Eritrea was forced to make this confession, because it is currently asking for additional food aid from the United States and from the UN.

The US is not pleased with Eritrea’s larcenous behavior and is requiring a complete account of what happened to the stolen grain. Eritrea is refusing to provide specific details and is brazenly begging for more food aid despite its criminal thievery.

Eritrea could have used the stolen grain in a couple of embarrassing ways, for example, exporting the grain and using the foreign exchange to buy weapons, or using the grain to feed its army. A full accounting to USAID would not only document the criminal thievery of the Eritrean government but could also demonstrate the callous use of stolen grain provided by the US taxpayers as a means to prosecute war.

The US is right in refusing to provide any more food aid to Eritrea until Eritrea completely exposes who authorized this criminal theft and diversion of US property.

Eritrea supporters are currently mounting a campaign to pressure USAID to change its policy and allow the Eritrean thievery to go unpunished. Ethiopian-Americans need to write to USAID and urge them to continue with their righteous stand.

The Eritrean government must stop using the imminent starvation of its own population as a tactic to avoid the identification and punishment of those Eritrean government officials who authorized the criminal theft and misuse of relief grain that was intended for Ethiopia.

It would be helpful to send email letters to USAID's Administrator, J. Brady Anderson at

branderson@usaid.gov

The letters should urge him to maintain the policy requiring a complete account of the theft of US grain shipments by Eritrea.

Note: This article is based on the e-mail written by an Eritrea supporter, Leo Cecchini, who is a former Peace Corps volunteer in Eritrea. He is currently lobbying returned Peace Corps volunteers to support Eritrea's position on the grain theft issue. Click here to read his e-mail