Angola and the Reagan Doctrine

Archive Report

East-West Concerns

Controversy Over Resumption of U.S. Aid

One Of The First issues Congress is likely to address after it convenes Jan. 21 concerns the southern African nation of Angola. While American attention has focused on growing unrest in nearby South Africa, backers of the Reagan administration's policy of supporting anti-communist insurgents around the world are trying to add Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and his forces to the list of “freedom fighters” worthy of U.S. aid.

Like the “contras” fighting to overthrow the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, Savimbi's forces, known as UNITA, are seeking to topple an avowedly Marxist government that enjoys the support of the Soviet Union and its allies. And like the U.S. support of the Nicaraguan rebels, the question of aid to Savimbi ...

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