Friday 6 July 2012

Moscow December 1975: KGB Headquarters


'Comrade General, you'll recall that GRU is running a source close to the Chief of Staff in Pretoria?'

'Hmm...refresh my memory Comrade Colonel'

'The source is codenamed "Felix", and has been active for a over a decade. GRU has been receiving high grade product on the Royal Navy and SADF for all that time'

'And...'

'Given the recent success of our Cuban comrades in assisting the MPLA to secure Luanda, Felix has provided information that may be crucial in the next phase of the struggle...'

'Bloody Castro...do you realise how far I had to stick my neck out to get Gromyko and the air force to agree to support his little adventure? Never mind, go on...'

'Felix says that the South African secret service and their special forces have been operating in Huambo province for the last four months, training UNITA cadre. He believes that the South African strategy is to back UNITA so they establish a buffer zone in Southern Angola, thereby preventing the Cubans and the MPLA from backing SWAPO and escalating the insurgency in South West Africa.'

'So, Comrade Colonel, how is that the KGB's problem?'

'Comrade General, I believe that if Felix is correct, and his information is very detailed, then our Cuban and Angolan comrades are in for some very hard fighting. It may be that we need to provide targeted support in order to prevent them a setback in the south'

'What does 'targeted support' mean Colonel, I know we specialise in euphemisms here in the land of actual existing socialism, but now and then plain speaking is appreciated you know'

'MiGs, and the ground crew and pilots to service and fly them, we could enlist the fraternal assistance of our East German and Romanian comrades so the air force wouldn't kick up a fuss; and communications and logsistics specialists. The army isn't as difficult to persuade as the air force General...'

'Leave me the file Colonel. I'll think about it'

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