In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

IN SEARCH OF ENEMIES
Monday, August 25, I briefed Potts at the morning staff meeting,
fleshing out my cabled report about the FNLA, and describing
UNIT A. Bantam told me to stand by to brief the director and the
40 Committee, but Potts scotched that, relaying the gist of my
findings up the ladder without taking me along. This was consistent
with his tendency to keep that level of activity to himself, and I
probably encouraged his caution anyway when I confronted him in
his office immediately after the staff meeting.
Potts and I had never analyzed the Angola program together.
Now that I was confident of my knowledge of Angola, I wanted to
have an airing, to hear his rationale for the program, and to make
some basic suggestions. He had all along discouraged this kind of
questioning in the staff meetings and I hoped to be more successful
in the privacy of his office.
It didn't work. Potts refused to respond and the meeting became
a Stockwell monologue which went something like this: We had two
viable options in Angola. We could give the FNLA and UNITA
enough support to win-by going in quickly with tactical air support
and advisors we could take Luanda and put the MPLA out of
business before the Soviets could react. Otherwise, if we weren't
willing to do that, we would further U.S. interests by staying out of
the conflict. The middle ground, feeling our way along with small
amounts of aid, would only escalate the war and get the United States
far out on a fragile limb. It would help neither the Angolan people
nor us. To the contrary, it would jeopardize the United States' position
in southern Africa.
Potts wanted none of it. In his best patronizing manner he averred
that I would with more experience find "these situations" difficult.
Clear solutions rarely presented themselves. Our program would no
doubt be a compromise between my alternatives. He broke otf the
conversation. On the way into the working group session Thursday
morning, August 28, however, he reinforced the point.
"Just stick to the facts about your trip," he said. "Don't make any
conclusions or recommendations." Possibly Potts would have been
happier without me along, but that would have been awkward. The
working group knew of my trip and was eager to hear the report first
hand.
Working group meetings were held in the DDO's spare conference
room off"C" corridor on the third floor. Paneled and carpeted, with a