[realmod]

It is ignorant to reduce US policies into an ally or not dichotomy. An entity being allied with the US does not mean that it will always work in the interest of the US, e.g., Germany's NS2 project. And US-Ethiopian relations have deteriorated significantly in the past two years. Partly due to Trump siding entirely with Egypt in the Nile/GERD contention, going so far as to state Egypt should bomb the dam. And more recently, due to US engagement in the horrific Northern Ethiopian war, where human rights violations have been committed by all sides. However, the US has only enacted sanctions against the Ethiopian government and its allies. And some Ethiopian officials have accused the US of abetting the rebels.