A Familiar Frontier: The Kennedy Administration in the Congo ...

also warned the State Department about the imminent arrival of two top officials in theBelgian Communist Party, saying that their efforts might result in a “substantial increasein effectiveness and coordination communist influence in Congo government.” TheEmbassy feared that these imports might take over key governmental responsibilitiesfrom its “present collection of fly-by-nights, carpet baggers, embittered ex-civil servantsand African communists.” 21Lumumba’s more-or-less open break with the U.N. and Hammarskjoldhighlighted his increasingly isolated position even among the independent African states.Almost all African leaders, including his role model, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah,encouraged Lumumba to work within the U.N. framework. Nikita Khrushchev, perhapsworried that an increasingly marginalized Lumumba would be replaced by someone lesssympathetic to the Soviet cause, opted to increase his involvement. Although the Sovietshad been flouting the U.N. restrictions on bilateral aid from the beginning, by the end ofAugust, Khrushchev was ready to increase Soviet assistance beyond food and trucks, toinclude weapons, ammunition and technicians to support Lumumba’s army. 22With the knowledge that this aid was forthcoming, Lumumba acted boldly tosever his relationship with the U.N. and “settle the Katanga problem with our ownforces.” 23 On August 24, Lumumba demanded that the United Nations turn over controland security at the Leopoldville airport to his troops, threatening the use of force if theU.N. would not comply. Bunche tried to arrange a meeting with Lumumba to remind thePrime Minister that the U.N. had only been maintaining order since the violent attack onCanadian U.N. personnel a week prior, but Lumumba refused to meet with him. This21 Qtd. in Kalb, The Congo Cables, 6122 Kalb, The Congo Cables, 5823 Qtd. in Kalb, The Congo Cables, 6377