Before lobbying scandals, Abramoff group had hand in apartheid wars

[kpete]

Before lobbying scandals, Abramoff group had hand in apartheid wars
Danny Schechter
Published: February 15, 2006


Lobbyist tied to group supporting apartheid South Africa; Spokesman vehemently denies

Picture the scene.

It was a quiet night in June 1985 in the equatorial heat of Jamba, a small town in the heartland of Angola, the oil and diamond-rich African nation that was divided by a bloody civil war for 30 years. Jamba at the time was a base for Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement, a tribal secessionist army bizarrely funded by Communist China and the CIA at the same time.

A top-secret meeting was then underway between Savimbi and his boosters, led by a young American Republican activist named Jack Abramoff. He was there representing an organization he founded, the International Freedom Foundation. The group was codenamed "Pacman."

Also present, a South African newspaper reports, "Leaders of the Afghan mujahedin, Nicaraguan contras, Laotian guerrillas and members of the Oliver North American right."

UNITA's strongman, the late Jonas Savimbi, who fancied calling himself Dr. Savimbi, was a masterful guerilla fighter who became the darling of the American right wing as it rallied to the cause of UNITA's main ally, racist South Africa. Conservatives dubbed him a freedom fighter, heralding him as their Che Guevara. In the end 600,000 people, mostly civilians would die in this bloody conflict, many as a result of atrocities perpetuated by UNITA.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Before_he_became_lobbyist_Abramoff_abetted_0215.html

[FormerRepublican]

1. Why am I not surprised? The crooked corruption of 'pukes is...

...both disgusting and revolting to any normal American. Lord only knows what their objective was in getting involved in aparthied (start another war and make $$$?).

[savemefromdumbya]

2. Yes I've heard this