DON'T MAKE A DEAL FOR COVERT AID, CONSERVATIVES TELL UNITA LEADER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504570010-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: January 30, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504570010-3
ARTICLE A R
ON PAGE
WASHINGTON TIMES
30 January 1986
Don't make a dead for covert aid,
conservatives tell UNITA leader
HE WASMIN TON TIMES
American conservatives have
warned Jonas Savimbi not accept
any secret deals offered
by
administration to ward off con_
ressio debate in exchange for
Covert military aidtto his Anoolan
e els.
The warning was telephoned to a
Savimbi aide and conveyed directly
to Mr. Savimbi as the resistance
leader met with Secretary of State
George Shultz yesterday.
"We told him to avoid making any
promises and making any deals;' a
source said.
Mr. Savimbi talked for more than
an hour with Mr. Shultz, who has op-
posed congressional efforts to pro-
vide open aid to his National Union
for the Tbtal Independence of An-
gola (UNITA). Mr. Shultz also has
remained silent on reported Reagan
administration moves that imply
backing for secret military aid.
Beginning his first full day of ac-
tivities on a 10-day Washington visit,
Mr. Savimbi also met with Defense
Secretary Caspar Weinberger and
received a rare standing ovation
from a normally somber crowd of
State Department and Foreign Serv-
ice employees.
His plans for today include a
meeting with President Reagan.
Late TLesday, Mr. Shultz met pri-
vately with Senate Majority Leader
Robert Dole shortly after the Kan-
sas Republican decided to push for
what a source called "something
more than moral support" for the
rebels. Earlier, Mr. Dole planned to
introduce a resolution for only gen-
eral congressional endorsement of
UNITA's 10-year-old war to force
free elections in Angola.
One source said the Shultz-Dole
meeting was an exchange of ideas on
the best strategy to pursue for rebel
aid. Another source saw the meeting
as a possible sign that Mr. Shultz
might moderate his opposition to
congressional aid.
Lately, Mr. Shultz has called for
"effective and appropriate" aid,
without explaining what that means,
and has asked Congress only to ex-
press moral support for the rebels.
Mr. Savimbi gave no hint of the
contents of his private discussions
with Mr. Shultz.
"I had a one-hour-and-10-minute
discussion with the secretary of
state, and I am satisfied. I hope there
will be progress," Mr. Savimbi told
reporters before he rode away to the
Pentagon in his long, gray limousine.
When he arrived at the State De-
partment, the bearded guerrilla
leader was not wearing his
trademark green fatigues. He was
clad in a blue topcoat worn over a
light gray Nehru suit, and he carried
an ivory-handled, black enameled
cane.
Mr. Savimbi, though not a head of
state, was treated as such. He was
accompanied by a U.S. security
detail and greeted at the State De-
partment by U.S. Chief of Protocol
Selwa Roosevelt.
In an off-the-record speech fol-
lowing his meeting with Mr. Shultz,
the dynamic guerrilla commander
brought about two-thirds of an audi-
ence of nearly 500 to its feet.
"If he was able to sway the For-
eign Service, he will do all right with
Congress;' a State Department em-
ployee said. "This guy's bandwagon
is really rolling."
Mr. Savimbi was "candid and very
blunt;' the source said. The rebel
leader said the Soviet Union has
poured $4 billion into Angola to prop
up the government. He also said
Russian officers now are directing
the government struggle because
the 35,000 Cuban troops in Angola
are poor fighters and disenchanted
with the war.
The rebel leader also attacked
American oil companies operating
in Angola because they are "financ-
ing the killing of our people."
The State Department added that
Angolan-based American firms are
helping the Marxist government
there in its war against the insur-
gents.
"Much of the hard currency
earned by the Angolan government
with the help of these firms goes
toward imports of military
equipment and payment for the Cu-
ban troops:' a spokesman said. "This
supports war rather than the search
for peace."
Mr. Savimbi's visit here has
sparked what one State Department
official called an "ideological
superbowl;' with conservatives de-
manding public aid for the guerrillas
as a sign of U.S. support for freedom
fighters and liberals calling Mr.
Savimbi a secret communist or a
"stooge" for South Africa.
."The issue to be decided this week
is whether the United States will
send him more than a Valentine card
to fight the Soviet Union;' said How-
ard Phillips, head of the Conserva-
tive Caucus.
Anti avimbi forces kicked off
their cam to 1 t . ai at a
flews conference eaturing the for-
mer chief of the CI_A_'s naola Tack
7 e.
John Stockwell who
suit the CIA
1977 to write a bitterly critira
book on CIA activities in Angola,
claimed the Rea an administration
already is secret y _unriino the rpreb-
els with up to $15 million.
The anti-rebel campaign is spon-
sored by the Washington Office on
Africa, the Congressional Black
Caucus, the TransAfrica organ-
ization and 500 specialists on Africa
at universities in 38 states and Wash-
ington.
While Mr. Savimbi lobbied Wash.
ington, his guerrillas announced
they bombed a hotel occupied by
Bulgarian technicians and killed 57
soldiers, including four Cubans, in a
series of operations last weekend.
This story is based in part on wire
service reports.
V
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504570010-3