of gasoline and 36,000 tons of kerosene.To speed up fuel delivery, in compliance with the contract, Ethiopia will build its own depot in Sudanese territory. Ethiopia has already begun using Port Sudan for its export-import traffic. This has enabled Ethiopia to sidestep Eritrea, which after the 1998-2000 border war, closed its ports to Ethiopia. This drawing closer between Ethiopia and Sudan comes after years of tension…Oil profits are used by Khartoum to increase its military potential. Recently, thanks to Chinese aid, three new arms and ammunitions factories were built near Khartoum…”
So what happened or should I be asking, who got to Griebosky?
Eritrea is a sovereign state and as such has certain rights that neither Griebosky nor his friends at the Ethiopian Embassy can dictate. Instead of sitting on his laurels and making “business deals” with criminal regimes and their mercenaries, he ought to spend a few minutes reflecting on the lives of thousands that are being destroyed by the failed, incoherent and Islamphobic foreign policies of the Administration that brought him the most lucrative agendas!
Allow me to end with an excerpt from ENOUGH´s latest statement:
“….placing Eritrea on the U.S. State Department´s State Sponsors of Terrorism list, the Bush administration would push Eritrea into a corner precisely at a time when they are willing to demonstrate some flexibility. There may or may not be sufficient evidence to make the case against Eritrea, but such a strategically significant determination should not be made by a lame duck administration. This determination has the potential to spoil U.S. peacemaking efforts in Sudan and Somalia, and could deepen the crisis in the Horn of Africa by fueling already intense antipathies between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Designating Eritrea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism would have no purpose other than to shrink the Obama administration´s diplomatic room for maneuver in the region while possibly making the very real counter terrorism imperatives in Somalia more difficult to achieve…”
Hopefully the Barack Obama Administration will not fall prey to these kinds of evil and underhanded political games and intrigues and self serving information peddlers that have plagued the Bush Administration and undermined US credibility, integrity and reputation around the world and especially in the Horn of Africa region, not to mention the carnage and destruction it leaves behind.
The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/84594

Posted by: The New Gold & Oil Rich African Nation Of Eritrea | Dec 15 2008 8:31 utc | 26

shabait has the tesfamariam article in #26 here w/ better markup/formatting, making it much easier to read

Posted by: b real | Dec 16 2008 16:32 utc | 28

The true fact is that Africa is undersiege , The Western World is trying to get back to 1881 to devide for their Benifit the Wealth and Raw-material they need .
But Africa is not the Africa that came from the post Colonial Period, there are new Leaders who have learned from Nelson Mandela “to say No”. The objections of the SuperPowers to any Political or Economic Treaty that African nations sign is seen as a danger to their losing of Influence. See what happened to the Sudan when they signed the Oil Deal with China, see how they target the President of Eritrea as Sponsor of Terrorism for his great Friendship with the Arab Nations. So what is the Fuzz if Eritrea wants to join Forces with Iran or help the Somalian Muslim brotherhood. Why are the somali Muslim Brothers targeted as terrotists if they are fighting in their own territories for a Cause that they believe in. There are many Whys?
that have to be Answered. After the WW2 the United States were granted by Saudi Arabia the permission to govern the Red Sea Route , later Haile sellasie signed with the Americans a 99 years Contract to create one of the Largest U.S.A. Bases in Eritrea, but today no African State except for Ethiopia need the United States Presence at Home. Sure if you go to East of the Corn Djibuti you can enjoy the many European Armies Stationed there ,I ask when will the African Organisation ask them to Live, Colonialism seems not to have ended in that Part of Africa. This are the big issues together with AIDS and Drought not if Iran will settle in Assab what if instead it was a Texan or European Nation, do you think we would have all this Gossips.
Mahari seghid
african refugees News

Posted by: mahari | Dec 19 2008 10:56 utc | 30

b, i failed to mention…i was away for a few days last week and unable to post due to time constraints but i was reading all the links and comments in this invaluable post and comment section. thank you so much (everyone). normally, i would say simply stunning but i am all to accustomed to these depths of depravities to be shocked anymore.
simply invaluable

Posted by: annie | Dec 19 2008 17:29 utc | 32