(GIN) – In an apparent reprise of the Bush administation’s foray into the Horn of Africa, the Obama  administration is looking to increase “development assistance” to its ally Ethiopia despite concerns about the country's slide toward authoritarianism.
 
Ethiopia supported a U.S. initiative to unseat the Somali government in 2006. It sent troops to Mogadishu, but pulled them out earlier this year, when the world communty switched sides and backed the Islamic Courts Union it had just overthrown.
 
Last week the U.S. announced it had sent a $10-million shipment of weapons to help the besieged government of Somalia, while accusing neighboring Eritrea of undermining the Somali peace process – a charge which inflamed both Eritrea and Somalia.
 
Meanwhile, a draft Ethiopian law would define criticism of the government as a "terrorist act" and, say rights groups, it could be used to crack down on the opposition if it is passed by parliament.
 
Ethiopia will hold national elections in 2010 which a U.S. official said he had "every hope" that it would be democratic.