'Two bald men fighting over a comb'... again

There are persistent fears that one assinine war between Ethiopia and Eritrea wasn't enough for the misleaders of the two countries, a conflict likened to 'two bald men fighting over a comb.' UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is afraid that a second insanity might erupt between the two former allies.

Annan said UN officials are "doing whatever we can to bring the two parties together" but have not able to get the nations to cooperate with each other.

But ultimately, outsiders can do little if there is no desire for peace from the belligerent parties. And whether that will exists is seriously questioned.

The regime in Asmara is one of the most autocratic on the continent. And many fear its sole purpose is to destabilize the region. Notes the weekly Economist:

Eritrea's increasingly totalitarian regime has become a regional menace; its foreign policy now appears to comprise nothing more than to support any enemy of Ethiopia's, no matter the cost.

Tthe government in Addis Ababa is also increasingly out of control. A report was released recently accusing them of massacring 200 opposition protesters following this year's controversial elections.

The Ethiopians are universally believed to have sent troops into neighboring Somalia. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has overtly stated that his country is 'technically' at war with the Islamic Courts movement that control most of Somalia.

Ethiopia is a country where 10.4 million people are dependent on food aid out of a population of over 74 million.

So 14 percent of Ethiopians are dependent on outside aid to eat but the regime is looking to spend its meager resources on war with not one, but two neighbors.

If this is not criminal, I don't know what is.