Word: mobutuism
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...West once more helps Mobutu stop an invasion...
...guerrillas of the Congolese National Liberation Front (F.L.N.C.), which has been seeking autonomy for Shaba since Zaïre gained its independence from Belgium in 1960, launched a deadly strike on the region from their bases in Marxist-run Angola. In a seesaw battle with the forces of President Mobutu Sese Seko, the Katangese rebels-who variously refer to themselves as les tigres (French for tigers) or camaradas (Portuguese for comrades)-captured the provincial capital of Kolwezi (pop. 100,000). The rebels carried out coldblooded executions, slaughtering at least 100 whites and 300 blacks, before they were driven from...
There was an ominous sense of déjà vu about the rebel incursion. In March 1977, another contingent of Katangese invaded Shaba, capturing the town of Mutshatsha and approaching to within 20 miles of Kolwezi before they were turned back by Mobutu's forces and 1,500 Moroccan soldiers who had been airlifted into the area by the French. Last week's invasion was not only bigger and better planned; it was also, according to Washington, actively supported by Cuban troops who have been training the F.L.N.C. guerrillas in Angola. Responding to an urgent telephone plea...
...invasion apparently caught Mobutu's troops in Shaba by surprise. The rebels came from two directions. Some moved along the Benguela railroad, which runs from Shaba through Angola to the Atlantic Ocean. Others passed through the northern tip of Zambia, whose Lunda tribesmen are friendly kin of the Katangese exiles. They traveled in small groups and wore native dress, but carried AK-47s and other Soviet-made equipment over their shoulders. They insisted that no "Cubbanos" had come with them. Nonetheless, guerrillas declared that their goal was not simply the liberation of Shaba from Kinshasa's rule...
...information not based on prior, biased, CIA assessments. Stockwell's intimate knowledge of the Angolan operations fills in all these points with layer after layer of scummy stories. To take one minor instance, the last U.S. payoff to the anti-MPLA forces, over a million dollars, was pocketed by Mobutu of Zaire. Stockwell further notes just how shaky Mobutu's regime is, his reliance on American aid and on French and Belgian and Morroccan troops to put down rebellions. Stockwell tells the story of the Lear jet that belonged to UNITA, given to its leader by a London/Rhodesian investment firm...