Quote Originally Posted by Rex Brynen View Post
Absolutely, Bert. Great post!


PS, Ralph

I thought you would get a kick out the fact that the same guy who as Chief of the Africa Bureau of the Attache System got my name wrong as DATT wanted to close the station in late 1993 when he learned that the Zairians were refusing to accredit me. Keep in mind that we had a war going on across the river in Brazza, one in Angola, one in Rwanda, and Zaire itself had had 2 large scale military mutinies in 3 years. Had he closed us, there would have been no station for the Goma crisis and what became the African World War in the next three years.

I got to talk to the Director DHS MG Jack Leide and convinced him that Zaire should stay on the books--that I could operate between the cracks of diplomacy and still get the job done.

Bert