Recently, Politico reported that Eritrea would be subject to the Trump Administration’s controversial “Muslim travel ban”.1 In 2017 the Trump administration issued a “Muslim travel ban” (named so because it only targeted seven Muslim majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia2) to protect the United States. The US Court’s have forced modification to the Muslim travel ban, and it has been narrowed.
The logic at Foggy Bottom is almost as elusive as the Company men, but it seems for once the fog may be clearing. In a recent State Department statement1 (from the Embassy in Asmara), the United States has stated, that it supports the Eritrean position (that demarcation must begin before normalization of relations). This seems to be a significant statement, one that has been alluded to before, however was disputable because of its actions contrary to it. Ethiopia must beware that its primary patron is beginning to cool towards it.
A disturbing trend in the US House of Representatives is the alarming lack of foresight in lawmaking. One of the most recent and frightening examples is HR 2278, To direct the President to transmit to Congress a report on anti-American incitement to violence in the Middle East, and for other purposes. On the surface, this Resolution’s focus and purpose seems to be wonderful, however upon further reflection we can see that this could put us on a dangerous slope. Part of the reason that this could put us on a slippery slope to outlawing one of our basic freedoms is clear because the text is so poorly written.
In a book praised by the likes of nobelaureate Joseph Stiglitz and Noam Chomsky, Ha-Joon Chang’s Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism briefly discusses the economic history of today’s great powers and charts possible ways forward for less developed countries. Ha-Joon addresses the mystery of economic development by the Asian Tigers as well as how countries such as the United States and Germany developed.
The United States, in its diplomatic regime in the Horn of Africa, has failed to align its interests with its actions. Although the Horn of Africa is filled with many diverse cultures and societies, a variety of different state-constructions, in the end, every state hopes to improve the lives of its people.