Into The Jaws Of Death
Excerpt from "The East Africa War" by Robert Mendez:
"The war between Egypt, Ethiopia and their assorted proxies was thought to be short at first. The world had not seen a long bloody war between larger nations since the Second Congo War. This was merely the end of the intermission from the First Cold War between the USSR and the USA, and the Second Cold War between the PRC and the USA. Although Egypt was not the most endeared of American allies, having changed governments several times in the last few years, President Obama and his administration felt the need to combat China's growing power around the world. This was solidified by Secertary Clinton making numerous visits to Cairo to talk with President El-Badwei on the war. American arms sales to Egypt were at an all time high, and although El-Badwei was friendly to the milliatry establishment of Egypt, he mistrusted them in private, fearing they'd take the opportunity to overthrow him at the first opportunity. Because of this, coordination between Sobhi and El-Badwei was limited, and this worked to Addis Ababa's favor.
On the other side, China was angry with Ethiopia starting this war. It had upset the plans they had to use their soft power to solidly influence in East Africa, of which only Tanzania remained out of their influence. However, this provided an opportunity for China to assert their power and win a major victory against the United States. By defeating Egypt, they could establish China as a power that could effectively challange the United States directly, perhaps wooing over China friendly countries that were cautious of the United States. Thus they tightened relations with Ethiopia and sent them more arms and equipment. Internally, there was little dissent in Ethiopia, unlike Egypt. Zenawi had kept a tight ship, and improvements in public amenities and the quality of life rising made him more popular in general. Although the reconstruction of Eritrea was still ongoing, the war had been short, if brutal, so it did not make a huge dent in the budget. Overall, by early August, the war had not changed much, with battle lines staying roughly the same, but this would not be a permanent situation..."