ANGOLA: OPEN TALK, COVERT AID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000302490018-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 26, 2010
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: June 12, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/07/26 :CIA-RDP90-005528000302490018-6
f' Lee H. Hamilton
WASuIN~TON POST
~2 June 1986
Angola:
Open Talk,
Covert Aid
The president talks openly about
providing covert assistance to rebels
of the National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA),
who oppose the Angolan government.
But this policy cannot succeed or be
sustained without the support of
Congress, and at present the presi-
dent's controversial plan does not
have congressional approval.
Concern about a U.S. role in the
An ola conflict t
when involvement in that war led
.nnornna to m~a t n .lark AmPnei-
ment rohibitin U.S. assistance to
mi nary an par ' itar rou s in
Knao a? ast year ongress rapes
the Clark Amendment. The adminis-
tration supported this repeal as a
means of restoring the president's
flexibility in foreign affairs, but it
neither proposed nor supported fund-
ing for UNITA at that time. It has
since changed policy.
Under the law the resident mmt
notify the Dose and mate intelG-
genre committees of_ planned covert
actions. a committees' aaaroval is
t r aired for the resident to ro-
teed with covert actions. e a s-
tration apparen y to move for-
ward with a plan to provide UNITA and
its leader, Jonas Savimbi, with covert
assistance this year despite Congress'
reservations on this issue.
MY principal objection to this plan is a
procedural one. Covert authori is in-
tended as a necessarily secret too m
administration seems to be using its
covert action authority to change policy
dramatically and avoid public or con-
gressional debate. Aiding UNITA is
funding a war, one of the powers of
Congress enumerated in the Cor~stito-
tion. The president should not be able to
circumvent a public debate in Congress
on a significant foreign policy decision by
calling this aid by a different name.
Moreover, no serious effort has flees
made to preserve the secrecy of ttus
policy change. The president, the vice
president and other officials have con-
firmed it and disclosed details about the
number and types of weapons to be
provided. Tlug action is no kx~ger "co-
vest" under any reasonable definition of
that term. If the administration can talk
about covert action openly, so should
members ~ Congress.
We need to resolve this procedural
issue so that important, substantive
questions can be debated. How will
aid to UNITA serve U.S. interests?
How will it affect Angolan depen-
dence on Soviet and Cuban support,
possibilities for a negotiated settle-
ment in Namibia and U.S. credibility
as an honest broker in southern Afri-
ca? How will it be viewed in black
Africa? How will it affect substantial
U.S. commercial ties with Angola?
'these questions shouki tat be
avoided by simply notifying a handfW aE
mem on mte Bence oommit~=
tees. ey are among mast serious
issues for U.S. policy in Africa today.
They deserve to be weighed by Coq-
gress as a whole. tpoi4larvn ~,;n vim
come before the House which would
restrict temoorarily the oresideenc's so-
thori to conduct covert action in As-
o an re uue o en ac gment
an con on a rov o an
posal to aid U ITA.
The purpose of this bill is to
strengthen'U.S. policy in Angola, to
ensure that it reflects American vaN
ues and interests. Debate in Congress
can help answer many of the ques-
tions concerning aid to UNITA and
generate the political backing the
president will need if he is to sustain
any policy in Angola over time.
American foreign policy is most
successful when the president and
Congress cooperate. While the presi-
dent needs flexibility in the implemen-
tation of foreign policy, Congress has
a constitutional role to play in its
formulation and review. That role
must be respected if we are to have a
sustainable policy in Angola that re-
flects U.S. interests.
The writer, a Dlernocratic
re resents ve turn ndiana is
chairman o t e Dose tnte e
commtteet an ran rr mercer of
the Forerarr arcs rrmi e~
Approved For Release 2010/07/26 :CIA-RDP90-005528000302490018-6