I have had the extraordinary fortune in my life to have learned from and befriended several Eritrean-Americans, and I write this not out of unique insight but mainly out of concern for a country and a people who I have found more than worthy of that concern. In the past couple weeks the U.S. has conducted some heavy-handed diplomacy that has only carried limited staying power in the press, in light of the accusations being made. The diplomatic pressure demonstrates questionable judgment concerning regional conflicts in East Africa as well as an overbearing implentation of its war against terrorist groups.
-Presented in the most favorable light, the administration's actions seem to constitute a misuse of the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation to a regional conflict.
-Diplomatic pressure exerted in this matter reflects inadequate appreciation of regional background.
I will be defending these two statements below...
Actions...
Earlier in the month the U.S. State Department issued a directive to Eritrea to close its consulate in Oakland within 90 days:
The State Department said Monday it had ordered Eritrea to close its consulate in Oakland, Calif., the latest salvo in an escalating diplomatic conflict with the impoverished Red Sea state.
The department informed Eritrea last week that the consulate must be shut down by November 8, citing restrictions imposed on diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, including travel curbs, the refusal to grant visas to U.S. officials, and the non-delivery of diplomatic pouches, which is in violation of international protocols.
"Together, these actions by Eritrea significantly interfere with the ability of the U.S. Embassy to provide consular services to U.S. citizens and others in Eritrea," said Karl Duckworth, a State Department spokesman.
San Jose Mercury News
It would seem evident that diplomatic restriction, while a convenient explanation for the closure order, is an incomplete description of the diplomatic on the basis of the State Department's actions last week:
The Bush administration is considering designating Eritrea as a state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of running arms to Islamic insurgents in Somalia, the State Department’s top official for Africa said Friday.
American officials say Eritrea, on the Red Sea, has been trying to destabilize the fragile government in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. That government came to power after Ethiopian troops, backed by the United States, invaded Somalia and toppled an administration run by radical Islamic militias.
NY Times
Motivations...
The state sponsor of terrorism designation would impose certain specific economic and diplomatic sanctions upon the state. The case for such measures, as stated in the quote above, is explained by recent U.N. reports that Eritrea has been supporting Islamist militia groups in Somalia:
Islamic insurgents have enough surface-to-air missiles, suicide vests and explosives to sustain their war against the internationally backed Somali government, largely due to secret shipments from Eritrea, a U.N. monitoring panel said in a report.
The report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, said Eritrea has shipped a ``huge quantity of arms'' to the insurgents, known as the Shabab. The shipments continued despite U.N. efforts to bring peace to Somalia and the deployment of African Union peacekeepers.
Eritrea denied providing any assistance to the Shabab, the militant wing of an Islamic group that ruled much of southern Somalia for six months last year. U.S. officials believe the militants have close ties to al-Qaida.
Guardian
Shabaab is the military wing of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU or UIC, I've seen either acronym used depending on the source), the rival to the U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government. The ICU took substantial control over the southern regions of Somalia last year, but have since lost much of their holdings in conflict with TFG forces backed by the Ethiopian military, with U.S. support:
Washington Post article on the TFG re-taking of Mogadishu in December, '06.
The U.S. has itself taken direct military action against Shabab targets in Somalia in the past, including a naval bombardment in June and airstrikes in January (Washington Post). This type of conflict, limited support of logistics and firepower against insurgent targets in remote regions of Somalia, supported by locals, seems to reflect the state of affairs in Somalia over the past 7+ months: persistent insurgent forces and organization without specific territorial holdings. The U.N.-supported government of Somalia, bears international support of a regional power (Ethiopia) as well as support from the U.S. for anti-terrorism purposes. Presenting this story from this perspective of the U.S. and U.N. would suggest that Eritrea (the state or elements therein) are supporting a Somali insurgency in opposition to a regional rival. The ICU draws support and bears crossover membership with terrorist groups that have acted against targets in East Africa (specifically, al-Ittihad al-Islami - CNN, and that have been supported by al-Qaida. Even presenting this story from the U.S. perspective, we note that any interest Eritrea would have in Somalia is directed towards a regional rivalry with Ethiopia. If this constitutes support of al-Qaida, it appears we have defined a new transitive property of international terrorism: the friend of the friend of my enemy is my enemy.
The United States does itself no service in diminishing the threat of al-Qaida to be attributing its spectre to regional conflicts predominantly driven by internal rivalry.
Backgrounds...
The U.S. and U.N. have not built a great track record on the matter. Post-World War II the U.N., consistent with U.S. positions on the subject, assembled a federation between Eritrea and Ethiopia. In 1962 Ethiopia annexed the smaller country and declared it a province, a situation that prevailed under Eritrean insurgency for 3 decades. An alliance of Eritrean and Ethiopian rebel groups eventually led to the fall of the capital and independence in '93. Friendly relations did not persist beyond a dispute over the border leading to war in '98. A peace agreement in 2000 led to the countries accepting independent arbitration of border demarcation, with a ruling delivered in 2002 that Ethiopia has refused to accept. (This information is laid out in greater depth and detail in an excellent article at the International Crisis Group)
One should not suggest that either country is blameless with respect to the border hostilities, but this places is broader context the regional rivalry represented in the U.S.-depiction of events in Somalia. Eritrea has a certain interest in opposing Ethiopian dominance over the Somali state, but a young, impoverished state evenly split between Christianity and Islam has no inherent interest in sponsoring religious radicalism, and it has not been accused of sponsoring, to any extent, actions beyond the Greater Horn of Africa.
Concerns...
The U.S. is exerting diplomatic pressure in order to end perceived support of the Somali insurgency, using terrorism as a casus belli supporting clan-based transitional government against Islamist opposition. Taking such an action, the U.S. does not appear to be working towards reconciliation of the warring parties within Somalia and it directly hinders a diplomatic resolution of the Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute. Political reconciliation is the most fundamental step in stabilizing a region already tainted by Darfur and the inability of the international community to resolve Sudanese conflict and genocide.
I intend to write to my representatives expressing my concerns on this matter, and recommend you all do the same. Wars on terrorists must defeat their origins, not propogate regional conflict.
Resources...
Some additional links that did not make it into my text that I think everyone should read:
Blowing the Horn - an oustanding article by John Prendergast and Colin Thomas-Jensen at International Crisis Group. Prendergast worked at the NSC and State Department under Clinton.
A Somali Jihadist: We're Not Al-Qaeda - TIME interview with a Somali ICU fighter
Eritrean President Says US Leads World on 'Dangerous Path' - Eritrea's response to the State Sponsor of Terrorism threat.
Somalia's ICU and its Roots in al-Ittihad al-Islami - The Jamestown Foundation is a conservative-aligned think tank, but I found this an interesting read concerning the ICU and al-Ittihad al-Islami.
Disclaimer: I am neither an expert in foreign policy with respect to Eritrea, nor do I have an intimate understanding of the political circumstances within the nation beyond that readily available to general interest and inquiry. I will not pretend otherwise. I hope that my treatment of the subject is as accurate as its seriousness demands, and does right by some people that are quite important to me.