CONGO: NO RHYME, NO REASON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000302410001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2014
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 24, 1964
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

3T.A'r . MWSWEEK ,
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/23 : CIA-RDP73-00475R000302410001-7
P.O:
o Rhyme7 ? No Reason
? rebel leaders affiliated with the Com- .?
munist-backed National Committee '?of..!' ?
rom the Congo the world has learned :
? to 'expect a regular diet of. an-
archy and confusion. Events last week
I. provided the usual obscure fare, but
through the mist of conflicting reports
; three dis!;.rbing facts were becoming in- .
creasingly clear; (1) Premier Moise ?
? Tshombe is failing in his attempt to pull .
together a workable government that
0can control the :country; (2) the anti- ?
; ;government rebels, acting vith Red Chi-
' ? nese guidance, are Steadily making gains
and, are now. active in nearly a third of
the nation; (3) in the absence of any
other outsiders to help the, demoralized
Congolese National Army. ..(ANC) turn
the rebels back, the U.S. is being inexo-
y rably swept into the Congo 'whirlpool
with greater commitments of 'arms, trans-
port planes, and the all-too familiar,
' helicopters .'gnarded by American GI's. ?
Washington fought hard to keep from
getting entangled in the Congo. Under ?
l? Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman
tried to talk the Belgians into 'providing
the professional ileadership the ANC so
.; badly needs, but the once-burned Bel-
gians would have none of it (NEws-
, WEE)(, Aug. .17). Other African nations,
particularly N.ige'ria, were approached to
lend. a hand' at peace-keeping efforts. .
.; But none of 'them was willing to help:
! :Tshombe, whose name is still anathema
in much of Black:Africa.
Misgivings: The U.S., too, has some
inisgivings ablaut supporting a man who :?
':'only two years ago was! its chief antago-
..nist in the Congo. But, Washington be-
.; yeves there is no other alternative. And
'with the rebels moving ahead daily, the
!U.S. finally decided it would have to ?
step in and go it alone.
; Operating on the theory that a few.
? !well-disciplined units of the Congolese.' ?
Army could be effective if 'they were
transported quickly from one trouble.
spot to another, Washington last week
dispatched to Leopoldville. four huge
.C430 jet transports capable of ferrying
90 soldiei's each and landing on tight
500-yardninways. With them went
maintenance crews and: 42 paratroopers
assigned to guard the planes?and also to
"fly shotgun" in three U.S. helicopters
which officials claim will be confined to,,
rescue operations.
The parallel with the initial U.S. in-
volvement in South Vietnam was too ob- ?
vious to be ignored?by friend and foe
alike. Democratic Sen. John Stennis :of
Mississippi, a. consistent supporter of ?
firm foreign policy, questioned whether
sending the C-130s would not "ulti-
mately lead to a ? heavy commitment of
men and 'material." Peking immediately
charged the U.S. with trying to. turn the
Congo into an African Vietnam. ? .
, Isolated:. Clearly not unaware ? of
the analogy themselves, Washington offi-
cials stressed the differences between !
the two countries. Unlike. Vietnam, they1
pointed out, the Congo. is an isolated
country without any great nation such as
China threatening its borders. Its size
(equal to all the?U.S. east of. the Missis-
sippi) defies military logistics, and O.S.
aid, it is hoped, will be confined
to transportation plus communications
. equipment and technicians to :operate it.
. In a further effort to bolster Tshombe's,
? regime, Washington sent C. Mennen
Williams, Assistant Secretary of State for
African Affairs, to Leopoldville' last week
to assess its, needs. But through it all,
Tshombe. seemed. to stand pathetically
on the sidelines. He made an attempt to
establish a coalition government that in-
cluded' Andr?ubaYa, one of many',
Liberation (NCL). As soon as Lubriya
promised Tshombe his support, however,.
he was denounced by other NCL chiefs.
The situation is so confusing that
Tshombe cannot find which NCL man '
to negotiate with. "Negotiate?" he asked'
'plaintively at a recent press conference., :
"With whom?, Some of .:the so-called! ;
rebel leaders have signed papers with
me, but it doesn't do any good. Nobody
really controls the rebels, so nobody
can stop them."
He is not far, from right. 'Gaston Emile
Soumialot, who supposedly runs the re-
hellion in the eastern Congo, declared
himself the "new Patrice Lumumba"
after the ? capture. of Stanleyville two .
weeks ? ago. But a certain "General" I!
Nicholas Olenga has materialized from
nowhere and now apparently 'issues all :?!
executive orders; The same. muddle .!?i
over who is boss seems to prevail ?;
wherever the rebels are active. !;4'
Seesaw: Nevertheless, the rebels are !
still' united in their opposition to Leo-. '
poldville and in their allegiance to the
NCL. As of last week, they controlled .
Stanleyville, Albertville, and ,a hall: :
.dozen other key cities in the east, and
were renewing their attacks in Kwilu ? .
Province, which is dangerously close to i?
.the capital. After a seesaw battle, Bau-.. ;
douinville in northeastern Katanga was in: .
government hands at: the weekend, but;
other towns were caving in fast. ?
Using psychological warfare tech-
niques undoubtedly ? taught by their
Chinese mentors, the rebels radioed
Luluabourg from Stanleyville,
"This is the high command of the Peo-
ple's Army. Have our .soldiers arrived in ..
Luluabo.urg?" "No,". the startled Lulua- '
bourg operator answered. "Don't worry,"
crackled the airwaves;t."they soon .will.".'
Such tactics were all that the fearful
?government garrisons !!in several. towns
r)tclassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/23:' CIA-RDP73-00475R000302410001-7