Nathaniel Davis
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Nathaniel Davis (born 12 April 1925) served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Ford Administration in the 1970s. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Sweden.
[edit] Resignation
Operation IA Feature, a covert Central Intelligence Agency operation, authorized U.S. government support for Jonas Savimbi's UNITA and Holden Roberto's FNLA militants in Angola. President Gerald Ford approved the program on July 18, 1975 despite strong opposition from officials in the State Department, most notably Davis, and the CIA. Two days prior to the program's approval Davis told Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State, that he believed maintaining the secrecy of IA Feature would be impossible. Davis correctly predicted the Soviet Union would respond by increasing its involvement in Angola, leading to more violence and negative publicity for the United States. When Ford approved the program Davis resigned.[1] John Stockwell, the CIA's station chief in Angola, echoed Davis' criticism saying the program needed to be expanded to be successful, but the program was already too large to be kept out of the public eye. Davis' deputy and former U.S. ambassador to Chile, Edward Mulcahy, also opposed direct involvement. Mulcahy presented three options for U.S. policy towards Angola on May 13, 1975. Mulcahy believed the Ford administration could use diplomacy to campaign against foreign aid to the Communist MPLA, refuse to take sides in factional fighting, or increase support for the FNLA and UNITA. He warned however that supporting UNITA would not sit well with Mobutu Sese Seko, the ruler of Zaire.[2][3][4]
[edit] References
- ^ Brown, Seyom. The Faces of Power: Constancy and Change in United States Foreign Policy from Truman to Clinton, 1994. Page 303.
- ^ Jussi HanhimÄki and Jussi M. Hanhim̀eaki. The Flawed Architect: Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy, 2004. Page 408.
- ^ Andrew, Christopher M. For the President's Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush, 1995. Page 412.
- ^ Richard H. Immerman and Athan G. Theoharis. The Central Intelligence Agency: Security Under Scrutiny, 2006. Page 325.
[edit] External links
- Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs. United States Department of State (2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Donald B. Easum |
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs April 2, 1975–December 18, 1975 |
Succeeded by William E. Schaufele, Jr. |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by John Gordon Mein |
United States Ambassador to Guatemala November 21, 1968–August 21, 1971 |
Succeeded by William G. Bowdler |
| Preceded by Edward M. Korry |
United States Ambassador to Chile 20 October 1971–1 November 1973 |
Succeeded by David H. Popper |
| Preceded by Peter H. Dominick |
United States Ambassador to Switzerland January 9, 1976 – July 31, 1977 |
Succeeded by Marvin L. Warner |
 |
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