US AID TO ANGOLA PLAYS ROLE IN PRESUMMIT POSTURING WITH SOVIETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000504940003-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2010
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: October 28, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/30: CIA-RDP90-00552R000504940003-8
STAT
STAT
Soviets
u8y Sserps D. Mom debate
wits his ad= his istration Over proposab for '
to anticommunist rebels in Angola. provide $27
dministration backers of legislation to for the
~iitlion in non-lethal aid to the Natlooal EJnipa
tee ldependmoe of Angola (UNITA). sy the money is
Heeded to demonstrate US resolve in dealing with threats
to regional stability posed by Soviet-be-cked third-world
STATI, . The legislation's prindoiat sponsor it.
-7'CL:. AP"WED
PAGE
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
28 October 1985
US aid to Angola plays rote in presuflimit
S
session of the UN General
Assembly; the President
called for the US and So-
viet Union to cooperate in a
regional per- process
`leading to an end to vio-
hence, the withdrawal of
foreign troops, and na-
tional reconciliation in five
nations." But the President's calls for cooperation wee+e
coupled with implicit warnings that until such coopera-
tion was achieved the- US would continue to provide
moral and financial support to anti-Marxist insurgents.
Congressional supporters of a bill to provide aid to
UNITA say that while $27 million is not militarily sig-
nificant, the money is a symbol of US commitment to
halting Soviet aggression. They say that with the summit
approaching it's more important than ever for Congress
to support the President.
But State Department officials worry that the aid
could complicate, administration efforts to piece together
a series of r+egiond seal meats between South Africa and
various "hot lid' neighbors, including Angola.
In an accord the US mediated last year at Lusaka,
Zambia, South Africa and Angola agreed to a withdrawal
of Cuban troops from Angola in return for a withdrawal
of South African troops from neighboring Namibian
(South-W64 Africa), and eventual Namibiab
Hopes for iuaplementmg the accord dimmed when An-
gola broke off contacts with the US: Angola took the ac-
tion after Congress, in Jul'. resealed the Clark Amend-
opponents of the
bill, who include Secretary
of State George P. Shultz,
say the aid package could
damage prospects for a ne-
gotiated settlement with
Angola for the withdrawal
of 35,000 Cuban troops and
1.200 Soviet advisees.
In last week's speech be-
fore the 40th anniversary
meat, which prohibited U
aid to UNITA. The Clark
Amendment was enacted in 1976 in resDonse to rev -
tions secret CIA support for UNITA. But hopes for
the Lusaka accord were revived last when two high-
ranking US officials, including Assistant Secretary of
State Chester A. Crocker, renewed talks with Angolan
President Jose Eduardo
dos Santos in New York.
State Department offi-
cials insist that US aid to
UNITA now will be both
militarily useless and po-
litically counterproductive.
"Not only will it hurt ne-
gotiations with Angola,"
says one State Department
source. "It will also hurt
our image by creating the
impression that we're in
collusion with South Af-
rica Anything that ties the
US closer to South Africa
in the eyes of the world lim-
its our capacity to conduct
effective diplomacy. It
hurts our credibility as a
force for democracy."
But opposition to pro-
viding aid to UNITA has left the State Department po-
litically isolated. Department and diplomatic sources say
support for the aid package is widespread among many
of the President's closest advisers, including top officials
at the National Security Council and the Defense Depart-
ment. Earlier this month, a private appeal from Secre-
tary Shultz to House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel
(R) of Illinois to oppose the aid plan was met with a spir-
ited public rejection.
In part, the concern of aid sponsors is political. They
say that with the summit coming, its time to put teeth
into Reagan's policy of opposing Soviet expansionism by
showing support for UNITA.
"It's necessary because under the Clark Amendment
we've had.,a. veiled policy," adds Rep. Jim Courter (R) of
New Jer ' a cosponsor of the aid package. 'Negotia-
tion will calf succeed when there's pressure on the gov-
ernment of Angola." If the aid package falters, says Re-
presentative Courter, the result will "embolden and
encourage the Soviets to stick with their policy of con-
tinuing military force to stamp out UNITA."
That force was demonstrated during a major offensive
launched last summer by the Soviet-backed Angolan
army It was finally stopped in late September, justshort
of UNITA headquarters. But heavy losses sustained in
the 'process have prompted UNITA leader Jonas
Savimbi to directly request assistance.
Sponsors of legislation for Angola say it's still too
early to gauge the depth of congressional support for the
measure. But they add that public backing for the Presi-
dent's position, which many say now appears likely,
could help complete the reversal of US policy toward An-
gola begun with the repeal of the Mk Amendment.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/30: CIA-RDP90-00552R000504940003-8