Word: retreat
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Moments later, Frost has Nixon in full retreat in a sharp exchange over Frost's repeated assertion that the tapes do, indeed, show Nixon knew a cover-up was under way more than a month before he has always claimed he learned of it. This round ends tartly. "You could state your conclusion and I've stated my view." Nixon says. "So now we go on to the rest...
...month ago, Mobutu's well-equipped but poorly motivated soldiers were in disgraceful retreat, refusing to fight and often simply running away from a ragtag band of Angola-based Katangese rebels. Now the rebels were on the run. The secret ingredient in the turn-around was mostly psychological: the presence of 1,500 elite Moroccan troops who had been airlifted in at Mobutu's desperate request. The Moroccans shamed Zaïre's 4,000 troops in the fighting area into showing a little backbone. This persuaded the 2,000 or so rebels and, presumably, their Angolan and Cuban supporters...
...rebel retreat, from within 20 miles of the copper-mining center of Kolwezi, had started even before the government "offensive." As they probed slowly westward, with Moroccans providing back-up support and removing antipersonnel mines from the dirt tracks en route, Zaïrian forces encountered practically no resistance. There was not a single major firefight and hardly a contact of any kind. "This isn't a war," one bored Moroccan officer confided. "It is a matter of making armed reconnaissance and then retaking ground without a fight. To call it a war is a joke...
Nonetheless, Mobutu was making the most of his moment of victory. Once the rebel retreat had begun, he flew to the region, where he was dutifully hailed by cheering crowds as the "savior of Shaba." As drum majorettes danced before le Guide, the well-coached crowds belted out songs of praise. Sample: "We are not afraid of the menace of mercenaries, for we have Mobutu, our guide and our faith...
...experts, Asger ("Boots") Hansen and Richard ("Toots") Hatteberg, flew in from Texas to try to cap the well, and encountered more problems than they had expected. High winds stymied their earliest attempts to get aboard the platform; later a potentially dangerous gas buildup around the wellhead forced them to retreat temporarily. Using brass tools to avoid striking sparks that could ignite the gas, the Americans made four unsuccessful attempts to shut off the flow. At week's end-bolstered by the arrival of their boss, famed oilwell troubleshooter Paul ("Red") Adair-they finally capped the well with...