a ti THE WASHINGTON OFFICE ON AFRICA 110 Maryland Avenue. N.E .. Washington. D.C. 20002 (202) 546·7961 r~~_I~~Q~ Nearly ten years after the first U. S . military and foreign policy debacle in Angola, serious efforts are now underway within the administration and Congress to bring about U. S. military intervention in that country once again. THE CURRENT SITUATION On October 1, Congressman Claude Pepper (D - Fla) i-;-t~od-;:;-Z;d-;-bill-TH-:-R. 3472) to provide $27 million in so-called "humanitarian" support to UNITA(National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) for the current ( 1986) fiscal ye ar. Senator Steve Symms (R-Idaho) is "seriousl y considering" sponsoring a companion bill in the Senate. On October 16th the Washington Post reported that the Reagan administra­ tion is conducting a major policy review to determine whether to resume U.S. military aid to UNITA. The report cited an internal policy struggle now underway within the administration, pitting State Department officials who oppose such aid, against Pentagon, CIA and National Security Council officials who support military assistance to UNITA . Mo re over, the Post art i c lei n d i cat edt hat _a_...p_o_s...s_i_b_l_e__ t_r..§l_d_e __ e_m_b..§l3~'-?_..§l~_a_i_n...s_t_J>._n~.-?J"! __ iY_3_ly.-?_ ?_,=-~~_s_t_u_~"Le_~. The cur rent push by conservatives and cold war forces in the administra­ tion and Congress comes amidst reports that Angolan military forces ha ve turned the tide of the war against South African supported UNITA which has been fighting to t opple the current MPLA government since 1975 (see other arguments below). On September 16th South Africa again invaded Angola, thLB time openly admitting that it did so in support of UNITA . South Af~ica flew fuel and other supplies to UNITA and reportedly used Mira g"e jet s to at t a c k An g 0 1 an f 0 t c est h rea ten i n g it's he a d qua r t e r sat Jamba . S UMMA RY OF IMPORTANT ARGUMENTS AGAINST U.S. AID TO UNITA Aid from the -------------------------------------------------------- U.S . to UNITA constitutes direct support for South Africa . South Africa is the principal sponsor and arms supplier of UNITA and aid of any kind to the group would more closely ally the administration with South Africa's "regional aggression, at a time ~hen Congress has been attempting to dis­ tance the u.S. from Pretoria's apartheid policies. The U. S . would involve itself in a politically and economicall y costly war which most obser ver s agree UNITA cannot win. Intervention woul d help esca l ate the war and in fact enhance Angolan dependence on So vie t /C uban assistance. The Afric an co untries and a majorit y of the international communit y support An gola' s posit i on regarding South African /U NITA aggression and the presence of Cuban troops. Ai d by the U.S. to UNITA would impair relationships with Af ri ca and permanently sabatoge crucial talks regarding Namibian inde ­ pendence and a withdrawal of Cuban troops. r~~_~Q~~~~r_~IrQ~rIQ~_I~_~2~Q~~~~ Cong ressional i ns ide rs have expressed conc er n that H.R. 3472 would be di fficult to defeat if it reaches the House floor. However we can defeat t hi s legislation if we mobilize to stop it now. There are t wo ways the bill might come up in coming weeks . First, on the Foreign Aid Appropriations Bi ll now pending . No date has been set but lI=~~y=~~=~£E~i~I~i=IE~=~~~~~=~I_2£~~£~~_~~~_2£~~£~~_~~_~~ ~~~~~£~~_~. This vehicle presents the most dangerous possibility becau s e Pepper, as chairman of the Rules Committee can more easily obtain a r u l e allowing his bill to be attached to this legislation to facilitate House floor action. Howev e r, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Ope ­ rations David Obe y( D-Wis ) the floor manager of th e F ore ign Aid bill fo r the first time, will be resistant to an y effo rts to ad d co ntrove rsial a mendments which wou ld de la y h is committ ee' s legis lat io n. If Congre ss does not ta ke action on t he Foreign Aid App~o priations Bill before the sche duled Nove mber Co n g r essio nal r ecess the s eco nd veh i c le Page 2. ava il abl e t o Pepper is the f£~!!~~!~a _~~ ~£l~!! £~(CR) . Th e CR is a short ­ te rm l egis l ation device used t o continue go ve rnment fun d i ng a t the pre­ vious y ear ' s le ve l if Congress hasn't a cted to a p propr i ate money fo r the next fiscal year. The CR route would be a more difficult one for Pepper because usually only one amendment can be attached to the CR. In addition Pepper's bill ~~~_~£!_~~!~£~!~~~ during the authorization phase of the budget process. Besides stopping Pepper's bill we must also prevent an administration push for covert military aid to UNITA. This would involve the House Per­ manent Committee on Intelligence. Under current procedures the admini­ stration could present a determination to the intelligence committee that such assistance is necessary for U.S. national security interests. The entire process is closed and secret meaning that the public would not know that such assistance had actually been au~horized. ~f!IQ~ Supporters of aid for UNITA are urging a swift response by the U.S. to the crisis in Angola. It is important therefore that we re­ spond immediately and without delay to alert Congress to our opposition to the Pepper bill and possible administration support for direct covert military assistance. ' We must defeat such efforts in the House first if if we are to prevent this aid. CALL OR TELEGRAM ~£~~_f£~a~~~~!£~~l_~~£~~~~~!~!!~~, asking them to oppose and vote against Claude Pepper's bill(H.R. 3472)and to urge the leadership and other col­ leagues in the House and Senate to reject any attempt to provide assis­ tance of any kind to South African-backed UNITA. ~~~!~_~~_Q~~yi~=~!~l~~~!~~~~~_~~~_£!~~~_~~~~~~~_££_!~~_I£~~!£~_Q£~~~!!£~~ ~~~~~~~!!!~~_~£_!~~_~££££££!~!!£~~_~~~~!!!~~, asking them to oppose Claude Pepper's bill if it is offered as an amendment to the Foreign Ai d Appropri - ations Bill. ~l~~~~_I~££~£~_~~~!£~~~_~~~_£!~~£_~~~~~£~_~£_!~~_~~l~~_~~~~!!!~~ . Ask Mr. Pepper to withdraw his bill and not bring it up under the Foreign Aid Bi ll or the Conti nuing Resolution. Cite his legislation as a terrible waste of taxpayers money, when medicare / medicaid and other programs for the poor and e lderly are being cut. Ask the other members of the Rules Committee to do everything possible to persuade Mr . Pepper not to offer his bill as an amendment on the House floor. Dante Fascell(D-Fla)chairman, and other members of the Foreion Af fairs ------------------------------------------------------------~--------- f£~~!!!~~ urging that this committee have jurisdiction over any legisla- tion offered to support UNITA and to schedule hearings to careful l y re­ vi ew such dangerous legislation. Ask their strong opposition to aid to UNI TA. ~~~_~~~!l!£~i~=I~~l~_£~~!~~~~_~~~_£!~~~_~~~~~E~_££_!~~ _~£~~~_f~E~~~~~! f£~~!!!~~_£~_I~!~ll!8.~~~~. Urge their strong opposition to any push by the administration through the ClAd the Pentagon and the Na tional Se cu­ rity Council to provide cove r t aid to UNITA . The members of the House included on the attached Swina List, along with the committees already mention ed , must r ece ive speci~l ~tt~~tion and pres­ sure. The swing list indicat es how the memb er vo ted on aid to Nicarag uan c ontra r e bels, on sanctions against South Africa (H . R. 1 460)a n d on the re­ peal of the Clark Amendment, as a way of determining possible s wing votes on this issue. The Southern Democrats and Republicans on this list are very important v otes to win . TAKE DIREC T ACTION AGAI NST APARTHE ID : Write Op-ed p ieces for local and nat iona l news­ papers stating your opposition to any U. S . funding for South Af rican-backed rebels in Southern Africa . Picket and peacefull y demonstrate in f r ont of t he local off ice s of you r U. S. Senator and Cong ressman demanding that they: " Vo t e NO!" on H. R. 3472. Pl an teach- ins , sit- ins , and let ter-writing parties to Congress, t o educate , br i ng at ten­ tion to and mobili ze against U.S . intervention in Angola. ****TARGET LIST FOR POSSIBLE SWING VOTES ON AID TO ANGOLAN REBELS**** 73 Group A-- voted no on contra aid, yes on sanctions and ~ on repeal of the-Clark Amendment 1) Glenn Anderson (D) Ca. 11) Lee Hamilton (D) Ind. 2) Beryl Anthony (D) Ark. 12) Mike Lowry (D) Wash. 3) Sherwood Boehlert (D) N.Y. 13) Stan Lundine (D) N.Y. 4) Lindy Boggs (D) La. 14) Frank McCloskey (D) Ind. 5) Thomas Carper (D) Del. 15) William Natcher (D) Ky. 6) Tony Coelho (D) Ca. 16) Claudine Schneider (R) R.I. 7) Don Edwards (D) Ca. 17) Phillip Sharp (D) Ind. 8) Wyche Fowler (D) Ga.