EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES
Against all Odds
Revised Edition
By Eeben Barlow Also by Eeben Barlow
Composite Warfare
Published in 2018 by
30˚ South Publishers (Pty) Ltd. 16 Ivy Road, Pinetown 3610 South Africa www.30degreessouth.co.za
Copyright © Eeben Barlow 2018
Edited by Marisa Robson
Cover design by Anthony Cuerden / [email protected] www.flyingantdesigns.co.za
Typeset by Blair Couper
Printed in South Africa by Pinetown Printers (Pty) Ltd
ISBN: 978-1-928359-05-0 (Soft Cover) ISBN: 978-1-928359-10-4 (Hard Cover)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, manipulated in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any mechanical, electronic form or by any other means, without the prior written authority of the publishers, except for short extracts in media reviews. Any person who engages in any unauthorised activity in relation to this publication shall be liable to criminal prosecution and claims for civil and criminal damages. For the soldiers and airmen I had the great honour of serving with, and at times commanding, especially the men of 32 Battalion Reconnaissance Wing;
And for my agents who frequently risked so much and asked only for my loyalty and support;
And for the governments who saw through what was being said and written about Executive Outcomes and continued to call on us for help;
And especially for the men of Executive Outcomes, who turned their faces to the wind, and despite incredible odds, triumphed where others had failed.
To those who made it back and those who didn’t—you were giants among men.
May you never be forgotten. Acknowledgements
The men of Executive Outcomes who read and corrected what I had written, and also gave me access to their photographs; the ex-SADF generals who confirmed what I had long suspected; the ex-Military Intelligence men who asked forgiveness for what they had done; the agents who ferreted out information for us; the UN officials who gave me a glimpse into the organisation’s duplicity; the governments that hired EO; publisher 30 Degrees South; and Nico Grobler for doing the maps. In particular, I would also like to thank the following people who gave me their time, opinions, and accounts of their experiences, and who were able to fill in many gaps: General Witkop Badenhorst, Hennie Blaauw, Louwrens Bosch (late), Harry Carlse, Carl Dietz (late), General Jannie Geldenhuys, Dries Hanekom (late), Mike Herbst, Renier Hugo, Johan Dempers, Bertie Jackson, Sonny Janeke, Juba Joubert, Craig Kotze, Jonathan Leach, Lafras Luitingh, Nico Palm, Rufan Palm, Pine Pienaar, Piers Pigou, Duncan Rykaardt (late), Lt Col Shikufa (Namibian Defence Force), General Phillip Sibanda (Zimbabwe Defence Force), Charlie Tait, Nic van den Bergh, Tony Viera, Arthur Walker (late), Simon Witherspoon—and those who preferred to remain anonymous.
Photographic credits
Eeben Barlow archives, Hennie Blaauw, Jim Hooper, Sonny Janeke, Johan Dempers, Mynhard Heroldt, Arthur Walker, Renier Hugo, Nico Palm, Kallie Coetzee, Nic van den Bergh, Al J Venter, Jannie Wools, Johan Dempers, James Findlay, Deon Rudolph, Armed Forces, Raids, New African, Molotov Cocktail, New American, and Sinar. Ownership of a few of the photographs has not been acknowledged despite the publishers having made every effort to establish copyrights now lost in the mists of time or blown away by the winds of a changing South Africa. However, the publishers will amend or add credits in subsequent editions and make the necessary arrangements with those photographers not yet traced or known at the time of going to print. Abbreviations
AA ...... Anti-aircraft AAA ...... Anti-aircraft artillery ABC ...... Australian Broadcasting Corp AFRC ...... Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (Sierra Leone) AFV ...... Afrikaner Volks Front AFV ...... Armoured Fighting Vehicle AGS-17 ...... 30mm grenade launcher AGNU ...... Angolan Govt of National Unity AN-12 ...... Antonov 12, four-engine turbo prop transport aircraft AN-32 ...... Antonov 32, two-engine, short-to-medium range transport aircraft ANC ...... African National Congress APLA ...... Azanian People’s Liberation Army ...... PAC’s military wing AWB ...... Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging B-10 ...... Russian recoilless rifle B-12 ...... Russian recoilless rifle BDF ...... Botswana Defence Force BM-21 ...... Russian, wheeled 122mm multiple rocket launcher BMP ...... Russian tracked infantry fighting vehicle BOSS ...... Bureau for State Security (South African forerunner to NIS and then NIA) BPA ...... Boere People’s Army BRA ...... Bougainville Revolutionary Army BTC ...... Benguema training camp C-130 ...... US Lockheed four-engine Turboprop tactical cargo and troop aircraft CAW ...... Children associated with war (Sierra Leone) CCB ...... Civil Cooperation Bureau (Covert SA Special Forces unit) CDF ...... Civil Defence Forces CDF ...... Chief of Defence Force CDIO ...... Chief Directorate Intelligence Operations CIA ...... Central Intelligence Agency (US foreign intelligence agency) CID ...... Criminal Investigation Department CI ...... Counter Intelligence CI Ops ...... Counter Intelligence Operations CNDD ...... National Council for Defence of Democracy CODESA ...... Convention for a Democratic South Africa CSI ...... Chief of Staff Intelligence SADF D-30 ...... Russian 122mm towed howitzer D-40 ...... Forerunner of CCB DCC ...... Directorate of Covert Collection (SADF military intelligence) DEA ...... Drug Enforcement Administration (US) DF ...... Direction finding or defensive fire DF SOS ...... Defensive fire (save our souls), called in if enemy over-running own positions DFA ...... Department of Foreign Affairs DIA ...... Defence Intelligence Agency DRC ...... Democratic Republic of Congo Dshk ...... Russian 12.7mm machine gun DSO ...... Directorate Special Operations (Scorpions) DST ...... Directorate of Special Tasks (South African military intelligence) DZ ...... Drop zone EB ...... (Echo Bravo), Author’s call sign ECOMOG ...... Economic Community of West African States Cease-fire Monitoring Group ECOWAS ...... Economic Community of West African States EMLC ...... Electronic, Magnetic, Logistical Component Technical Consultants and Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd. Special Forces technical front company. FAA ...... Angolan Armed Forces FAPLA ...... Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola, renamed FAA FUR ...... Forward Looking Infra-Red FOO ...... Forward observation officer FNLA ...... National Front for the Liberation of Angola (resistance movement) GCHQ ...... Government Communications HQ, British signals intelligence GIT ...... Geo International Trading GNU ...... Government of National Unity GRU ...... Soviet military intelligence GS2 ...... Army Intelligence GSG ...... Gurkha Security Guards HAG ...... Helicopter Administrative Area (from Afrikaans) HRW ...... Human Rights Watch IFV ...... Infantry Fighting Vehicle IL-76 ...... Ilyushin 76, a 4-engine, medium-range, strategic cargo and troop aircraft IFP ...... Inkatha Freedom Party IMF ...... International Monetary Fund ISS ...... Institute of Security Studies (formerly Institute of Defence Studies) JMC ...... Joint Monitoring Commission KGB ... Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Soviet intelligence and security organisation) LAW ...... Light antitank weapon LLA ...... Lesotho Liberation Army LZ ...... Landing zone M-72 ...... US disposable anti-tank rocket launcher M-79 ...... US 40mm grenade launcher MAG ...... NATO 7.62mm belt-fed machine gun MK ...... Military Kommand—Umkhonto we Sizwe (ANC’s military wing) MI ...... Military Intelligence (South Africa) MI5 ...... British internal security intelligence organisation MI6 ...... British external security intelligence organisation Mi-8 ...... Russian Mil-8, twin-turbine transport helicopter Mi-17 ...... Russian multi-role helicopter, upgraded export variant of the Mi-8 Mi-24 ...... Russian combat helicopter gunship with limited troop-carrying capacity Mig-23 ...... Russian, swept-wing fighter aircraft Mk-19 ...... 40mm automatic grenade launcher MONUC ...... UN Mission to the DRC MPLA ...... Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola MPRI ...... Military Professional Resources, Inc. NATO ...... North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NGO ...... Non-governmental organisation NIA ...... National Intelligence Agency (RSA) NICOC ...... National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (RSA) NIS ...... National Intelligence Service (RSA) NP ...... National Party (RSA) NPA ...... National Prosecuting Authority NPFL ...... National Patriotic Front of Liberia NPRC ...... National Provisional Ruling Council of Sierra Leone OAU ...... Organisation of African Unity PAC ...... Pan Africanist Congress PC-7 ...... Swiss Pilatus turbo trainer, a low-wing Tandem-seat training aircraft PASL ...... People’s Army of Sierra Leone PKM ...... Russian 7.62x54mm machine gun PLAN ...... People’s Liberation Army of Namibia PLO ...... Palestine Liberation Organisation PMC ...... Private military company PNG ...... Papua New Guinea PNGDF ...... Papua New Guinea Defence Force PRA ...... People’s Republic of Angola PW ...... Radio call sign for EO surveillance aircraft RDF ...... Rapid deployment force RENAMO ...... National Resistance Movement of Mozambique RPF ...... Rwandan Patriotic Front RPG ...... Russian rocket propelled grenade (anti-tank weapon) RSNGWD ...... Royal Saudi National Guard, Western Deputation RSLMF ...... Republic of Sierra Leone Military Force RUF ...... Revolutionary United Front (Sierra Leone) S & R ...... Search and rescue SACTU ...... South African Congress of Trade Unions SACP ...... South African Communist Party SADEA ...... South American Drug Enforcement Agency SADF ...... South African Defence Force SAEC ...... South African Engineer Corps SAM-7 ...... Russian shoulder launched surface-to-air missile SAMID ...... South African Military Intelligence Division SANDF ...... South African National Defence Force SAS ...... Special Air Service (British) SAP ...... South African Police SAPS ...... South African Police Services SARS ...... South African Revenue Services SASS ...... South African Secret Service SDCI ...... Sub-division Counter Intelligence (RSA) SDECE ...... French intelligence service SIG ...... EO’s Strategic Intelligence Group SIS ...... EO’s Strategic Intelligence Summary SLA ...... Sierra Leone Army SLPP ...... Sierra Leone People’s Party SSC ...... State Security Council (RSA) SSO ...... Senior Staff Officer Stratcom ...... Strategic communications, propaganda, disinformation SU-22 ...... Russian high speed, medium range low-level ground attack reconnaissance aircraft SWA ...... South West Africa (now Namibia) SWAPO ...... South West African People’s Organisation T-34 ...... Russian (1940-1958) medium tank with 76.2mm main gun T-54 ...... Russian (1947-1962) medium tank with 100mm main gun T-62 ...... Russian (1961-1975) main battle tank with 115mm main gun TMA-3 ...... Circular Yugoslavian non-metallic anti-tank mine made of cast explosives TMM ...... Russian wheeled mobile bridge layer TRC ...... Truth and Reconciliation Commission UAE ...... United Arab Emirates UDA ...... Ulster Defence Association ULIMO ...... United Liberation Movement, initially based in Liberia. UNAMSIL ...... UN Mission in Sierra Leone UNAVEM ...... UN Angola Verification Mission UNESCO ...... UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. UNITA ...... National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola UNHCR ...... UN High Commissioner for Refugees UP ...... United Party USIS ...... US Information Service USSR ...... Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (now Russian Federation) WFP ...... World Food Programme ZANU-PF ...... Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front ZCIO ...... Zimbabwe Central Intelligence Organisation ZIPRA ...... Zimbabwe People’s Liberation Army ZSU-23/4 ...... Russian tracked, quad-barrelled 23mm anti-aircraft gun Executive Outcomes: Against all Odds
Contents:
Foreword ...... 12
Author’s Introduction ...... 15
01: In the Beginning ...... 17
02: Ambush at Cahama ...... 32
03: I Spy with My Little Eye ...... 57
04: My Life as a ‘Civil Cooperator’ ...... 85
05: Rising from the Dust ...... 118
06: Angola: Torn Apart by War ...... 138
07: A Little Town Called Soyo ...... 146
08: Battle for Soyo and Surrounds ...... 157
09: The Investigation ...... 179
10: A Brief Respite ...... 184
11: Planning for Victory ...... 191
12: Preparing for War on Several Fronts ...... 203
13: Planning the Redeployment of Forces ...... 230
14: The Start of the 1994 Offensive ...... 248
15: The Beginning of the End ...... 277
16: UNITA Attack Saurimo ...... 302
17: Prelude to Cafunfu ...... 313
18: The Fall of Cafunfu ...... 337
19: Tragedy in Lunda Norte Province ...... 373
20: The War Continues ...... 392
21: Staggering towards Peace ...... 407
22: Angola Returns to War ...... 423
23: Epilogue to the Angolan War: Blood Diamonds and Blood Money ...... 435
24: The Tragedy of Sierra Leone ...... 445
25: Help us Save Sierra Leone ...... 454
26: Move to Mile 91 ...... 462
27: The Relief of Freetown ...... 472
28: Retaking the Koidu Diamond Fields ...... 485
10 29: Dominating Koidu and the Kono District ...... 497
30: A Change of Government in Sierra Leone ...... 513
31: Leaving Sierra Leone ...... 528
32: Enter the United Nations ...... 544 33: Illegal Support to RUF Rebels and Breaches of UN Resolutions by South Africa, Israel and Liberia ...... 553
34: Taking and Releasing Hostages in Sierra Leone ...... 558
35: An Assassination to Order ...... 567
36: Rescue in Irian Jaya ...... 571
37: Executive Outcomes: The Great Lakes Myth ...... 586
38: The United Nations Investigates ...... 603
39: The Not So Mysterious Dr Schultz ...... 623
40: The Papua New Guinea Fiasco ...... 626
41: Executive Outcomes at IDEX ’97 ...... 640
42: Blowing the Lid off Past Operations ...... 645
43: Saudi Arabia ...... 649
44: Leaving What I Had Started ...... 661
45: The Disinformation War ...... 675
46: The Sting of the Scorpion ...... 702
47: Vindication ...... 706
48: Betrayal, Closure and Aftermath ...... 716
49: The Rewards of Disinformation ...... 733
50: Looking Back in 2017 ...... 739
51: Afterword ...... 754
Executive Outcomes: Roll of Honour ...... 757
Appendix A: The Corporation’s Mission ...... 758
Appendix B: Counting the cost ...... 761
Appendix C: Companies associated with Executive Outcomes ...... 764
Sources ...... 766
11 Executive Outcomes: Against all Odds
Foreword
I first met Eeben Barlow in 1982. As a young and eager reconnaissance officer with 32 Battalion, he was tasked to conduct an operation in my area of interest, Angola. It therefore came as no great surprise to me to learn that he remained active in the sphere of security and military operations after leaving the SADF. I would only much later discover the extent of his activities. He established Executive Outcomes (EO) in 1989 as a private security-and- advisory company but, through circumstance, changed its direction to become a military advisory company, or, to use the current term, a private military company. Apart from giving specialist covert training to the SADF’s Special Forces, EO provided high-level security advice, and training, to numerous foreign governments and large multi-national corporations. In addition, the company provided advice to a few NATO armed forces. It also became involved in fighting crime in South America. After the Cuban withdrawal from Angola, the situation in that country deteriorated to such an extent that UNITA gained almost total control of Angola’s oil and diamond fields. This became a crisis for the Angolan government who were dependent on these natural resources. The election results of the 1992 Angolan election were rejected by UNITA, with some apparent encouragement by outside forces, which instead opted for a return to war. By 1993, Executive Outcomes had just completed a high-risk security operation in Angola on behalf of numerous international oil companies. It was at the time that a desperate Angolan government urgently needed help to end a decades-old conflict. The world had already turned its back on Angola. The Angolan government thus contracted EO to reorganise, retrain and provide a strategy for ending the Angolan civil war. This contract called on a private South African company to support a legitimate government to ensure its sovereignty, all by means of a legitimate contract. The contract was, however, in direct opposition to the previous South African government’s policy because South Africa had, for years, supported UNITA. Strictly speaking, South Africa could not object to EO’s contract with the MPLA, because South Africa no longer had an interest in the battle between FAPLA (and later FAA) and UNITA. The Cubans had long since withdrawn from Angola, and a democratic Namibia had been established. There was thus no longer a SWAPO threat. This was, however, still unacceptable to South Africa, and it had to devise a new method of attack on the company. Initially, oblivious to the concern it was creating, and in order to carry out its contractual obligations, EO recruited a number of men from the SADF’s elite units such as the Reconnaissance Regiments, 32 Battalion, the Parachute Battalion as well as men from the South African Air Force. The majority of these men had already been retrenched from the SADF. Retrenched personnel from the police’s elite Koevoet counter-insurgency unit were also recruited as well as former members of the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. EO’s strong points lay in its strategy development, planning, training and execution of strategy and tactics. The men at EO realised that they could not help
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