In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

[212] IN SEARCH OF ENEMIES
When Kinshasa did not respond directly the matter was dropped at
headquarters. However, the Kinshasa station nevertheless managed
to acquire the ship-presumably they passed Roberto the cash to buy
it for them-and manned it with a Portuguese crew. Then they
requested that headquarters provide naval mortars to arm it.
St. Martin also proposed to mine the Lu~nda harbor. But with this
he did not get far. Special Operations Group reacted vigorously,
pointing out that mine-laying operations are complicated and require
a small navy of specialized ships and planes. St. Martin was proposing
to fly an F-27 over the harbor of Luanda, shoving a few mines
out the door and thereby rendering the harbor unsafe for shipping.
That these mines would fl.oat around in the South Atlantic, menacing
all shipping, was not taken into account. Nor could such mines come
from the FNLA alone; they would obviously be American. There
would be no plausible denial. As cables went back and forth St.
Martin tried to resolve the technical arguments with a second
scheme in which he would order a nocturnal raid on Luanda harbor
which would feint a mine-laying operation and perhaps blow a small
hole in a selected ship. The world might then think the harbor was
mined and ships would avoid it. This was discussed in the working
group and quickly shuddered out of consideration, but Kinshasa
station brought it up two or three times more as the tide of fighting
turned against the FNLA forces near Luanda.
And firecrackers. Unable to motivate the FNLA soldiers, the
Zairians, or the Portuguese commandos to patrol or raid a mile
beyond the front lines, Kinshasa repeatedly cabled to headquarters
requests for firefight simulators-firecrackers rigged to sound like
small-arms fire-to be dropped in the Luanda suburbs by one of our
stolen airplanes.