House Votes to Allow Aid to Angolan Rebels

The Democratic-controlled House voted Wednesday to repeal a nine-year-old ban on U.S. aid to guerrillas fighting the Marxist government in Angola.

Adopted by a vote of 236 to 185, the proposal was intended to open the way for the Reagan Administration to provide covert military or paramilitary aid to the pro-Western National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) headed by Jonas Savimbi--even though no money has been approved for that purpose.

Just a month ago, the Senate voted 63 to 34 for a similar provision. Both would repeal an amendment enacted in 1976, soon after the end of the Vietnam War, when Congress learned that the CIA had been secretly providing military aid to UNITA and another pro-Western group trying to block a Marxist faction from seizing power following Angola’s independence from Portugal.

Warnings by Liberals

Despite warnings from liberals that Congress is starting to forget the lessons of Vietnam, both the House and Senate have voted on a number of occasions recently to permit U.S. assistance to non-Communist forces in Nicaragua, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Angola.

Rep. Ted Weiss (D-N.Y.) attributed the trend to what he described as “a stage of obsessive anti-communism” that has gripped Congress.

But repeal of the Angola amendment still faces some legislative obstacles before it can become law. Among other things, both the House and Senate chose different bills as their vehicles for repealing the ban.

In the House, it was attached to a bill providing $12.6 billion in foreign assistance to 60 countries in the fiscal years 1986 and 1987. Although the Reagan Administration supports repeal of the amendment, it opposes the overall bill and passage is doubtful.

In the Senate, repeal of the amendment was adopted as part of a bill authorizing funds for the State Department.

Ban Called Outdated

Led by Rep. Samuel S. Stratton (D-N.Y.), who authored the repeal provision, opponents of the amendment said that it has become outdated in an era in which Congress has chosen to fund non-Communist movements in other parts of the world.

“The days of America on the decline are over,” said California Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ojai). “We are strong again.”

Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.). added, “Let’s remove the perception that we’ve given to the world that we’ve washed our hands of Angola.”

California Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Buena Park) insisted that the Reagan Administration has no current plans to fund the guerrillas in Angola. But he contended that unless Congress repealed the amendment, there would be rejoicing throughout the Communist world.

Supporters of the amendment countered that it would be a mistake for the United States to repeal it at a time when Cuba is believed to be on the verge of pulling its troops out of Angola. Weiss suggested that it might cause the Cubans to change their mind and keep their troops there.