How US forged an alliance with Ethiopia over invasion

Follow this link for an insightful article from the Guardian UK on : How US forged an alliance with Ethiopia over invasion

Xan Rice in Nairobi and Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Saturday January 13, 2007

Guardian
On December 4, General John Abizaid, the commander of US forces from the Middle East through Afghanistan, arrived in Addis Ababa to meet the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi. Officially, the trip was a courtesy call to an ally. Three weeks later, however, Ethiopian forces crossed into Somalia in a war on its Islamist rulers, and this week the US launched air strikes against suspected al-Qaida operatives believed to be hiding among the fleeing Islamist fighters.

"The meeting was just the final handshake," said a former intelligence officer familiar with the region.