In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

Savimbi [141]
roadside, soldiers and civilians alike arose when they saw the car and
ran forward, crying out "Savimbi!" and holding up their right index
fingers, the UNIT A symbol for national unity. The troops were
unarmed and some of them poorly clad.
"I have rifles for them," Savimbi said, sensing my question, "and
they know how to shoot. But I keep the rifles locked up. Otherwise
they might be lost."
I asked what he needed most.
"Big mortars, and bazookas with a lot of ammunition. Weapons
that will shoot far and make the enemy run away. My men are not
afraid to fight close, but when they do I can lose too many soldiers.
I cannot afford to lose them."
And uniforms?
"Yes, uniforms," he said, "and boots ... " Then he reconsidered.
" ... Later. Other things are more important. My men can fight
barefooted. Without guns and ammunition they cannot fight."
We ate that night at his conference table and then I sat in the living
room and talked to two political operatives, including an earnest and
attractive young woman who was a delegate from Serpa Pinto. From
her comments I was able to make a chart of the UNIT A political
organization, including the congress, regional committees, and
women's and youth councils.
Savimbi held a meeting in the next room until about n:oo P.M.,
when he disappeared upstairs with the girl. One of the aides escorted
me to stark guest quarters in a two-storied apartment building three
blocks away. The night was clear and quite chilly; Silva Porto was
on the same vast plateau that runs from southern Zaire through
Zambia and Rhodesia. It was the dry season, the time of the year
when we'd had crystal, frosty mornings in Lubumbashi.
Shortly after dawn Savimbi and I flew out in a single-engine plane
so small the Portuguese pilot clucked and scowled as he calculated
the fuel against our gross weight. In Cangomba, three hundred kilometers
east, we transferred to a late-model Land Rover and drove
in swirling clouds of dust for two more hours towards Lu so.
The central Angolan highlands, though opened to European exploitation
later than the Bakongo and Mbundu areas, eventually
succumbed to Portuguese adventurers seeking slaves and mineral
wealth. The Ovimbundu tribe which dominated the area developed