Reviews the political, economic, and diplomatic policies that led to widespread disenchantment with the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire after 1965. Mobutu’s political career was always tightly linked to the United States and the CIA, but between 1965 and 1970, by systematically using the levers of repressive power, he brought a measure of economic development and political stability. Since then massive corruption, violation of human rights, and economic mismanagement have increased political opposition, organized by exile groups in Europe, Angola, and southern Zaire, but he has been consistently supported by Western governments.
