They have been described as 'Gallant forces', 'heroic soldiers' and many other things, reminiscent talk of that old Ethiopian jingoistic appropriation of war. What is typical of the many thousands of soldiers in the Ethiopian army, however, is that they are very young, poorly enlightened about the complications of the war and not well trained conscripts with little or no experience of warfare fighting to realize Woyane's unrealistic and mad enterprise.

Ethiopia is a strongly divided polity where the identity of the individual culminates in his ethnicity and never goes beyond that. Historically looked at, that has been the case in the empire for as long as one can remember. It has always been essential for a ruling minority to encourage the division along the ethnic line to divert attention from real issues. To some extent, the Woyane may have been successful in convincing the outside world that they are democratically inclined but the fact is that they are an autocratic bunch who depend on intimidation and state terrorism for survival. In the same way, they have gained an illusory loyalty from the people of Ethiopia in their quest for a very fatuous objective. This quasi loyalty is but temporary for before too soon, the people of Ethiopia who are suffering on the periphery will realize that they have been greatly hoodwinked. For proof, we only need to see at the history of Ethiopia in the last 40 years.

As far as the Ethiopians are concerned, the Woyane dictatorial machine has proven to be nothing but a double sided sword bringing havoc not only on the civilian population of Ethiopia but also on their own army. It is a well known fact now that the Ethiopian contemporary state of affairs is a patchwork of famine, war, ethnicity, corruption and most of all, indolence. As confirmed by the Ethiopian foreign minister himself, Seyoum Mesfin, it is now official that the Ethiopians are eternal 'beggars', and this writer would like to add that they have come to think of that status as their god given right. International organizations such as the WFO have stated that there are over twelve million Ethiopian famine victims and many of those die every day by the scores as their government's war against Eritrea is rushed with reckless determination at a great cost. On the ground, young soldiers are ordered into human wave attacks towards well fortified Eritrean positions only to be killed by the numbers. The Ethiopian economy has plummeted significantly since the war thereby creating a large population of an underclass living in abject poverty. The Woyane, by committing illegal deportation and massive scale larceny against Eritreans have painted a lasting image of Ethiopia as an intolerant society to forewarn other ethnic groups or foreign immigrants who may but feel vulnerable in the future.

The above is only a very simple description of the real condition in Ethiopia. Taken to the level of thorough analysis the result is more damning to Ethiopia and Ethiopians. While Eritreans, at home and abroad, show the oneness and unity that has always been the grain of the nation, we see the unsettled fragmentation of the Ethiopian society, with all the different ethnic groups talking acrimoniously about each other. It is only inevitable that the current Ethiopian regime, the vanguard of a single ethnic group - Tigray - will come tumbling down with such weight that is a result of greed, vindictiveness and pure and self-acquired inferiority complex. The much talked about Eritrean/Ethiopian population proportion will then seem nothing compared to the situation that Tigray will find itself as it stands sandwiched between an angry Ethiopia and a not too sympathetic Eritrea.

If, for one moment, one was to accept Ethiopia's claim to victory, what is it worth? From a military perspective, in warfare, battles make up the entire phenomenon but they do not stand alone to determine the outcome of the war just like a single move in a chess game would not determine the whole game. This extended implies that the recent Ethiopian territorial incursions mean nothing when they are placed in the large context. On a different note, whatever long term military plans the Ethiopians may have had, it can hardly be achieved now as their adventurism has resulted in the partial decimation of their army. So what is the victory that they are celebrating about? For the population of Ethiopia at large, the governance of their country by the Woyane clique has only brought about suffering of much magnitude. For the people of Tigray, Woyane's action against the people of Eritrea will give rise to an enduring distrust on the part of Eritreans. So the Woyane victory is neither short term nor long term. The Woyane, in trying to harm the Eritreans have punished the Ethiopians and their own people - the Tigrayans. Their greedy and spiteful design has been a major fiasco from which they will never be able to recover.