The CIA in Central Africa, 1960-1990: A Policy Perspective.
Abstract
This thesis presents an overview of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Congo/Zaire and in Angola during the period from 1960 to 1990. The thesis seeks to ascertain the amount and the influence, if any, of the CIA on United States foreign policy by first reviewing U.S. foreign policy and then outlining the activities of the CIA during the period. The central research question of the thesis is: What activities did the CIA conduct in Central Africa from 1960 to 1990; and how do those activities relate to United States foreign policy? The main hypothesis is that the CIA more often than not created its own foreign policy in Central Africa by acting, with the tacit approval of successive administrations, as an independent entity; and that the CIA's foreign policy was not always consistent with American foreign policy. The thesis is conducted from an interdisciplinary perspective synthesizing primary source material, mostly government documents, and secondary sources from the disciplines of history, political science and African area studies. In the production of this thesis an historical-analytical approach is used. The thesis validates the main hypothesis: the CIA did, in effect, conduct its own foreign policy in Central Africa from 1960 to 1990. The Agency acted under its own accord to pursue objectives and implement policy in Central Africa during the Cold War. Although it is impossible to state definitively that the CIA always acted on its own, or to specify to what degree it did act by itself, there can be little doubt that as a general rule the Agency acted as an unrestrained and unregulated player in the American foreign policy arena.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA311632
Entities
People
- Glen A. Grady
Organizations
- Ohio University