24.11.2014 Views

In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

6<br />

Kinshasa<br />

Good case <strong>of</strong>ficering requires intense c()ncentration. As the semiliterate<br />

sergeant told us in Marine Corps basic school: "Proper prior<br />

preparation prevents piss-poor performance, sir." Prior mental<br />

preparation minimizes the case <strong>of</strong>ficer's risks. I spent the fifteen-hour<br />

flight from Kennedy <strong>In</strong>ternational to Ndjili Airport at Kinshasa<br />

doing menta] exercises in my conversational French; I hadn't been<br />

in a French-speaking country for five years and it wouldn't do to go<br />

up against Roberto fumbling for words like a tourist with a phrasebook.<br />

I then set my mind on Kinshasa and Angola and tried to relive<br />

every experience I'd had in both, seeing the people again, remembering<br />

names, incidents, walking through airports, restaurants, <strong>of</strong>fices,<br />

judo clubs.<br />

This mission was important and I knew it could easily attract<br />

the attention <strong>of</strong> the Soviets, Cubans, Chinese, North Koreans,<br />

or French, although none <strong>of</strong> them would be likely to do anything<br />

dramatic to obstruct it. The press was an obvious liabil-

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!