European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes thursday february 20, 1986 columns Mary Mcgrory Gramm Rudman May Block Aid to Angola rebels sensible people May live to bless Gramm Rudman the crazy budget Cut Ling contraption recently installed on Ca Pitol Hill by people who admit they can t Cut the budget without the help of a mechanical Arm on the a. The damage it will do to Domestic programs has been amply documented in recent weeks. But its peaceful uses May come to be appreciated if it can foil some or the preposterous foreign adventures being put Forward by Ronald Rea Gan. Take Tor instance the current Campaign to resume financing of the angolan guerrilla Jonas Sav Imbi who recently was in town peddling democracy for his native country. Aid to the angolan rebels was outlawed in 1975 by the so called Clark amendment which put Angola off limits after the failure of a Clumsy Cia intervention in its affairs. Last year Congress repealed the Clark Amend ment but Ronald Reagan and his tar right followers deprived of the thrill of direct action against the communists arc passionately promoting proxy wars against Angola and Nicaragua seeking to fill guerrilla War chests in both coun tries. The Angola policy goes against Rea son history and . Business interests David Rockefeller for one is vigorously opposed. But the Reagan ills think that funding Sav Imbi will somehow result in the withdrawal of the cuban troops who were brought in to save the government from defeat by the guerrillas and stayed on to guard the Chevron Gulf Oil installations that Are periodically sabotaged by Sav Imbi and his South african allies. Sav Imbi. A big handsome round eyed opportunist who can be Jovial and humor Ous made the rounds in Washington under the auspices of one of the town s most High powered Public relations firms Black Manafort Stone and Kelly which is charging him $600,000 for changing his image and his prospects. If current plans for some $15 million in Aid succeed american taxpayers will have the dubious pleasure of helping pay the Bill for being conned. James j. Kilpatrick Hove much 00 mud want cur Fror time . Pegeuse Bod ser Sav Imbi did Well at the White House with president Reagan who promised him the most effective Aid he could. He is being lionized by the far right. At the conservative political action conference banquet former . Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick perhaps the most vociferous of the proxy warriors introduced him As one of the few authentic heroes of our  to others Sav Imbi appears More like a major character in one of those darkly satiric african novels by Evelyn Waugh. The conservatives favorite Freedom fighter was trained in guerrilla warfare in communist China and at one time in his life was More anti White than anti red. But under the coaching of his Media chaperones he has been taught to profess a mania for democracy. In a breakfast visit to Washington Post editors and writers Sav Imbi demonstrated considerable swagger. He said that Gulf Oil now part of Chevron which has been getting along just Fine with the marxist rulers of Angola would have to Stop lobbying against his cause if it does t want to get blown up by his forces. He also said that he would not Send a diplomatic representative to South Africa unless that country abandoned apartheid a doctrine he professes to abhor. Other Black states regard Sav Imbi As the puppet of the South africans. The Reagan administration once wanted to negotiate an end to the impasse in the Region seeking to negotiate the simultaneous withdrawal of cuban troops from Angola and South african troops from no ignoring Namibia. But these efforts were apparently dumped when the president said he was All for Aid to an Gola. He would he said Art Lessly prefer the Covert kind. It May be his Way of expressing resentment at being forced to impose sanctions on South Africa. Congress is bracing for his Call to arms. Can it oppose funding Freedom fighters far away and Bent the soft on communism rap Gramm Rudman is the Only Alibi in sight. The administration is defiantly propos ing about si00 million for faltering nicaraguan contras. By starting the bidding so High the White House Hopes to get a minimum of s30 million in humanitarian Aid and perhaps the same amount or More for the lethal stuff. There As Well it has spurned negotiations. The Contador countries which seek a non violent settlement have been put Down hard. Many democrats agonize that they cannot get away with voting against both Sav Imbi and the contras. The one thing that May stiffen them is the looming thought that they Are going to have to Cut schools and playgrounds in their Home District and for heaven s Sake Cut their own staffs. It is possible that we will see people diving for the cover of Gramm Rudman professing a militant anti communism while turning out their pockets to show there is nothing there to finance the March of Folly abroad. Una Vetrul priv Send Lucill Sav Imbi needs help from . And needs it now Back on nov. 22, president Reagan fielded a reporter s question about Jonas Sav Imbi. In his address to Congress the night before the president had said that we will continue to support the heroic efforts of those who fight for Freedom. Why then asked the reporter was Reagan s administration opposing even humanitarian Aid to Sav Imbi in Angola this was the president s reply we All believe that a Covert operation would be More useful to us and would have More Chance of Success right now than the overt proposal that has been made in  Well Sav Imbi was in town recently and in Gratifying contrast to his previous visits when he was royally snubbed Sav Imbi had appointments with both the president and with Secretary of state George Shultz. Those of us who believe in the president s pledge that Freedom fighters should be supported will Pray devoutly that their conversations will Bear immediate fruit. Sav Imbi urgently needs help and he needs that help now. It is immaterial in my View whether . Support is Given overtly or  what difference does it make heaven knows that Sav Imbi i enemies make no such punctilious distinctions. The 45,000 cuban mercenaries Are there fighting against him. The soviet com Manders Are there leading troops against his forces. The soviets have sent an estimated s2.s billion in arms to the marxist rulers who nominally control the Desti Nies of Angola. Let me paraphrase an exhortation every schoolchild supposedly knows Pur enemies Are already in the Field. Why stand we Here Idle for those who came in late a word of background May be in order. Portugal gave up its angolan Colony in 1974 after eight years of a struggle forum go ind Epen Ita thence led chiefly by Sav Imbi s unit the National Union for the total Independence of Angola. At a critical hour in 1975, the soviet backed Mola pop ular liberation movement of Angola seized control of the capital at Luanda. The new communist rulers brought in thousands of cuban troops they broke the Promise of free elections and they created a one party marxist state. Ten years later the Mola has effective control Over barely two thirds of Angola. Most of Southern Angola is effectively controlled by Sav Imbi s Unita. His guerrilla forces move freely throughout the area. They see to civil government and to the administration of Justice. They operate nearly 7,000 schools with about 227,000 students. They maintain a Small Hospital in their provisional capital in Jamba. By every yardstick that might be applied Sav Imbi measures up to All that could be asked of an anti communist Leader in Africa. He has repeatedly defined Unita s Aims we fight for an Independent Angola free of All foreign troops. We believe that peasants not the state should own farm land. We favor democratic elections Freedom of religion and respect for tribal Cus Toms and languages. We Are fighting the cubans and soviets who would deny us our  last summer the nature of the prolonged struggle changed drastically. For the first time experienced so Viet officers took command of cuban and Mola forces. They brought Supply columns protected by a new Fleet of armoured vehicles. They provided air cover with Mig-2ls and Mig-23s and with soviet helicopter gunships. Sav Imbi skilfully moved his forces and Man aged to defeat his enemy s Effort to capture the key town of Havinga. In october the Rains came and the soviet cadre departed. Next month the Rainy season ends. As Sav Imbi has. Said the grounds will Harden and the skies will Clear and the soviets will return. What does president Reagan propose to do about this if the United states acts promptly decisively imaginatively the arms that Sav Imbi so desperately needs May yet be provided. If  Only with half measures with lip service with blankets aspirins and tins of spam the cause could be lost. If Angola finally Falls to soviet domination another 8 million human beings will have been surrendered to tyranny. Given effective support Sav Imbi can prevent this. 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