The three-way Angolan conflict intensifies in 1975.

US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, supposedly determined to show the world how tough America still is on the heels of the fall of Saigon, allegedly steps-up CIA’s involvement in the three-way struggle on the UNITA side (notwithstanding the fact that Zaire, a US ally, backs the rival FNLA, from which the US now withdraws support).

The MPLA, now in control of Angola’s oil, continues to sell oil to the West (undermining the US’s use of the oil issue as a rationale for intervention.)

A cursory knowledge of geography knocks down another excuse for intervention, the fact that Angola is close to “shipping lanes”—which of the scores of coastal nations are not?

The US, rather than pursue diplomatic avenues, begins to pour vast amounts of money into the war chest of the brutal, bloodthirsty, autocratic UNITA leader Savimbi.

US ally South Africa, as part of its ongoing program to destabilize its neighbors, sends troops to support UNITA; Cuba responds by sending troops to aid the MPLA.

Upon Portugal’s withdrawal and grant of Angolan independence on November 11, 1975, Savimbi and Roberto become co-presidents of the democratic Republic of Angola.

Full-scale civil war ensues between UNITA and the MPLA; the FNLA fades away.