As Kosovo atrocities dominate the headlines, I wait for some former
national security maven to confess to US government crimes committed during
the Cold War. We know the CIA assassinated people, fomented coups and
destabilized countries we claimed were pro Soviet. But we haven’t taken
responsibility for the consequences of these covert actions. What became of
the people and countries targeted? In 1953, the CIA struck down legitimate
government in Iran and brought in our guy, the Shah. 26 years later the
Ayatollah’s guys held our diplomats as hostages. For more than a decade all
Iranians lived under fanatical religious rule.
The CIA’s 1954 coup in Guatemala begot 40 years of ruthless military rule.
The thugs we trained ethnically cleansed 200,000 indigenous people – by
killing them.
The supporters of the Yugoslav intervention might cast on eye on Angola,
where the CIA nears direct responsibility of horrendous suffering. The CIA
found Jonas Savimbi and his UNITA forces in 1975 to counter the FMLA, which
most of the world recognized as the legitimate carrier of Angolan
independence. The CIA armed, financed and trained UNITA soldiers. They gave
publicity to Savimbi to mouth anti Soviet rhetoric.
But almost a decade ago Washington signed off on an Angolan peace accord.
Angola held elections in 1992, and Savimbi lost. Then, Savimbi defied the
agreement he signed. Instead of disarming he waged war against the people of
Angola. Some half a million people have died in the ensuing seven years. Now
that the CIA has abandoned him, Savimbi and his UNITA officials sell diamonds
they steal from Angola’s rich supply to barter for guns and other supplies.
And DeBeers, the world’s leading diamond dealer, buys these ill-begotten
stones.
UNITA soldiers kill Angolan farmers or force them to flee to food scarce
cities. UNITA soldiers steal food or let crops rot in the fields. Francisco
Strippoli, director of the World Food Program warned that Angola faces a
"tragedy of massive proportions." A UN team projected that more than
a million Angolans will starve unless emergency food supplies arrive. In the
past UNITA has shot down several cargo planes loaded with food.
But where is the humanitarian clamor? The UN has been passive toward
Savimbi. So, in this age where we repeat "never again" as a mantra,
why not petition Cuba to rescue Angola? Cuban troops protected the Angolan
people from South African troops and kept Savimbi at bay in the 1980s. With US
backing, the UN should pay for Havana to send its troops back to Angola and
finish off Savimbi and his CIA created army. Meanwhile, the US should send
food.
I’m sure Bill Clinton will think this is the morally right path for Angola
– not bombing Luanda its capital.
Saul Landau is the Hugh O. LaBounty Chair of Interdisciplinary Applied
Knowledge at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 3801 W. Temple
Ave. Pomona, CA 91768 tel – 909-869-3115 fax – 909-869-4751
