(5 of 6)
On Friday, Giscard announced in a television interview that French paratroopers had attacked Kolwezi in two waves. "It was necessary," he said, "to carry out the operation as quickly and quietly as possible." Giscard's statement caused something of a stir both at home and abroad. Socialist Party Leader François Mitterrand, speaking before the National Assembly in Paris, said that "it's absolutely impossible to have this kind of operation going on without the Assembly knowing about it." He also charged that the legionnaires' intervention was not justified by France's cooperation agreements with Zaïre. Meanwhile in Brussels, government officials—who had felt all along that the French were intruding in a Belgian preserve—complained that they had not been given adequate notice of the paratroop drop on Kolwezi. "I was informed," said Premier Tindemans testily, "but my advice was not sought."
Tindemans' complaint reflected a feeling of uneasiness about the growing French military role in Africa. France now has the second largest external force on the continent—after the Cubans. In addition to the legionnaires in Shaba, Paris has 7,000 troops garrisoned in such former possessions as the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Gabon and Djibouti. French forces also serve with the United Nations in Lebanon and twice recently—in Mauritania and Chad—have come to the assistance of governments facing intense guerrilla pressure. The increasingly visible presence of Giscard's troops has earned them the unflattering sobriquet "the French Cubans" and raised accusations that they represent a new form of colonialism.
The trouble in Zaïre broke out at a time when the White House was preparing to ask Congress to ease restrictions on U.S. support for friendly governments endangered by insurgencies. The invasion of Shaba turned out to be a good example of why President Carter wants some changes made. But even with present restrictions the Administration found a way to help Mobutu under terms of the International Security Assistance Act of 1977, which allows the President to provide certain aid to a foreign country—without congressional approval—if it is deemed "in the national security interests of the United States." Carter authorized $2.5 million worth of training for Zaïrian military officers and $17.5 million in credits for the purchase of "nonlethal" equipment, including medical supplies and spare parts. With that as a prologue, the Administration announced that military transports would fly support missions for the French and the Belgians.