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Let’s Bag the Angolan Proxy War

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Secretary of State James A. Baker III had, for the most part, a successful visit to southern Africa. He made clear America’s moral support of the newest nation on the continent, Namibia. And he encouraged President Frederik W. de Klerk at a time when the South African leader needed that to maintain his reform momentum.

The exception came in Baker’s handling of Angola. He unfortunately maintained U.S. refusal of diplomatic relations and promised continued aid for the UNITA guerrilla forces of Jonas Savimbi. Angola is not a peripheral issue. Rich in resources, it already is a major supplier of U.S. oil. Alas, it is also the last major battleield where the Soviet Union, arming the government, and the United States, arming the UNITA guerrillas, are engaged in a proxy war.

There is blame enough to go around in Angola, where the government now in power emerged from a complex struggle after Portugal set the former colony free. None of the rivals have respected their original agreements. The United States, in an unwelcome alliance with South Africa during the Reagan years, made Angola a pawn in the regional peace plan, stalling independence for Namibia for a decade. Washington wanted the Cubans removed from Angola. Now that they are leaving, it has another condition: Bring UNITA into the government. That may be a splendid idea. But it does not justify arms to prolong the war.

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Baker’s commitment to southern Africa will be strengthened if he is now able to deliver more than the pathetic $500,000 promised Namibia, and if he continues to use U.S. sanctions to prod De Klerk to move faster toward a non-racial democracy.

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