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60 - PLACES/COUNTRIES/Congo.md
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@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ tags:
- CIA
- ColdWar
category: "Country"
summary: "The Democratic Republic of Congo (known as Zaire 1971-1997) is a Central African country whose CIA-facilitated assassination of first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, subsequent support for dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, use as a staging base for CIA Angola operations (IAFEATURE 1975-1976), and uranium deposits at Shinkolobwe mined for the Manhattan Project make it a significant subject in this vault."
summary: "Central African country (Zaire 1971-1997) where the CIA was implicated in the Lumumba assassination, backed Mobutu, staged Angola operations in 1975-1976, and where the Shinkolobwe mine supplied uranium for the Manhattan Project."
location: "Central Africa"
---
@ -35,17 +35,17 @@ During the Mobutu era, Zaire received billions in American economic and military
### Operation IAFEATURE: Angola
Zaire served as the primary CIA logistics base for Operation IAFEATURE (1975-1976), the CIA's covert program to support [[UNITA]] and the [[FNLA]] against the Soviet- and [[Cuba|Cuban]]-backed [[MPLA]] in the [[Angola|Angolan]] civil war that followed Angolan independence from [[Portugal]]. CIA Director [[William Colby]] and then Director [[George H.W. Bush]] managed the operation. Zairian territory was used to funnel weapons, CIA personnel, and funds to the CIA-backed Angolan factions. The operation was disclosed by journalist John Stockwell (a CIA case officer who resigned and wrote *In Search of Enemies*, 1978) and was shut down by Congress through the [[Frank Church|Clark Amendment]] in 1976.[^1]
Zaire served as the primary CIA logistics base for Operation IAFEATURE (1975-1976), the CIA's covert program to support [[UNITA]] and the [[FNLA]] against the Soviet- and [[Cuba|Cuban]]-backed [[MPLA]] in the [[Angola|Angolan]] civil war that followed Angolan independence from [[Portugal]]. CIA Director [[William Colby]] and then Director [[George H.W. Bush]] managed the operation. Zairian territory was used to funnel weapons, CIA personnel, and funds to the CIA-backed Angolan factions. The operation was disclosed by journalist John Stockwell (a CIA case officer who resigned and wrote *In Search of Enemies*, 1978) and was shut down by Congress through the [[Clark Amendment]], sponsored by Senator [[Dick Clark]] of Iowa, enacted as section 404 of Public Law 94-329 on June 30, 1976.[^1][^2]
### Uranium and Nuclear Connection
The Shinkolobwe uranium mine in Katanga province was the source of the high-grade uranium used in the [[Manhattan Project]]'s atomic bombs. Belgian-controlled Union Minière du Haut Katanga supplied the ore; Shinkolobwe uranium was used in both the Trinity test and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The mine was subsequently closed and reopened multiple times; artisanal mining resumed in the 2000s despite official prohibition.[^2]
The Shinkolobwe uranium mine in Katanga province was the source of the high-grade uranium used in the [[Manhattan Project]]'s atomic bombs. Belgian-controlled Union Minière du Haut Katanga supplied the ore; Shinkolobwe uranium was used in both the Trinity test and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The mine was subsequently closed and reopened multiple times; artisanal mining resumed in the 2000s despite official prohibition.[^3]
### Post-Mobutu
Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebels overthrew Mobutu in May 1997; the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001; his son Joseph Kabila succeeded him. The DRC has experienced persistent civil conflict since Mobutu's fall, including two major regional wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2003) involving forces from multiple African countries, and ongoing internal armed conflict in eastern Congo.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. De Witte, Ludo. *The Assassination of Lumumba.* Verso, 2001.
[^2]: Groves, Leslie R. *Now It Can Be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project.* Harper, 1962. Wrong, Michela. *In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo.* HarperCollins, 2001.
[^2]: International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, Public Law 94-329, 90 Stat. 729 (June 30, 1976), sec. 404(a) ("Limitation on certain assistance to and activities in Angola": no assistance of any kind for the purpose or effect of promoting the capacity of any group "to conduct military or paramilitary operations in Angola unless and until the Congress expressly authorizes such assistance by law"). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-90/pdf/STATUTE-90-Pg729.pdf ; sponsorship: *Congressional Record*, Senate, January 8, 2014, p. S130 (printed article quoting Clark on "my amendment" and "the so-called Clark amendment"). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2014-01-08/pdf/CREC-2014-01-08-pt1-PgS130.pdf
[^3]: Groves, Leslie R. *Now It Can Be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project.* Harper, 1962. Wrong, Michela. *In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo.* HarperCollins, 2001.