REPEAL THE CLARK AMENDMENT-BUT NOT NOW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000707300003-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 9, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/08: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707300003-3
ARTICLE APPEND
uN PAGL
CHRISTIAN SCIE'ICE P' ONITOR
9 December 1981
Repeal the Clark amendment -- but not now
By Howard Wolpe
Much is at stake as the House debates the
fiscal 1982 foreign aid bill and takes up, as
part of that debate, the administration's pro-
posal to repeal the Clark amendment prohib-
iting. United States covert military- or
paramilitary operations In Angola without ex-
press congressional authorization.
If the administration initiative succeeds In
the House, as It did earlier in the Senate, -it
will be Soviet and Cuban policymakers that
will have the greatest cause to rejoice. For
the repeal of the Clark amendment at this
time will only give credibility to the Soviet-
Cuban propaganda line that the US. has en-
tered into a new accommodation with the
South African-backed UNITA dissident move-
ment within Angola.
The administration, to its credit, has de-
nied that any decisions have been made to de-
stabilize the MPLA Angolan government: it
insists that the proposed repeal is being advo-
cated on the basis of principle alone, I. e.,
that the executive branch simply opposes leg-
islative restrictions on executive action in for-
eign policy.
c- Unfortunately, diplomacy - like domestic
politics - is very much a matter of percep-
tion. And all administration statements not-
withstanding, there is no question that the re-
peal of the Clark amendment at 'this time
would be perceived as a threatening act by
tility throughout the African continent. Third, repeal of the Clark amendment at
That Is not to say that the repeal of the this time would severely complicate the ef-
amendment would not make sense In a differ-
ent climate and at a different time. It would.
,,grid the House Subcommittee on Africa,
wliictfl ;chair, while unanimously opposing re-
peal at this time, has expressly recommended
eventual repeal of It. In the context of a settle-
ment of the ongoing Namibian conflict -
which depends, in part, on Angolan cooper-
ation - and in the context of the normaliza-
tion of diplomatic relations between Angola
and the US.. the repeal of the Clark amend-
ment would not raise the same diplomatic
fears and suspicions. In a more positive, less'; Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania. and
threatening diplomatic climate, the adminis-) Botswana) which worked closely with the US
tration's rationale for repeal of the amend-) and the British in resolving the Zimbabwean
meat would be readily accepted at face value. i question, characterized the administration's
But not now. Not in the aftermath of the decision as an effort to destabilize Angola and
most recent South African invasion of Angola. strongly criticized the administration's politi-
Not in the face of the US veto of the United cal intentions. Those earlier statements have
Nations resolution condemning that invasion. been followed by others equally critical of the
Not while publicly acknowledged meetings proposed repeal.
are being held between State Department of-
ficials and Angolan dissident leader Jonas
Savimbi.
The administration's proposed repeal of
the Clark amendment has several ironic l
aspects.
First. it risks moving Angola further into''
the Soviet and Cuban orbit at the very mo-
ment the Angolan government has been try-
ing to : (a) increase Western investment and
economic assistance, (b) lessen Angola's
dependence on Cuban troops, and (c) normal-'
ize diplomatic relations with the US. All of I
this has happened despite the presence of,
18,000 Cuban troops, 1,000 Soviet advisers.
and 500 East German technicians. What more
does a country have to do to demonstrate its
desire and ability to develop friendly and con-
structive ties with the West?
Second, the proposed repeal is opposed by
the very American economic interests our
government seeks to protect. Since the ad-
ministration announced its intentions to lift
the Clark amendment, over a dozen Ameri-
can business executives representing some of
the largest corporations in the US have
warned that its repeal would seriously jeopar-
dize their business Interests, not only in An-
gola but in several other key African states.
These' same executives have cautioned
against overreacting to Angola's Marxist rhe-
toric. noting that Angola has pursued a prag-
matic economic course. They point to the gov-
ernment's having hired Arthur D. Little of
Boston, Mass. as its oil consultant and Its
positive economic relations with Chase Man-
hattan Bank. Boeing, Texaco, and the US Ex-
forts of the administration to strengthen the
forces of moderation on the African continent
and to improve America's standing with Afri-
can leaders. Shortly after the State Depart-
ment confirmed that it intended to act on the
Angola legislation, representatives of 50
black states at the UN released a joint state-
ment condemning the apparent drift in the ad-
ministration's policies toward South Africa
and warning of the dangers of lifting the Clark
amendment. And in early June, the presi-
dents of six "front-line" states (Mozambique,
Fourth, repeal of the amendment would
highlight America's diplomatic isolation in Its
approach to Angola. Not only does every
black African nation but Senegal have normal
diplomatic relations with Angola, but so do all
of our close Western allies - the Germans,
French, British, and Canadians - the very
countries with whom we are working to
achieve a settlement of the Namibian con-
flict. All find our policy of nonrecognition of
Angola incomprehensible and counterpro-
ductive. The Clark amendment repeal would j
poly reinforce these perceptions.
Fifth, for those who see the continuing
Angolan civil conflict in East-West terms, pit-
ting the "Marxist" MPLA government
against the "anticommunist, pro-Western"
UNITA movement, the ultimate irony is that
UNITA's leader Savimbi is every bit as so-
cialist as his MPLA counterpart. Indeed it
was not too long ago that Savimbl, today''the
darling of America's far = right, was
condemning the "American imperialist" and
accepting assistance not only from the Ameri-
can CIA but also from the North Koreans and
the Chinese. -
Finally, the proposed repeal of the amend-
ment could severely complicate American ef-
forts to secure a settlement of the
longstanding and bitter Namibian conflict.
The Reagan administration has a unique op-
portunity to influence the course of events in
southern Africa in a positive manner. Unlike
the Carter administration, it appears to enjoy
the confidence and credibility of the- white
government of South Africa. And because of
this, it may well have the ability to persuade
South Africa's leaders that a solution to the'
Namibian problem is not only in Western in-I
terests but also in South Africa's national
interest. , .
However, if the administration loses the
confidence of-Angola and the front-line Afri-
can states, its ability to act as an honest
broker between South Africa and the front
line states wil be lost. In this event, the new
administration will have forfeited its t, c fnt
ness in Africa before it has l'e :..& uj,puL ,uw&y,
to demonstrate its abil,Ly. This would be espe-j
dally tragic given the recent Indications by'
the administration that a Namibian settle-'
ment mayvelt be within reach.
Howard Wo1pe, Democrat of Allchi-
gan, is chairman of the House Subcom-
mittee on Africa.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/08: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707300003-3