Renamo, UNITA, Inter alia

[Steelhead]

>please don't forget Angola - now there is
>something to write about! And what about Mozambique? Did you hear
>about the Texas billionaire who used to financially support Renamo and
>all their jolly finger / genital chop-chopping, and has now convinced the
>government to allow him to open a huuuuge eco-tourism resort? Talk about
>conspiracy - eco-tourism and fascism, now there's something you wouldn't
>expect in bed together - or would you?
>
Hg thanks for the thoughtful response. When I've got a couple hours I'll try
to utter a thoughtful reply.

In the meantime.

 Yes, I know about James Blanchard's despicable plans for Mozambique.
Indeed, Alex Cockburn and I just wrote a column on them--one of the more
grimly amusing aspects of which is the plan to import tribes of Kalahari
Bushmen to the theme park. "I say bring the little people in and let them
hunt," exclaimed Blanchard's game park manager. (He's from Louisiana,
actually, part of  the New Orleans mafia.) I'll send you a copy of the
story as an attachment. I'm working on a longer article about Angola.
Specifically, on the slaughter of
elephants and rhinos by UNITA forces to pay for arms from the South
Africa Defense forces, which then traded the elephant/rhino parts to
Chinese Triad gangs for heroin and cash.

"We paid for our war with elephants, timber and diamonds," said UNITA's
Jonas Savimbi. One morning in 1992, when some of this began to percolate
into the press, George Bush turned to his National Security Advisor Brent
Scowcroft and said; "Gee, Brent, we are our freedom fighters killing all
the elephants?" (Bush, of course, could give a damn about
all the people being slaughtered.) Some interesting stuff on this came
out in the Kumberlyn Commission, and with the Truth Commissions. Anymore
you know on this would be appreciated. There are a couple old, but fairly
good books, for those interested in the US's misadventures in southern
Africa:  Jonathon Kwitny's Endless Enemies and former CIA agent John
Stockwell's In Search of Enemies. Kwitny's stuff on Mobutu Sese Seko's
reign of terror and plunder in Zaire is frightening.

Steely