The long-standing border conflict between the African nations of Eritrea and Ethiopia contributes greatly to the overall destabilization in the Horn of Africa (HOA). The United States and Britain have historically valued Ethiopia's strategic importance, and the United States has offered its support by attempting to broker long-term treaties to end conflicts (Lyon, 2006). Despite these efforts, the region remains in flux; many believe that Eritrea is providing support to Al-Shabab. Eritrea is currently under United Nations (UN) sanctions due to its suspected links to Al-Shabab and other human rights violations (Van Kemenade, 2012). This instability, combined with Eritrea and Ethiopia's involvement with various sects in Somalia, poses a threat to U.S. national security and is costing the United States and others in the international community large sums of money in humanitarian aid (Lyon , 2006). and Ethiopia has been a point of contention between the two countries for decades. In 1962, ten years after Italy's withdrawal from Eritrea, Ethiopia annexed the small port nation, and the two counties remained in unabated armed conflict for 30 years (Shah, 2000). Ethiopia believed it should have its own rights to seaports, and Eritrea was unable to defend itself, largely due to a weak economy and small military; furthermore, due to this weak economy, Eritrea relied heavily on Ethiopia's natural resources (Tesfai, n.d.). By 1991 Eritrea almost exclusively controlled all possible Ethiopian routes to the sea, yet Eritrea was willing to grant Ethiopia the use of Assad's port (Van der Splinter, n.d.). In April 1993, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), under... middle of the paper... in the Horn of Africa; US Policy towards Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Center for Preventive Action Council on Foreign Relations. CSR no. 21. Retrieved from www.cfr.org/content/publications/.../Ethiopia_EritreaCSR21.pdf Shah, A. (2000) Conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/89/conflitto-tra-etiopia-e-eritrea Tesfai, A. (n.d.) The cause of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border conflict. Retrieved from http://www.dehai.org/conflitti/analysis/alemsghed1.htmlVan der Splinter, H. (n.d.) Context of the Eritrea-Ethiopia border dispute. Retrieved from http://www.eritrea.be/old/ eritrea-etiopia.htmVan Kemenade, L. (2012). Ethiopia attacks Eritrea. Associated Press. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/ethiopia-carries-attacks-against-eritrea-131407459.html