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: 
Body: 
Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 VIKIP1��E L-vmp CIA during the Congo Crisis Political Action and Paramilitary Operations,1960-1968 \ CIA2S5) It NI= Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 "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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 LAS 02.f1042 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Mtlik,�0-XrX)alc) Congo as a Cold War Prize Wisconsin our Mlssissipp� Alabama Georclha Ohio� op,* 'Ottani* 1' New 'L� VieVnio, kentuckyi)': ��North', - � Bout Carolii Florida 001*IN ran Brunswick No Sco Vermont Not.v Harripsh Ire Massachusetts Node Island ctieut Jersey � 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." Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 MAROPS Assets Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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) Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 �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) Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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 akCliaggffLOMD) Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 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) Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544 Approved for Release: 2020/07/20 006832544