ABSTRACT
Apart from occasional contemplations to use Eritrean nationalism as a counter-weight against the Soviet-Ethiopian alliance, American policy makers generally treated Eritrea as an integral part of Ethiopia and therefore developed no separate policy regarding that territory. Betrayed by the Socialist camp and unable to count on US support, the Eritrean nationalists became an easy target for the Soviet-led Ethiopian counter-offensive. In early 1982, 15 Ethiopian army divisions, comprising 100,000 men and led by Soviet generals, began a four-pronged campaign of encirclement and suppression against the nationalist army. The fall of the port of Massawa to the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front in February 1990 further complicated efforts to contain Eritrean nationalism through the establishment of an independent state. The final aspect of the Eritrean problem pertains to the question of economic development.
