Not only was the Op-Ed deliberately misleading, it was an insult to the hundreds of US lawmakers who had carefully crafted and passed the Bill H.R.2003- the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 that the two deceptive ex-diplomats shamelessly attempted to misrepresent. Both Huddleston and Nagy know that HR-2003 has nothing to do with the US-backed Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia and both also know that HR-2003 has nothing to do with the Eritrea Ethiopia demarcation issue. Lawmakers are not turning on Ethiopia; they are trying to defend the rights of the Ethiopian people against a brutal and destructive dictatorship.

In the last 10 years, at great risk to their own professional credibility and integrity, blinded by the fanfare and pomp associated with Addis based cocktail diplomats, ignoring the glaring and irrefutable facts on the ground, several misguided Ethiophyles and irresponsible, self serving individuals such as these two ex-diplomats have come out of the woodworks to vouch for Meles Zenawi and his apartheid regime in Ethiopia. It is therefore not surprising to see the likes of Vicki Huddleston and Tibor Nagy give Meles Zenawi their personal and unbridled support in Washington. As has become the norm, they probably now have established business interests in Ethiopia's sin city Addis, interests that they risk loosing when the minority regime is removed from power.

The minority regime in Ethiopia which suffers from an incurable and debilitating inferiority complex, finds itself constantly vying for attention and approval of the US and European communities. Knowing that it is despised by its own people and the people of the region, it repeatedly turns to and relies on Addis based diplomats, ambassadors, “analysts”, “Horn experts” etc. and other prominent individuals (preferably of European decent), to promote its war-mongering and belligerent agendas.

In their latest Op-Ed, the deceptive duo warn US lawmakers with this erroneous, fear mongering, racist and Islamphobic statement:

“…By singling out Ethiopia for public embarrassment, the bill puts Congress unwittingly on the side of Islamic jihadists and insurgents…”

Who are the “Islamic jihadists and insurgents”? Surely they are not referring to the millions of Somali men, women and children who have been internally displaced while Meles Zenawi's marauding forces conduct house to house raids and massacres in search of yet unnamed and unidentified “terrorists” in Somalia. Huddleston and Nagy know that young patriotic Somalis are fighting a brutal Ethiopian occupation and that they are defending the rights of innocent Somali women, young and old who are being raped and tortured by Meles Zenawi's forces. They are neither insurgents nor “jihadists”; they are patriotic Somalis who are sacrificing their lives for Somalia's freedom. This is not a religious war between Christians and Moslems; the people of Somalia are fighting a mercenary occupation force that is committing untold international crimes in Somalia .

Just like the young, patriotic and brave American boys who are fighting in defense of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places around the globe; Somali's brave children are fighting a destructive Ethiopian occupation within their own territories. Surely, these two diplomats are not implying that the Somalis, who happen to be predominantly Moslems, have less sovereign rights than Christian Americans, or are they? Their writings, which are filled with deliberate misrepresentation of the facts, are meant to mislead the American people and prevent lawmakers from taking punitive actions against Meles Zenawi, the only known terrorist lurking in the Horn.

Vicki Huddleston whose hands are drenched with the blood of innocent Ethiopians and Somalis massacred in cold blood by Meles Zenawi's minority regime's forces, is back with yet another Op-Ed, attempting to convince the American people and US lawmakers to ignore Meles Zenawi's continued violations of international law and his regime's brutality against the people of Ethiopia in the aftermath of the May 2005 elections. This fear mongering diplomat deliberately distorted the facts surrounding the detention, intimidation and harassment of innocent Ethiopians and the opposition leaders, and was behind the ill advised, ill conceived Islam phobic and racist US policy to invade and occupy Somalia .

For his part, Tibor Nagy provided the diplomatic, financial, political and military support to the minority regime in its aggressive war of expansion and invasion of Eritrea . It comes as no surprise then that these two self-serving morally bankrupt and corrupt individuals would once again betray the trust and confidences placed upon them by the people of the United States and use their name notoriety and that of the institutions they represent, in favor of a ruthless dying regime.

The Op-Ed not only has no legal bearing but is also in direct conflict with the U.S. government's publicly stated foreign policy objectives for the region which Tibor Nagy himself had clearly articulated during an interview conducted for the Ethiopian Herald during his tenure as US Ambassador to Ethiopia in 1999-2000. He said:

“… Our nation has the greatest interest in seeing that political stability develops in Africa, so the great flood of refugees is diminished; that African countries make progress toward food security; that the nations of the continent respect and foster the rule of law; that Africa begin to share in the economic progress that has taken place in recent years in the Western Hemisphere, in Europe and in East Asia; and that human rights are respected and encouraged. These were the policy concerns of the last Administration in Washington . They will certainly be the concerns of the new Administration…”

So why are the duo preventing US lawmakers from taking appropriate punitive actions against the brutal minority regime in Ethiopia led by the deceptive Meles Zenawi? These two individuals have long compromised their credibility and integrity in the eyes of the Ethiopian people and will be remembered for generations to come for their support and encouragement of Meles Zenawi's brutal reign in Ethiopia and for allowing Meles Zenawi to use Ethiopian children as cannon fodder and minesweepers in his aggressive wars of invasion and occupation against neighbouring states.

Contrary to what Huddleston and Nagy tell their readers, Ethiopia under the lawless and belligerent genocidal minority regime led by Meles Zenawi is a national security threat and not an ally for the United States. Meles Zenawi's Ethiopia today:

The Ethiopian people today have a leader who tells them lies and who encourages lying on his behalf as he insults the intelligence of the international community and the Ethiopian people. Today he is once again lining up cheerleaders and apologists as he rejects the Algiers Agreements, refuses to allow for the expeditious demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border and threatens to destabilize the entire region with his war mongering agendas.

Instead of excusing and promoting belligerence and violence, these diplomats ought to be farsighted enough to find ways to enlist support of lawmakers in defense of the Ethiopian people, not the minority regime in Ethiopia and against the wishes and aspirations of the Ethiopian people. They ought to be upholding the rule of law and respect for the human rights of the Ethiopian people, and not appeasing Meles Zenawi's lawlessness and belligerence. Such racial and religious prejudice will ultimately undermine the interests of the United States throughout the region and cause significant damage to America's fledgling reputation. Vicki Huddleston and Tibor Nagy should refrain from making inflammatory and racist statements about the long-suffering people of the Horn.

Surely these two US diplomats are not telling us that the United States of America needs to remain loyal to dictators, murderers, belligerent and lawless regimes in order to advance US national and security interests…or are they? The only way the US can contribute to genuine stability and cooperation in the region is by enforcing the rule of law. As Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) put it, “ No regime that terrorizes its citizens can be a reliable ally in the war on terror ”.

The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle!