The latest news reports from Eritrea seem to bolster the Eritrean tendency towards intransigence. That is unfortunate. In the long run it will be very costly.

The "fierce" level of fighting is very distressing as are the high numbers of casualties on both sides. But however "horrific" this may be, it is but a preview of what could take place if the war is expanded along the entire front to include the mechanized battalions and tank brigades that both Eritrea and Ethiopia possess.

The fighting on the Badime front - brigade level infantry engagements - does not match the scale of fighting that took place on June 9, 1998 at Zalanbessa. That action resulted when a mechanised Eritrean force tried and failed to capture the strategic heights at the south end of Zalanbessa valley, along the main Asmara-Adigrat highway.

Yet, even with these comparatively limited engagements, the Eritrean defenses were penetrated and a decisive breakthrough was barely averted. The situation continues to be unstable, and as Reuters reported from Badime, Ethiopian forces have advanced and taken up positions from which they are able to rake the Eritrean trenches with machine gun and rifle fire. No doubt, heavy armor and artillery is also being moved up. Weeks of sustained, close artillery barrages could follow.

Artillery is usually the number one source of casualties in warfare. The worst may yet be in store for the brave young Ethiopians and Eritreans on both sides of the front.

That a limited Ethiopian counterattack nearly rolled up the Eritrean trench-line along the Badime front indicates what could result from an integrated attack, preceded by weeks of artillery and air bombardment, and launched with overwhelming force.

The recent fighting should be a wake-up call to both sides. Eritrea cannot hang on indefinitely, and Ethiopia cannot yet breakthrough decisively. This means a long, drawn out and exhausting series of battles could be coming in the future. We both don't need it.

Ethiopia needs patience, and a long-term outlook. It should not hesitate to use the air power advantage which it has over Eritrea. That airstrike moratorium is a joke. Let the United States first sign an airstrike moratorium with Iraq.

Ethiopia should continue training and mobilization until it can deploy overwhelming force at any point of its choosing along the frontline. This requires a lot longer than 9 months. In the meantime there is no need to attack.

Eritrea should realize that one day it will sign the UN-endorsed OAU peace plan. Therefore, there is no real reason for Eritrea to continue fighting. Two years from now it will all seem absurd.

- Dagmawi