Interview with the Ethiopian Reporter

I am extensively quoted in Namrud Berhane's article "The policy shift debate" in the Ethiopian Reporter. Here is the beginning of the article:

A critical US State Department human rights report, and a very strongly worded response to it from the Ethiopian side, the recent visit of the secretary of state Clinton to seven African nations which “excluded” Ethiopia, Obama’s engagement policy and the push for negotiations with Eritrea…. some have already begun to argue these are indications of a policy shift by the new US administration regarding the Horn. Former US Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn, however dismisses such notions saying that such developments can not be taken as a sign of shift in US policy. “While I believe Ethiopia would have been an appropriate country to include on Secretary of State Clinton's schedule, I do not interpret the fact that she did not visit on this occasion as a shift of US policy. Secretary of State Rice did visit Ethiopia in late 2007. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who accompanied Secretary of State Clinton to Kenya, made a special point of visiting Ethiopia. I have no doubt that Secretary of State Clinton will visit Ethiopia on some future occasion. I would not make very much of the omission of Addis Ababa from her schedule and I do not interpret this as an effort to look for alternative allies in the Horn. Let's be honest there are very few potential allies for the US to choose from throughout the wider region,” Shinn told The Reporter.

The rest of the article can be found here.

Interview with Ethiopian Reporter

I was interviewed by Namrud Berhane of the Ethiopian Reporter for the article "What without Aweys in Somalia?" Here is one of the questions:

Question: The issue of piracy is one major problem that has become daunting not only to Somalia but the international community as a whole. Do you think current efforts of battling it on sea will help the situation at all, when stability on the land still seems to evade the country? My response: I have been arguing for months that the highest priority is to resolve the situation in Somalia on the ground, not the high seas. Although the large international naval presence has diminished the number of successful pirate attacks, it can never totally eliminate them. This will only happen when there is a national government in Somalia that is in control of the country, is widely accepted by the Somali people and has a viable coast guard in place. At the same time, the international community must do its part now to help prevent illegal foreign fishing off Somali shores and take steps to help end any dumping of toxic waste that may still happen from time to time.

The Reporter (Ethiopia) publishes my testimony

The Reporter (Ethiopia) has published my recent congressional testimony on "Horn of Africa: Priorities and Recommendations." The transcript is available here.