“You guys want to make some real money? And do the country a service too?”
“Is it legal,” asked Roland.
“More legal than Joe’s whiskey. Look, both of you have experience with guerrilla warfare….”
“Oh, so thats’s what the magazines are about.” I interrupted.
“Let him finish,” said Roland.
“Yeah, that’s what the magazines are about. The communists aren’t done with us just because we pulled out of Saigon. They helped overthrow the Portuguese government a year ago and that has resulted in communist incursions in Portugal’s colonies in Southeast Asia and Africa. One we’re worried about right now is Angola.”
“Mike, excuse me but where is Angola?” I asked.
“Southwest Africa.”
“And why do we care about that?”
“Because Gulf Oil has extensive operations on the northern border and they want to make sure the communists don’t get it. There’s been a war for independence from Portugal since 1960 and it’s now a full scale civil war and the Chinese have been in the southern part of the country for years now.”
“And why don’t we just send in the marines? Why are mercenaries needed?”
“Where have you been?! That would be political suicide. The Viet Nam war just ended.
“Here’s the deal. There are two groups that have been fighting for independence for decades. Now that Angola’s independent they’re fighting each other. The communists have backed one side and we back the other. But. And this is a big but, it all has to be done on the QT. In fact, Ford has had to provide clandestine support for US backed forces. Congress would never go along with it. And even the CIA is reluctant to get in too deep.”
“How do you know that?”
“A little birdie told me. No, really, I make it my business to know stuff like that.”
“Why now and how do we fit in this?” asked Roland.
“The reason this is urgent now is that the communist group has just taken over the capital. Like a week ago. The Gulf people are very nervous and they’re willing to spend money. Plus Gulf is key in breaking the OPEC cartel that brought you the Arab oil embargo.”
“And you think we can help.”
“I know you can help.”
“What’s in it for us?”
“An adventure. How entertaining is cutting fire wood and hauling water.”
In The Belly Of the Beast 