Second Congo War 1998-2003 Africa's world war

[Strickland]

Odom, Thomas P. Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2005. (Price - $18.96 Paperback on Amazon.com)

Marine officers are taught that the two most important components of any operations order are the commander’s intent and mission statement. Above all else, each statement should be clear and concise so as to leave the recipient with no doubt as to what must be accomplished. In 1994, at the height of a humanitarian crisis in Goma, Zaire, LTC Thomas Odom, an Africa Foreign Area Officer, was told by his superiors – “We must stop the dying,” and thus tasked to “stop the dying.” Though clear and concise, these provided little true guidance as he tried to assess the needs of over one million Rwandan refugees escaping violent retribution in front of the steadily advancing Rwandan Patriotic Front as it consolidated its victory in the Rwandan Civil War. Did his superiors really want him to provide humanitarian assistance to the former Rwandan Army that had just been defeated, yet was still heavily armed? Was he to provide relief to the Interhamwe or Impuzamugambi militias and their collaborators who had just raped and murdered in excess of 800,000 Rwandans? Was he required to disarm the groups as a precondition to assistance? And finally, how was he to complete his mission without creating the perception of providing aide and comfort to thousands who just committed genocide? In his book Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda, Thomas Odom provides a first-person account of the planning difficulties and selected courses of actions associated with Operation Support Hope (Goma, Zaire 1994) and follow-on operations associated with the Rwandan Genocide.
Over the past several years, we in the military have witnessed what some have labeled “a new-type” or “irregular” warfare, one in which there are multiple non-state competitors on the battlefield, the environment and root causes of grievance poorly defined and understood, and one in which religious, ethnic, and tribal affiliations matter more and more. However, Odom demonstrates that all of these and other problems that confront us today in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether interagency difficulties, the presence of militias, or the absence of necessary infrastructure, were present in Rwanda and Zaire in 1993-1994. By detailing the efforts that reconciled the limited means at his disposal with the policy goals or ends of Operation Restore Hope, Odom makes this book a must read for all attempting to better understand operational art, planning, and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Not only is Journey Into Darkness an easy and compelling read, but at 277 pages, one can finish it over a weekend. For a more complete understanding of operational art in the context of the Rwanda Genocide and United Nations Assistance Mission Rwanda (UNAMIR), Odom’s book is a wonderful complement to Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire’s Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda is a must read for all planners, foreign area officers, and those attempting to better understand the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

[Tom Odom]

Thank you, Adam, for the kind words. Hopefully you now fully understand why I value NCOs like Stan Reber and Mickey Dunham as team mates and brothers.

For anyone who happens to be at Fort Leavenworth these days--I was up there just this week and signed the copies in the book store.

Again Adam

Thanks and best regards

Tom

[Stan]

Tom mentioned leadership in the PhD thread. In sum, in order for a good NCO to function, means that NCO had a good Officer.

[Kenyatta]

Tom,

I'm currently doing research on this war and detailed military information on the war is quite sparse(as with most of the modern post colonial African wars) and I heard you were in a front row position during the war(U.S. embassy in Kinshasa) and I have a few questions:

1. Was the Second Congo war mainly between A Tutsi dominated Rebel movement vs. a Hutu dominated Congo government with the minor ethnic groups going for either side?

2. How big were the military commitments by the foreign African countries involved?

My info was that the Ugandans and Rwandans had large numbers of troops in the Congo supporting the Rebs but the Rwandans was in the forefront of spearheading reb attacks while the Ugandans were largely confined to the North East. On the Gov side, the Zimbabewean and Angolan militaries had the most troops but were restricted to the west. The Rebs had no or little air support and the gov side had some air support, mainly from the Zimbabwean and Angolan air forces(piloted by foreign mercs).

3. How bad was the siege of Kinsasha?

From the info I have, Kinsasha resembed Beirut though I think only the outer parts of Kinsasha was under siege.

4. What did you think of the quality of the combatants invovled?

I did read that the Rwandans had the best quality troops among the combatants and the Angolan, Zimbabwean and Ugandan troops were the best equiped(they had the tanks and vehicles etc.).

5. What did combat look like on the ground? Was it guerilla mobile combat?

I read that combat was similiar to the Ethiopia Eritea war, something like World war 1 without the extensive trenchlines(combat happened when assaults on enemy fixed positions rather than mobile battles).

6. What books would you recomend on the war?

I have War Dog by Al Venter which I thought was good while being sparse and i read the book by Thomas Turner which I thought was also quite sparse.

[Tom Odom]

Kenyatta,

Happy to help where I can but first a bit of bio and interests from you would be helpful. You can introduce yourself here and offer such information.

Second, give us a better feel of where you are in your research and what is your purpose/intent in doing this research. What level are you at in your schooling, professional career, etc?

Meanwhile I will work up answers to some of your questions.

Tom

[Kenyatta]

Excellent stuff.

This is a link to my post in introducing myself:

http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...6896#post46896

Look forward to your posts.

[Tom Odom]

Tom,

I'm currently doing research on this war and detailed military information on the war is quite sparse(as with most of the modern post colonial African wars) and I heard you were in a front row position during the war(U.S. embassy in Kinshasa) and I have a few questions:

First understand that I left Zaire as DATT in Sep 94 to go to Rwanda: see my memoirs for that experience. What happened 94-96 played a large role in the 98-2003 conflict. Good source of 96-98 insights is Ambassador (ret) Robert Gribbin's book. He was my second ambassador in Rwanda. Also google Richard Orth who was the DIA analyst on the Great Lakes for the 93-96 time frame and then replaced me as DATT in 96. He then went to Uganda as DATT. He has some articles out on Rwanda you can find on the web.

1. Was the Second Congo war mainly between A Tutsi dominated Rebel movement vs. a Hutu dominated Congo government with the minor ethnic groups going for either side?

I would have to say that while Hutu and Tutsi affiliations played a role in this conflict, they were not center stage of the war. The war as it played out between Congolese elements was more a repeat of the very same tensions that erupted in the 1964 Simba rebellion--indeed some of the same players and their progeny were involved. For that conflict as a background look at LP#14. You cannot understand the 98-2003 conflict in the Congo without looking at the 1960-1998 period. The same must be said about Rwanda and the Hutu/Tutsi issue. To fully get the latter you must look even earlier. See books below.

2. How big were the military commitments by the foreign African countries involved?

My info was that the Ugandans and Rwandans had large numbers of troops in the Congo supporting the Rebs but the Rwandans was in the forefront of spearheading reb attacks while the Ugandans were largely confined to the North East. On the Gov side, the Zimbabewean and Angolan militaries had the most troops but were restricted to the west. The Rebs had no or little air support and the gov side had some air support, mainly from the Zimbabwean and Angolan air forces(piloted by foreign mercs).

Again I was not there and my info is limited. Mercs started showing up in varying capacities in 95 and the practice continued. Your information sounds about right. You can find more on this conflict at USIP.

3. How bad was the siege of Kinsasha?

From the info I have, Kinsasha resembed Beirut though I think only the outer parts of Kinsasha was under siege.

I believe that is a complete overstatement. K-Town was a cesspool before the war because of 2 pillages in 91 and 93. Michela Wrong's somewhat fluffy book In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz paints a very different picture, one that I find completely believable. A siege requires defenders who fight back--the FAZ disintegrated.

4. What did you think of the quality of the combatants invovled?

I did read that the Rwandans had the best quality troops among the combatants and the Angolan, Zimbabwean and Ugandan troops were the best equiped(they had the tanks and vehicles etc.).

See my memoirs on the Rwandans and the FAZ.

5. What did combat look like on the ground? Was it guerilla mobile combat?

I read that combat was similiar to the Ethiopia Eritea war, something like World war 1 without the extensive trenchlines(combat happened when assaults on enemy fixed positions rather than mobile battles).

I don't believe that at all. The Rwandans never accepted stalemate and would always go to the flanks (or rear via infiltration). My contacts said that the real issue was walking all that way to K-Town. Once the Zims and Angolans got involved things got more intense.

6. What books would you recomend on the war?

I have War Dog by Al Venter which I thought was good while being sparse and i read the book by Thomas Turner which I thought was also quite sparse.

Madeleine Kalb, The Congo Cables. This book offers an embassy and State department inside view of the Congo Crisis from 1960-1963 during JFK's administration. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/002...g=UTF8&s=books


Thomas P. Odom, Leavenworth Paper #14 Dragon Operations: Hostage Rescues in the Congo 1964-1964. "The Dragon operations in the Congo-Dragon Rouge and Dragon Noir-were the first, and in many ways the most complex, hostage rescue missions of the cold war, Aimed at securing the release of nearly 2,000 European residents taken hostage during the Simba Rebellion in 1964, American aircraft projected a Belgian airborne unit thousands of miles into the heart of Africa. The planning and execution of this mission required the operational cooperation of three nations and their military forces in order to synchronize the arrival of airborne and ground forces to assault a hostile objective. At stake- as usual, and unfortunately- were the lives of innocent men, women, and children." This study though focused on the rescue of hostages in Stanleyville in is set in a counter insurgency war. It examines the rescue in political, military, and social terms against that COIN background. You can read it on line at http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour.../odom/odom.asp.

Thomas P. Odom, Shaba II: The French and Belgian Military Intervention in Zaire in 1978. This study "presents a historical analysis of the 1978 invasion of Shaba province by the exiled Katangan Gendarmerie. Included in this study is the Western reaction to the invasion, from the Zairian Army's initial response, which set off the massacre of expatriate mine workers, to the airborne landings of French and Belgian forces. The French responded by sending the Foreign Legion into Shaba to restore order in the province. Belgium, on the other hand, sent its Paracommando Regiment on the humanitarian mission of rescuing the hostages. Both countries developed independent plans for their missions, plans that were not coordinated until the two European forces were accidentally shooting at one another. The 1978 operations in Shaba should not be dismissed as something unusual or unlikely to reoccur, nor should they be discounted as European operations of little interest to U.S. planners. Since these Shaba II operations, the United States has been committed to similar operations in Lebanon, Grenada, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Panama, and the Persian Gulf. Without doubt, U.S. forces will continue to be involved in such operations, making Shaba II worthy of study by U.S. Army officers." It also delves heavily into the diplomatic and military efforts of the United States in this crisis. You may read it on line at:
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour...dom2/odom2.asp.

Thomas P. Odom, Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda with foreword by General (ret) Dennis J. Reimer. This memoir covers the author's 15 years as a Foreign Area Officer on the Middle East and Africa with operational tours as a UN Observer in Lebanon and as US Defense Attaché in Zaire and Rwanda. You may read a chapter from the book at http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/docu...om_journey.htm or order it from TAMU Press at http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2005/odom.htm or on Amazon or other on line bookstores.

Fred E. Wagoner, Dragon Rouge: The Rescue of Hostages in the Congo. This is an excellent political-military study of the hostage crisis. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141...g=UTF8&s=books

Robert E. Gribbin, In the Aftermath of Genocide: The U.S. Role in Rwanda. Ambassador Gribbin was the US Ambassador in Rwanda from 1996-1998. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059...g=UTF8&s=books

Human Rights Watch and FIDH, Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda. This study is the most detailed on the planning, mechanics, and execution of the genocide. You may read it on line at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/index.htm - TopOfPage

Shaharyar Khan, The Shallow Graves of Rwanda. Ambassador Khan was the senior UN diplomat in UNAMIR 2. It is available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/186...g=UTF8&s=books

Mahmood Mamdani, When Victims become Killers. Mamdani's analysis of the genocide as a regional issue is ground breaking. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069...g=UTF8&s=books

Gérard Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide. Prunier offers a first rate analysis of the French role in the genocide. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/023...g=UTF8&s=books

Colin M. Waugh, Paul Kagame and Rwanda. As yet this is the closest there is to a biography of Kagame. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...g=UTF8&s=books

Michela Wrong, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Wrong relates the final collapse of Mobutu's Zaire. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006...g=UTF8&s=books

[AdamG]

Kenyatta,
Check here during the time period you're interested in, the articles were based on wire service reports.
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/ugan.../20011105.aspx

[Kenyatta]

Thank you very much for the hordes of research materal...

According the war Dog, the Rwandan spearheaded offensive towards Kinsasha was aided by airlifts of Rwandan troops to the front in Russian transports. The offensive failed due to the poor supply situation of the rebs and the Zimbabwean and Angolans coming into the fray.

I am quite aware of the seeds of the second Congo war in the Congo Crisis 1960-1965, the fall of Mobutu. Actually the seeds probably go back all the way when Leopold came into the Congo at the turn of the century.

As with other wars, political families, conflicting interests from previous conflicts come back to haunt...my perception originally was that the Tutsi Hutu conflict played a major role in the Second Congo war, probably even fanned the flames more...

[Tom Odom]

As with other wars, political families, conflicting interests from previous conflicts come back to haunt...my perception originally was that the Tutsi Hutu conflict played a major role in the Second Congo war, probably even fanned the flames more...

that it was a catalyst and a math, absolutely. That it was the cause. No.

Global Security has a pretty good write up

You are correct about the 2nd War and the halt of the Rwandans--Gribbin's book is pretty good on that issue. I was thinking of the original march to Kinshasa. In any case, I would not describe it as Beirut.

hope it helps and welcome to SWJ

Tom

[Kenyatta]

Glad to contribute, all enhances my knowledge too.

[Kenyatta]

Another fallout of the Second Congo War is the current troubles in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe bankrupted Zimbabwe even more and practically crippled the Zim Air force such as it was(due to bad losses during the war).

Mugabe and his cronies were probably the only ones who made money from war(nothing went to the Zimbabwean people except for body bags).

[AdamG]

Zimbabwe's Air Force took losses, but IIRC their effectiveness dropped off due to mechanical attrition, parts and fuel costs. For an overview of the air war, see
http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_190.shtml

Mugabe pimped out some of the 'blood diamond' profits to the Chinese for F7s and Beijing is still bound to Zimbabwe. That's both good and bad, for Mugabe.
http://www.frontline.org.za/articles..._In_Africa.htm

See also
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/200805...ith-congo.html

[Stan]

Kenyatta, welcome aboard !

Some more light reading regarding Zimbabwe's involvement in the DR Congo war

Congo War and the Role of Coltan

and approx. 24 related links under Warfare and Conflict: Specific Conflicts: Great Lakes

Regards, Stan

[Michael F]

Kenyatta,

About ZIM economical involvement in DRC do some research about Mr Billy Rautenbach:

"For reasons of alliance and payment of the war bill estimated at US $45 million, Kabila had signed an agreement between the "GECAMINES" and the Zimbabwean company Ridgepointe Overseas Developments of British Virgin Islands, which belongs to the RAUTENBACH family. The latter has good relations with President Mugabe, who, in turn, feels very close to the rich cobalt reserves of Katanga. This guarantees and helps to justify the presence of the Zimbabwean military in DRC, next to Kabila.

Billy RAUTENBAUCH, who is the Director of this Zimbabwean group, Ridgepointe, is currently leading the GECAMINES recovery committee. This confirms the fierce involvement of Zimbabwe in the resistance put up by DRC in the war led against the Ugandans, Rwandese and Burundians and their Congolese collaborators." in http://www.geocities.com/zcliste/mine2.htm.
He is still active.

Another link is the "Osleg" company: a ZAF operated company that was very active in DRC.

Finally, "A detachment of the Zimbabwean Presidential Guard is now providing close security for the youthful Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President, Joseph Kabila. It is not known why General Kabila has decided to put his life into the hands of the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) rather than those of Congolese nationals." in http://www.afrika.no/Detailed/10159.html

Hope it will help.

[abiallan]

hi man..

i think you are doing a great job over here...

i am very much proud in taking part of this program..

surely i will tell some suggestions regarding making some peaceful world

[Tom Odom]

I shared this review with some other Rwanda watchers.

Oxford University Press Enters the Tabloid Market

A review of:
Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe

by Gerard Prunier. Published by Oxford University Press, 2008.

Reviewed by: Thomas (Tom) P. Odom

LTC US Army (ret)

Author, Journey Into Darkness: Genocide In Rwanda

In early 1994 while serving as the US Defense Attaché in Kinshasa, Zaire I had an unexpected visitor, a Zairian army lieutenant colonel who told the Marine Security Guard that he had “urgent business” to discuss with “le Colonel Odom.” Since he knew my name, I asked my NCO, Stan, to go get him. As I sat down with my visitor, I signaled Stan to stay and listen.

The Zairian began with a blast against US perfidy, imperialism, and assorted rot until I asked him to explain what had him all excited. Swelling even more, he proclaimed he had written proof that the US had secretly invaded Zaire in the 1970s. Intrigued I asked him to show me and he handed me a dog-eared copy of Michael Crichton’s novel, Congo.

Crichton’s book began with a introduction that treated a fictional infiltration of the Congo in 1979 as fact to entice a would be reader. Central to the story was a heretofore unknown breed of super apes who would wreck havoc on the 12-person invasion force.

The literary slight of hand worked on the Zairian colonel, so well in fact that he then tried to blackmail me with a threat to go public. He was crushed when I told him that a movie made from the book was already available. I offered to find him a copy but offered no cash. He left no doubt in search of further conspiracies whose revelation might help his cash flow.

Reading Gerard Prunier’s latest book, Africa’s World War, made me feel like I had that Zairian colonel back in my office. A tale of dark conspiracy woven with incompetence made me wonder if there was indeed a fictional Congo with an eastern neighbor, Rwanda, out there. Prunier’s writings suggest there has to be a parallel universe. Certainly there are elements of recognizable truth involved in Prunier’s tale if you have the regional expertise to recognize them. Without a firm grounding in the region, however, one risks being fooled just like the Zairian colonel back in 1994.

I remain amazed that a university press--especially Oxford University Press--went to print with this.

Tom

[Tom Odom]

then again I am not sure which book this guy read:

From Genocide to Continental War: The 'Congolese' Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa by Gerard Prunier

This remarkable book sets out to explain the way in which the 1994 Rwandan genocide triggered what is sometimes termed “Africa's first world war”, the conflict in the Congo basin that sucked Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe into war, and ultimately saw the overthrow of the Mobutu regime in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the death of 4m people.

The book is remarkable not just because Gérard Prunier, who has spent his life studying African conflicts, is able to call on every academic discipline required to comprehend this gigantic disaster, but also because he was an eyewitness to much of it himself, and frequently has telling details to offer about the behaviour and motivation of key individuals. He writes, moreover, with a verve, sophistication and wit equalled, in my experience, only by fellow French intellectual Régis Debray.

Remarkable....

Tom

[Stan]

Hey Tom,
Following your correspondence I began to laugh at Prunier's purported naivety but minutes later reading about a shameful DOD, Black American SOF incognito (didn't know we had that many Swahili and Lingala speakers - being one myself), just what he thinks FMS and FMF programs do, and, the cherry on top, what RONCO did and still does around the globe.

Thick !

Perhaps had you sent him a free copy of your book (this assumes he would read it if it were free of charge), he could have cleared up a few misnomers. Glad you saved me the 20 bucks and the pathetic read

[Tom Odom]

Stan

He later says that another group of 100+ African-American, drug dealing, sexually deviate, less than honorably discharged former US Army soldiers were brought in for the 2nd war. Supposedly they were split-based at Bukavu and Iwawa (Wahu) island. He refers to Iwawa as a "former Peace Corps camp"; maybe it was much much earlier but in 1995 it was the rebel base the RPA cleared. I cannot imagine trying to use it as a rear base for operations in South Kivu but hey I am not Prunier. Here is a shot of the beach and the only buildings on the island. The map is a scan Ross Johnson and I used to plot our findings on in November 1995.

best

Tom