Security and Ministry of Law and Order. “
Nicholson turned to face the Vice President.
“Essentially, sir, this man
Vorster has been working to keep the black population in its place for over forty years.”
Another photo. This time showing an older, more jowly Vorster standing beside a gaunt, balding man in a plain black cassock.
“He’s also very religious, belongs to the Dutch Reformed Church, which is the mainstream religious denomination in South Africa. Sprinkles biblical references throughout virtually every speech or even conversation. Naturally, he’s an active member of a group opposing racial reform within the church.”
Naturally. Forrester frowned.
“What about the past few years? What’s he been up to?”
The CIA chief flipped to the back page of his notes, then raised his eyebrows.
“He’s been very active lately. He’s made a lot of statements and given a lot of speeches against reforming the apartheid system. While the rest of the National Party has slowly changed, he hasn’t budged an inch.”
Nicholson’s pudgy forefinger settled on a paragraph near the bottom of the page, and his lips pursed into a soundless whistle.
“In fact, back in 1986, when they abolished the law against interracial marriages, he said, quote, The mixing of the white and lower races can only result in a reversal of the evolutionary process. Unquote. “
Nervous laughter rose from the rest of the group. The idea that anyone in this day and age, especially a head of state, could actually hold such a grotesque belief seemed impossible to accept. Nicholson’s black assistant grimaced.
Forrester shook his head. “if he’s been so out of step with his own party, how’s he managed to stay in government so long? And why would he want to?”
Hurley answered him.
“The Haymans government probably kept him on as a sop to their own conservative wing. They’d been taking a lot of flak from the Herstige National Party and the rest of the right-wing splinter groups. I’d guess the thought was that Vorster’s continued presence in the cabinet might help dissuade more conservatives from jumping ship to the opposition. “
Forrester nodded. He wasn’t a stranger to that kind of reasoning.
“As for why he stayed on?” Hurley shrugged.
“Probably figured he could get farther in the National Party, even if he agreed more with the radical right.”
“Exactly,” Nicholson agreed. The CIA director tapped another page of notes.
“But sources say he’s also met with leaders of the AWB-the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Resistance Movement-and the Oranjewerkers, a far-right group that wants the Orange Free State and the Transvaal to secede from the RSA so they can form their own ‘pure’ white societies. Rumor has it that Vorster’s even a covert member of some of these groups. “
“Probably more than that.” Hurley was cleaning his glasses again. -AWB flags and pins are showing up all throughout the South African government. “
“Swell. Just swell.” Forrester nodded to the staffer near the lights.
They came back on, revealing a tableful of worried looking men and women.
“So we’ve got an incipient Nazi in power over there. And if that quote is typical, one who appears to be only loosely connected to reality. And now he’s decided to pick some kind of diplomatic fight with us. Over what we don’t know.”
Hurley resettled his glasses on his nose.
“Getting into a verbal shoving match with us isn’t as crazy as it sounds. It’ll play well with his hard-core supporters. Gives him another scapegoat to blame for any foreign policy or economic problems.
“
Nicholson nodded.
“It’s standard Afrikaner practice. Blame the communists. Blame the blacks. Blame backstabbing by Washington or London.
Blame anybody but themselves. “
“So how do we respond?” Forrester’s question was partly rhetorical. He already knew all the standard answers. They could recommend recalling the
U.S. ambassador for consultations or suggest reducing Pretoria’s
diplomatic staff in a tit-for-tat exchange. But that wasn’t enough. The man in the Oval Office would want more.
Forrester rubbed his chin.
“Do we have any official visits scheduled in the next few months?” Canceling an already stated trip was one way to slap another government in the face for perceived wrongs. It wasn’t the most direct way to retaliate, but at least it usually didn’t add to the budget deficit or cost additional taxpayer dollars.
One of Hurley’s aides shook his head after consulting a briefing book.
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Vice President. No official contacts. Several requests for low-level visits. We’ve been denying those as per standard policy.”
Hurley leaned forward.
“What about supporting deeper sanctions? Congress is starting to make noises in that direction. “
Forrester held up a hand.
“That’s a ‘no go’ from word one, Ed. The
President’s firm on that. Further economic sanctions wouldn’t work. They’d only hurt some of the people we’re trying to help. He’s convinced we should put our efforts elsewhere. There’s got to be some other leverage we can use against South Africa. “
Hurley looked doubtful.
“I can’t see anything, at least not right off the bat. We don’t have any close allies in the region-no strong ties to any other country, in fact. Certainly nobody the Afrikaners would listen to.
There aren’t any large communities of U.S. citizens down there, and our corporations have slowly been divesting themselves-more from their own concern over Pretoria’s instability than from any political pressure here at home.”
The little man shrugged.
“So on a day-to-day basis, the South Africans have little to do with us, and we have little to do with them. I just don’t see what the new pressure points are. I I
An assistant secretary from the Commerce Department spoke up. Forrester couldn’t even remember the man’s name.
“What about this idea that Senator
Travers pushed last night on TV? What about funneling additional aid to the front line states?”
“Pure grandstanding!” Nicholson snorted. The CIA director and Travers had locked horns on foreign policy more than once in the past.
“I’ve seen the dossiers of most of the leaders of those countries. My God, I doubt if more than one cent on the dollar would ever make it past their Swiss bank accounts. “
Forrester held his tongue. He shared Nicholson’s assessment of the practical value of Travers’s proposed foreign aid package. But he’d learned long ago not to underestimate the Nevada senator’s ability to read the domestic political scene. And he knew the President had learned the same lesson. Travers’s proposal was being given serious consideration by the nation’s chief executive. It was grotesque, but given the way
Washington sometimes worked, three or four hundred million wasted dollars might be viewed as a cheap price for blunting a political rival’s initiative.
The Vice President mentally shrugged. So be it. 1bat was a call the
President would have to make. He turned back to the debate still raging around the conference table.
Obviously impatient with all the hemming and hawing around the table, a lean-faced man wearing the stars and uniform of a U.S. Army lieutenant general sat forward.
