Jamboree in Jamba

Enter Jack Abramoff, a mid-twenties Washington-based Reaganite lobbyist with everything to prove. As a senior member of Citizens for America – a Reaganite lobbying group – Abramoff made it his mission to climb the ranks in Washington through public displays demonstrating his devotion to the conservative cause. Specifically, he focused on the anti-communist element of American conservatism – throwing himself into the fray of East-West power dynamics to make a name for himself and hopefully enter President Reagan’s inner circle.

Abramoff believed that for Reagan Doctrine to succeed, the various anti-communist insurgencies must ally themselves on more than ideology; they needed to share physical resources. Ambitious, the lobbyist envisioned a meeting hosted by Citizens for America at which anti-communist “activists”, like himself, and guerrilla leaders would pledge to share equipment, troops, and intelligence to effectively roll back Soviet encroachment in the third world. Assisted by his colleague Jack Wheeler, Abramoff pitched his vision to Lewis Lehrman, the leader of Citizens for America. Lehrman, a one-time gubernatorial candidate and multimillionaire Reaganite who made his fortune from the Rite Aid drugstore chain, agreed to finance the meeting as a personal extension of the Reagan Doctrine.

With funding secured, Abramoff chose UNITA’s headquarters in Jamba, Angola as the location for the “Jamboree in Jamba” – formally known as the Democratic International. The South Africans and Israelis were each approached to host the event; both declined, citing problematic “public relations”. Jamba, the only available location, soon proved itself a poor place to host the Democratic International. The village consisted of little more than a dirt runway and a makeshift military base – lacking sufficient infrastructure and security for such a high-profile event. To compensate, the South African Defense Force sent troops to protect their interests – specifically representatives of the SADF and UNITA.

Transportation to the event – where Abramoff spent the majority of Lehrman’s funds – also proved a challenge as Angolan airspace was under constant surveillance by Cuban radar. Reporters were flown in from Johannesburg on a Douglas DC-3 dubbed the “vomit comet” because of its turbulent low-level flight to avoid detection by the aforementioned radars. According to Abramoff, arriving journalists were so unprepared for the lack of accommodation that auctioned off spare cans of tuna for $20 a piece. Guerrillas, in addition to the Cuban radars, faced bureaucratic obstacles. Abramoff, possibly exaggerating, claimed Pakistani officials prevented numerous Afghani mujahideen fighters from flying out of the country and Thai officials nearly stopped Pa Kao Her, the leader of the Laotian Hmong resistance, from departing Bangkok.

Nevertheless, on June 6, 1985, leading members of the Afghani mujahideen, Laotian Hmong resistance, Nicaraguan Contras, and Angolan UNITA met in Jamba under the banner of Citizens for America and Jack Abramoff’s anti-communist efforts. Cambodian and Mozambican rebels were invited to the Jamboree but unable to attend. In addition to the insurgents, journalists, and South African soldiers were observing White South African college students. They were members of the National Student Federation, a frontal organization created by the South African government to campaign for the South African Defense Forces and the continuation of Apartheid. Their presence – alongside the guarding SADF soldiers – signaled South Africa’s support for American right-wing, anti-communist lobbying.

Lehrman started the Jamboree by reading a letter he declared to be a direct message from President Reagan; the letter was actually written by Reagan’s long-time speechwriter Dana Rohrabacher. A section of the letter was recorded in the New York Times: “Around the world we see people joining together to get control of their own affairs and to free their nations from outside domination and an alien ideology. It is a global trend and one of the most hopeful of our times”. Despite Reagan’s support for the Democratic International, his administration distanced itself by labeling the event as a “private venture”.

After the speech, the declaration was presented to the guerrillas – reading in part: “Today, there is only one colonial power in the world, the Soviet empire, an empire more vicious and oppressive than all others that passed before.” By associating the Soviets with imperialists, Abramoff aimed to mobilize the same passionate revolts as had emerged against European colonialists two decades prior. The pact was signed by Col. Ghulam Wardak, representing the Afghani mujahideen, Pa Kao Her of the Hmong resistance, Adolfo Calero Portocarrero of the Contras, and Jonas Savimbi of UNITA. However, Abramoff’s original vision was infeasible as the guerrillas lacked sufficient means to transport equipment and personnel internationally, never-mind the bureaucratic obstacles preventing such an exchange. In a superficial effort, the group merely agreed to share intelligence.

The Democratic International failed to produce anything material, concluding as a solely-symbolic summit for anti-communists and Reaganite lobbyists to rally behind. Adolfo Portocarrero acknowledged this reality, stating there would not be an international exchange of weapons or troops whilst vaguely hinting at possible future collaborations. In an awkward moment of cultural exchange, Lehrman gave two parting gifts to each attendee: a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence and a replica of an inscribed bowl used in George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. He finished with a patriotic slogan: “[The] American model of democracy is something for all [peoples]“. Jonas Savimbi refuted Lehrman’s slogan, citing his desire to cut UNITA’s dependence on the United States. “From our own experience, sometimes those who have helped the liberation movements have pushed them to a defeat”.

Savimbi’s combative words were emblematic of the problem facing Citizens for America and parallel Reaganite movements. The African warlord, like other rebel leaders, was eager to accept aid from the United States yet unwilling to pledge allegiance to the American model of democracy. It is clear that by submitting to the “American model”, Savimbi feared that Angola would revert into a puedo-colony of the United States as it had been two decades prior under Portuguese rule. Despite Savimbi’s independence motives, he was still actively fighting a war and therefore accepted American military aid. Nevertheless, Savimbi and contemporary guerrilla leaders were cautious in preserving their ultimate goal of total independence from foreign influence – whether that be Soviet or American.

It is for this caution that the Democratic International, a meeting to affirm America’s sphere of influence in the third world, was doomed from the start. At least Lehrman believed it to be a failure. The business mogul publicly stated Abramoff had carelessly spent Citizens for America’s budget of $3 million – failing to return results. A close aide of Lehrman described Abramoff and his colleagues as having “gone hog wild” with “lavish spending”; further remaking: “It was one big party”. Abramoff had exhausted his goodwill with Lehrman and was fired from Citizens for America shortly thereafter.