US AID TO ANGOLA PLAYS ROLE IN PRESUMMIT POSTURING WITH SOVIETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504480010-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: October 28, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504480010-3
CLE AP';ARED
?AGE ~..------
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
28 October 1985
i
AIigOIa role m ~s aid to plays presummt went, which prohibited US aid to UNITA. The Clark
Amendment was enacted in 1976 in response to rev -
' tions secret CIA support for UNITA. But hopes for
h tissr0~ D. MoflattlC
x? r ' sa?io. Modlor w.wn
l resident Reagn'a UN speech has. intensified debate`
wido& his administration over proposab for renewed aid
to antiioo?nnaunist rebels in Angola.
!-dministration backers of legislation to provide $27
lion in non-lethal aid to the. Natio n l Union for the To-.
tal lndependeoce of Angola (UNITA). set'. the money is
Heeded to demonstrate US resolve in dealing with threats
to regional stability posed by Soviet backed third-world
1 To fn's p i?-29 .
P Claude Fermat 111-0-
,UL 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
4ngola for the withdrawal
of 35,000 Cuban troops and
1.200 Soviet advisers.
In last week's speech be-
fore the 40th anniversary
session of the UN General
Assembly; the President
called for the US and So-
viet Union to cooperate in a
regional peace- process
leading to an end to vio-
lence, the withdrawal of
foreign troops, and na-
tional reconciliation in five
nations." But the President's calls for cooperation were
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
approachingg, 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 regional settlements between South Africa and
various "frost liar' 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 Namibia;
(South-West Africa), - and ' eventual Namibian.
Hopes for i npietnantiasg the accord dimmed when An-
gola broke off contacts with the US: Angola took the ac-
tion after Congress, in JuIx repealed the Clark Amend-
the Lusaka accord were revived last week when two high-
ranking US officials, including
Assistant Secretary of
S e 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, it's 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 ha4,a veiled policy," adds Rep. Jim Courter (R) of
New Jer i a cosponsor of the aid package. 'Negotia-
tion will only? 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 Cork Amendment.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504480010-3