CIA DURING THE CONGO CRISIS
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
06832544
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
U
Document Page Count:
55
Document Creation Date:
March 9, 2023
Document Release Date:
July 28, 2020
Sequence Number:
Case Number:
F-2019-00264
File:
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
CIA DURING THE CONGO CRIS[15810701].pdf | 1.16 MB |
Body:
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VIKIP1��E L-vmp
CIA during the
Congo Crisis
Political Action and Paramilitary
Operations,1960-1968
\ CIA2S5) It NI=
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ORff'ENn
Belgium and the "Scramble for Africa"
King Leopold II
Areas controlled by European colonial powers on the
African ccntinent in 1.91?., shown along with current national
boundaries.
El Belgian
British
El French
El German
El ttalian
Portuguese
LIISpanish
El Independent
U-DICLU3OEffEND
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LA:
gEffERD
"The wind of change is blowing through this continent.
Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness
is a political fact."
--British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, February 1960
CLAS
giEffEAD
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"The President observed that in the last twelve months,
the world has developed a kind of ferment greater than
he could remember in recent times. The Communists
are trying to take control of this, and have succeeded
to the extent that...in many cases [people] are now saying
that the Communists are thinking of the common man
while the United States is dedicated to supporting
outmoded regimes."
--President Eisenhower's remarks at NSC meeting,
August 1960
Mari_IM�EffEND
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LAS
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Communist Strategy in Africa
Paid little attention to Africa before 1960
By early 1965, Communist countries had:
� Established over 100 diplomatic, consular, and
trade missions
� Extended over $850 million in economic grants
and credits
� Set up front organizations, cover entities, agents
of influence, and clandestine assets
� Provided assistance to anti-Western groups
directly and through proxy allies
Meaf__Ag�g_ffEND
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Mtlik,�0-XrX)alc)
Congo as a Cold War Prize
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Huge, newly
independent country
strategically situatectin
contested region
Valuable natural
resources
"If Congo deteriorates
and Western influen
fades rapidly, Bloc will
have a feast and will
not need to work ve
hard for it."
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MCI 'Tag ff,i2M)
The Operational Environment
>905,000 square miles, 1/4th the size of
United States
14 million+ population; 200 ethnic groups and 4 major tribes
400 miles long, avg. 30 miles wide
� Heavy fighting in Fizi-Baraka area
� Main MAROPS there and at Albertville
and Kigoma
ggfflIAD
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RWE__41A0EffEVg
Arms Interdiction on Lake Tanganyika
December 1964: AF suggests use of boats
to interdict arms traffic on lake
February 1965: HQ officers go to Kinshasa
to discuss operation
31 March 1965: CIA team deployed
10-16 May 1965: Boats conduct 1st patrol
27 September 1965: Successful amphibious
landing at Baraka
7 October 1965: Swift boats flown to
Albertville; 1st patrols on 2-3 November
2 January 1967: CIA turns "pocket navy"
over to Congolese army
UCCIOEffEAD
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UKUic� '3,�351ffiVID
Maritime Personnel and Inventory
Seven CIA officers and one
communicator
Six 21-foot Seacrafts
One 75-foot trawler
Various small boats
Belgian, French, Rhodesian, South African
crewmen
Two 50-foot Swifts (radar-equipped for
night operations)
CLA:
OEffEID
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MAROPS Assets
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WEIT3Ogn1)())
Key Points about MAROPS
Problems finding reliable crews
Policy restrictions on CIA in command
Unpredictable weather required larger,
faster vessels
Patrols had psychological effect at first
Interdiction difficult because of long coast
to patrol (175 mi.) compared to short
distance across (20-30 mi.)
Operational capability at night needed
Swifts with trained crews made significant
difference
OgffEME)
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0216110
Other PM Operations
Secure allegiance of tribal chiefs with
covert payments
Interdict arms flow from Sudan and
Uganda by sealing borders with help
from tribal chiefs, who got aid of various
sorts
tE `VEND
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�EffEMD)
Operational Costs, 1960-67
Political Action $5,842,000
Air Operations $3,285,000
Maritime Operations $2,575,000
Total $11,702,000
(1967 to 2014 dollars $81,955,000)
NNOLAS
ECIffEliD)
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WOOLA�gl:1-E'RED
Measuring Effectiveness
"If it hadn't been for the CIA operation, the Congo would have been
splintered and it would have been a tragic continuation of some sort
of civil war."
--Ambassador W. Averill Harriman
"It was only in Langley that the White House, the State Department,
and the Pentagon found the peculiar combination of talents necessary
to block the creation of a pro-communist regime, recruit the leaders
for a pro-American government, and supply the advice and support
to enable that government to survive."
--New York Times, 29 April 1966
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MCUA3
Short- and Long-Term Impact
Lumumba becomes a revolutionary
martyr
Mobutu is a reliable Cold War ally but
also a corrupt autocrat
Congo is temporarily more unified but
economically decrepit
Soviets keep trying to destabilize Africa
CA programs were successes but not
always consistent with democratic values
VE 4E)
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