Chaos in Congo

Summary

Today, Explained: Chaos in Congo

Episode Release Date: February 6, 2025
Hosts: Sean Rameswaram and Noel King
Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

Summary Compiled by Noel King

---

1. Introduction

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a vast and resource-rich nation in Central Africa, is once again engulfed in turmoil. In the latest episode of "Today, Explained," hosts Noel King and Michaela Wrong delve deep into the resurgence of violence orchestrated by the rebel group M23, their connections to Rwanda, and the intricate web of international involvement that continues to destabilize the region.

2. The Current Crisis in Goma

Noel King opens the discussion by highlighting the immediate crisis: M23 has seized the Congolese city of Goma, leading to an overwhelming surge in casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Noel King [00:01]: "The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a large and beautiful country in Central Africa. On its east, it borders Rwanda. And right now, a rebel group called M23 is on a rampage in Congo after capturing the Congolese city of Goma. The morgues in Goma are overflowing."

Michaela Wrong paints a grim picture of the atrocities committed by M23, emphasizing the human cost of the conflict.

Michaela Wrong [00:20]: "We can't go on like this. Mothers are raped, killed."

The relentless violence forces countless civilians to repeatedly abandon their homes in search of safety, underscoring the persistent instability faced by the Congolese population.

3. The Emergence and Motives of M23

M23, composed primarily of former members of the Congolese army, claims to fight for the rights and autonomy of Congolese Tutsis. However, their actions suggest a broader, more self-serving agenda.

Michaela Wrong [02:27]: "These were fighters who used to be part of the Congolese army. They staged a mutiny. They were not happy with the way the Congolese army was being run, with the way their rights were being sort of observed and respected."

M23's strategic capture of fertile and mineral-rich lands points to a possible land grab, facilitated by external support from Rwanda, under President Paul Kagame's regime.

4. Rwanda's Involvement and Western Complicity

The episode critically examines Rwanda's role in the ongoing conflict, tracing back to historical tensions and Kagame's strategic maneuvers to expand influence in eastern Congo.

Michaela Wrong [05:50]: "What's more, this nasty bunch of fighters would really like to wipe out Tutsis who live in Congo."

Despite Rwanda's aggressive actions, it has maintained favorable relations with Western nations, including significant military aid from the United States.

Michaela Wrong [06:08]: "Paul Kagame has always been very clever, transmitting this image of himself as a man you can do business with and someone who gets things done."

This relationship is now strained as the West begins to reassess its support in light of recent developments in Goma.

5. The Role of Cultural and Sports Sponsorships

Rwanda's influence extends beyond military might into the realms of culture and sports, where it leverages international platforms to enhance its global image.

Michaela Wrong [08:48]: "It's got a very close relationship with the National Basketball Association."

However, there are growing calls for organizations to reevaluate their partnerships with Rwanda, urging them to consider the country's human rights record and its destabilizing actions in Congo.

Michaela Wrong [08:17]: "Congolese foreign minister [...] writing to Arsenal football club [...] saying you really need to reconsider these sponsorship deals you have signed with Rwanda."

6. Historical Context: The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba

To understand the present chaos, the episode delves into the historical events that have shaped Congo's turbulent journey since independence. The assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first Prime Minister, in 1961 orchestrated by the CIA, set a precedent for foreign interference that continues to reverberate today.

Stuart Reed [15:00]: "Take a former world number one, that's me, Andy Roddick. [...] [Note: This line appears to be out of context and likely relates to an advertisement segment, thus is excluded from the main summary.]"

The assassination was a pivotal moment that plunged Congo into decades of conflict, with lasting impacts on its political and social structures.

Stuart Reed [23:20]: "There are still documents that are classified to this day, more than 60 years after the fact. To me, the first step in atonement would be transparency and revealing what exactly was known, who did what."

7. Legacy of Foreign Intervention on Congo's Stability

The tragic fate of Lumumba exemplifies the destructive legacy of foreign intervention in Congo. The subsequent rise of Joseph Mobutu, backed by the CIA, entrenched a regime that mismanaged the nation and fostered deep-seated resentment, ultimately leading to prolonged instability and conflict.

Stuart Reed [24:43]: "The actual history that Kongo experienced under Mobutu and afterwards was so bad that almost anything would have been better."

This historical backdrop is crucial in understanding the cyclical nature of violence and the challenges in achieving lasting peace in the region.

8. Conclusions and Future Prospects

As the episode concludes, Michaela Wrong expresses cautious optimism that increased international attention might pave the way for meaningful intervention and support for Congo. However, she warns of the complexities and the need for sustained commitment from the global community to break the cycle of violence perpetuated by both internal factions and external powers.

Michaela Wrong [10:17]: "I really welcome the new focus on Congo. I just hope that it is maintained, because one of the problems with Congo [...] a little bit of Western pressure can really pay off."

Noel King underscores the importance of transparency and accountability in addressing the root causes of Congo's enduring chaos, highlighting the imperative for the West to reassess its role and influence in the region.

Final Thoughts

"Chaos in Congo" offers a comprehensive exploration of the current conflict, enriched by historical insights and critical analysis of international dynamics. By weaving together past and present narratives, the episode provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the factors contributing to Congo's ongoing struggles and the urgent need for informed global engagement.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Michaela Wrong [00:20]: "We can't go on like this. Mothers are raped, killed."
• Noel King [00:32]: "The men of M23 have been at this on and off for years now."
• Michaela Wrong [06:08]: "Paul Kagame has always been very clever, transmitting this image of himself as a man you can do business with and someone who gets things done."
• Michaela Wrong [08:17]: "Our call to action to all the stakeholders [...] you really need to reconsider these sponsorship deals you have signed with Rwanda."
• Stuart Reed [16:17]: "But to many Congolese it looked like a recolonization."
• Michaela Wrong [10:17]: "I really welcome the new focus on Congo."

---

For a deeper dive into the complexities of Congo's turmoil and its historical roots, tune into the full episode of "Today, Explained" by Vox.

Transcript

[Noel King]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a large and beautiful country in Central Africa. On its east, it borders Rwanda. And right now, a rebel group called M23 is on a rampage in Congo after capturing the Congolese city of Goma. The morgues in Goma are overflowing.

[Michaela Wrong]

We can't go on like this. Mothers are raped, killed.

[Noel King]

When will this end? Until when?

[Michaela Wrong]

Aid agencies are struggling, too. Their warehouses in Goma were looted.

[Noel King]

The men of M23 have been at this on and off for years now. Congo is always on edge. Civilians have to flee these M23 incursions, leaving their homes again and again and again to escape this campaign of killing and rape. So who is funding and arming M23? It is Rwanda. Coming up on Today explained why everyone, including the United States, won't stop messing around in Congo.

[Vivian Tu]

This isn't your grandpa's finance podcast. It's Vivian Tu, your rich BFF and host of the Net Worth and Chill podcast. This is money talk that's actually fun, actually relatable, and will actually make you money. I'm breaking down investments, side hustles, and wealth strategies. No boring spreadsheets, just real talk that'll have you leveling up your financial game with amazing guests like Glenda Baker. There's never been any house that I've sold in the last 32 years that's not worth more today than it was the day that I sold it. This is a money podcast that you'll actually want to listen to. Follow Net Worth and chill. Wherever you listen to podcasts, your bank account will thank you later.

[Kenny Beachum]

What's up, y'all? It's Kenny Beachum. On this week's episode of Small Ball, we get into maybe the wildest, craziest, most shocking week in NBA history. The trade deadline came, and it did not disappoint. Some trades I love, some I hate it. And some made absolutely no sense at all. The league has been shaken up, and I'm here to break it all down with you. Man, what a time to be an NBA fan. You can watch Small Ball on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcast. Episodes drop every Friday.

[Noel King]

This is Today Explained. I'm Noel King with Michaela Wrong. Michaela has been writing about Rwanda and Congo for three decades and is author of the books Do Not Disturb and In the footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Michaela.

[Stuart Reed]

What?

[Noel King]

What is M23 exactly?

[Michaela Wrong]

Well, the M23 describe themselves as Congolese Tutsis, members of this ethnic group. Who are the Tutsis? A small group of Army Mutineers has turned into a powerful rebel force.

[Noel King]

Our objective is Congo. We are fighting for Congo.

[Michaela Wrong]

These were fighters who used to be part of the Congolese army. They staged a mutiny. They were not happy with the way the Congolese army was being run, with the way their rights were being sort of observed and respected. Respected. And they launched a mutiny and have been a problem in that area for quite some time. The issue is that although they describe themselves as Congolese Tutsis, they get weapons, they get funding, they get uniforms, and they take orders from neighboring Rwanda, this tiny little country on the east of Congo. And what they've been doing is seizing land that is very fertile land, it's also very rich in minerals and increasingly creating a very strong impression that really this is a land grab being staged, managed by Rwanda, by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who has ambitions and designs on that part of eastern Congo.

[Noel King]

Many people in the west will know Rwanda as the country that 31 years ago experienced a terrible genocide. Underlying inter tribal tensions have again exploded into violence as rebel forces from the minority Tutsi tribe appear to be fighting the army dominated by the majority Hutus. 100 day killing spree that took 1 million lives and then came back and became a very stable country. A place where tourists like to go and, you know, visit the guerrillas. A place where I lived and worked there myself. You can find nice coffee shops, nice hotels. Why is Rwanda involved in its much bigger neighbor and trying to grab its land?

[Michaela Wrong]

Well, all those things you said about Rwanda are definitely true. And you can go up into the mountains and visit the gorillas who are absolutely, you know, enchanting. But Rwanda has this long history of intervening in eastern Congo. Back in 1997, a huge number of Hutu, they were from the Hutu ethnic group, the majority in Rwanda, they fled into Congo after the genocide when Paul Kagame's rebel group took over the country. Paul Kagame is a member of the Tutsi group and the Hutus fled Congo and then this ousted army and these ousted extremist militias who had staged the genocide of 1994, they were staging systematic raids into Rwanda, attacking buses, attacking schools, committing massacres, attacking refugee camps. And you know, they were trying to win back power. But that was 30 years ago and that's no longer the situation. That group of extremists who had this genocidal agenda is now estimated to be between 600 and 1,000 men. But what you will hear President Kagame saying constantly is I am justified to intervene in Congo because they represent an existential Threat. And what's more, this nasty bunch of fighters would really like to wipe out Tutsis who live in Congo.

[Noel King]

All right, so Rwanda is the aggressor here. Very clearly. That's been documented and it's been documented for a long time. And yet Rwanda remains very popular with Western nations, including the United States. What is the relationship between the west and Rwanda right now?

[Michaela Wrong]

Well, I think it's changing, and I think it's partly changing because of what people are seeing happening in Goma right now. I think there's been a long period in which the west decided that Paul Kagame was a really impressive, admittedly authoritarian leader, but somebody that they regarded as a key ally in the Great Lakes, an area which has sort of been plagued by civil war, genocide, killings, Ebola. I mean, you name it, it's happening in the Great Lakes. And so Paul Kagame has always been very clever, transmitting this image of himself as a man you can do business with and someone who gets things done. And one of his key calling cards is that he has the head of this extremely efficient, very disciplined, well armed, because it gets a lot of military aid from America and other Western allies, very effective army. And he has sort of said to the West, I will be your policeman. I will be Africa's policeman. I will send these peacekeepers around Africa to deal with the threat posed by Islamic jihadism which has been cropping up here, there and everywhere across Africa. So that has been one of the reasons why the west has been willing to turn a blind eye effectively to what he gets up to in Congo and this sort of obvious land grab that he is now making. I mean, it's a curious moment, and I don't think it's coincidental that Kagan, the moment where Washington is utterly obsessed with what Trump is doing and the incoming Trump administration, that he picked this particular moment for the M23 to launch its all out attack on Goma because the US had already sort of frozen all its aid projects around the globe. So Rwanda sort of, in a way, doesn't stand to lose anything from the US at the moment because it may never have an aid relationship with the US again, irrespective of what's happening in Congo.

[Noel King]

I wonder about any groups outside of government. So one thing that Rwanda seems to be quite proud of is that it isn't just the darling of governments, but that cultural figures and sports figures all view it as kind of, you know, a very fine African country. What are you hearing about non governmental actors reconsidering their relationship with Rwanda.

[Michaela Wrong]

I'm not sure that they're reconsidering, but I think they need to. What was quite interesting recently was to see the Congolese foreign minister writing, personally writing to Arsenal football club, soccer club club, also writing to Paris Saint Germain, the soccer club in France, Bayern Munich in Germany, and saying, you really need to reconsider these sponsorship deals you have signed with Rwanda. Our call to action to all the.

[Noel King]

Stakeholders, but in particular those countries that.

[Michaela Wrong]

Have been funding the Rwandan regime, is.

[Noel King]

That this madness needs to stop.

[Michaela Wrong]

It's got a very close relationship with the National Basketball Association.

[Kenny Beachum]

So do you have a favorite player in the NBA? Be careful now, your Excellency.

[Stuart Reed]

I have.

[Michaela Wrong]

I have favorite players. Players, yes. It's also going to be the place where the World Cycling Championships are staged in September. Sports is one of the ways that Kagame has got his soft message out to the world that, you know, Rwanda is this miraculous country that has recovered from the genocide. And he uses those messages to sort of allay the reality, which is that it's a very repressive country, not just in Congo, but at home, you know, where human rights activists and journalists end up either dead or in jail and the opposition can't campaign in the elections. So he's used sports for a very long time, and I really don't think that these sports organizations are sort of getting the message yet.

[Noel King]

One thing that is quite grim to consider is that. But as you said, this is a conflict. The kind of parameters or outlines of which have been very much the same for 30 years. And I wonder, 30 years later, 30 years into this, do you think that this could be a moment where enough of the eyes of the world take a really critical look at Rwanda and what it's been doing, that there is renewed hope for Congo?

[Michaela Wrong]

I think the attention is really welcome because what we do know about Paul Kagame is he's very attuned to his branding, his reputation, his image in the West. It matters to him, and he picks up the slightest nuance of when it's getting dented. So I really welcome the new focus on Congo. I just hope that it is maintained, because one of the problems with Congo, and it's always been the problem with Congo is this is a complex history, and it is a history that is spattered with incidents and different episodes. And most disastrously, it's the acronym factor, the different acronyms of the rebel groups, who is allied to who, who is behind who, and people's eyes just glaze over. And I really understand why that is. But it is a part of the world where a little bit of Western pressure can really pay off.

[Noel King]

Michaela Wrong. She's the author of in the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz and Do Not Disturb. The Latter was the book I Most recommended in 2022 to my friends and family, and I am very happy to recommend it to you. Coming up on TODAY explained a CIA assassination plot that derailed Congo for decades. You cannot make this stuff up.

[Patty Diaz]

Support for the program comes from 1-800-Flowers. What do they do? Take a guess. Valentine's Day is coming up and you can let your special person know just how special they are with the help of 1-800-FLowers.com. they offer beautiful, high quality bouquets. And this year you can get double the roses for free. Patty Diaz is our colleague here at Vox, and she's ordered from 1-800-FLowers.

[Unnamed Colleague]

I would definitely recommend 1-800-FLowers for Valentine's Day, I think especially for the, you know, sort of last minute, if it is last minute, also the wide variety. If you're somewhere where your loved one is not in the same city as you and you want to send something that you know will arrive in time and also package really nicely and beautifully, I think it's a perfect option.

[Patty Diaz]

You can lock in your order today and win someone over at 1-800-flowers.com to claim your double your roses offer. You can go to 1-800-flowers.Com.

[Noel King]

Explain.

[Patty Diaz]

That's 1,800flowers.com explained.

[Peter Kafka]

Hey, this is Peter Kafka. I'm the host of Channels, a podcast about technology and media. And maybe you've noticed that a lot of people are investing a lot of money trying to encourage you to bet on sports right now, right from your phone. That is a huge change, and it's happened so fast that most of us haven't spent much time thinking about what it means and if it's a good thing. But Michael Lewis, that's the guy who wrote Moneyball and the Big Short and Liar's Poker, has been thinking a lot about it, and he tells me that he's pretty worried.

[Kenny Beachum]

I mean, there was never a delivery mechanism for cigarettes as efficient as the.

[Noel King]

Phone is for delivering the gambling apps.

[Kenny Beachum]

It's like the world has created less.

[Noel King]

And less friction for the behavior when.

[Peter Kafka]

What it needs is more and more. You can hear my chat with Michael Lewis right now on Channels, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andy Roddick]

All right, so here's the deal. Take a former world number one, that's me, Andy Roddick. Add in a journalist who knows everything about tennis and a producer who's still figuring out how to spell tennis. You get served with Andy Roddick, the weekly podcast where we break down the game we all love. We cover the biggest stories, talk to the sport's biggest stars, and highlight the people changing tennis in ways you might not even realize. Whether it's Grand Slam predictions, coaching changes, off court drama, or the moves shaping the future of the sport, we've got it all. This podcast is about having fun, sharing insights, and giving fans a real look at what makes tennis so great. Catch serve with Andy Roddick on Spotify, Apple podcasts wherever you listen or Watch us on YouTube like subscribe follow all that good stuff. Let's get started.

[Noel King]

This is Today Explained in the late 1950s, African countries were throwing off their colonial shackles and declaring independence. And the Africans who led these movements were very brave and very charismatic people. Patrice Lumumba was one of them. Them Belgian colonizers in Congo didn't allow Africans to be educated, so Lumumba taught himself via public library, then nabbed a respectable civil service job, then got caught embezzling and went to prison. And then got woke, really. And from behind bars he wrote a manifesto asking for freedom. And then in 1960, Lumumba and Congo got it. Stuart Reed is the author of the Lumumba plot.

[Stuart Reed]

On June 30, the Congo at last becomes independent. It's a moment of great celebration. There are visitors from across the world.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Elected as Prime Minister of the New Congo Republic, Mr. Patrice Lumumba receives congratulations from members of both houses of parliament.

[Stuart Reed]

But almost immediately, everything falls apart. On July 5th, the army mutinies. There was an all white officer corps and the black rank and file rose up against that all white officer corps soldiers are marauding the streets, terrorizing white civilians.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Violence and chaos in the Congo. Barely 11 days after official independence from Belgium, Congolese troops mutiny and begin a wave of attacks and looting throughout the far flung sectors of the former colony.

[Stuart Reed]

The white civilians there are many Belgians who had remained on after independence flee the Congo en masse, depriving the country instantly of much of its technical expertise. The air traffic controllers, the dock, the judges, etc.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Refugees are pouring in with harrowing tales of violence and of hasty flight.

[Stuart Reed]

And then the Belgian military intervenes, sending paratroopers across the country ostensibly to protect its civilians.

[Unnamed Speaker]

At the request of Congolese officials, Belgian paratroops were recalled to quell the native army's mutiny and reign of terror.

[Stuart Reed]

But to many Congolese it looked like a recolonization. And then Katanga, the mineral rich province in the country's southeast announces that it's breaking free.

[Unnamed Speaker]

A harsh awakening to reality from golden dreams of independence.

[Stuart Reed]

So within less than two weeks of independence, Lumumba's country is falling apart before his very eyes. And it's then that he calls on the United nations for help.

[Unnamed Speaker]

The Council authorizes Secretary General Hammershield to organize a peace force for the Congo, historic intervention to ease birth pangs of a new African nation.

[Stuart Reed]

It's an impressive effort, but it fails to work. And the country is still split in two. And the Lumumba is unable to exert full control.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Now open civil war seems imminent as Lumumba masses troops to invade secessionist Katanga province.

[Stuart Reed]

So that's when Lumumba decides to knock on the door of the Americans for help. So Lumumba flies to the United States, goes to Washington D.C. and has a frustrating meeting where he doesn't get any of the things he wants. So Lumumba leaves Washington D.C. empty handed. And so then, and only then, he turns to the Soviets for help. And in the eyes of the Americans, particularly at the CIA, that was an unforgivable Cold War sin.

[Noel King]

An unforgivable Cold War sin because the United States thinks of the Soviet Union as its main enemy. So this guy has come hat in hand to them, they've turned him away, he's gone to the Soviet Union. And now the United States does what?

[Stuart Reed]

The key event is a meeting at the White House on August 18, 1960. President Eisenhower is meeting with the National Security Council. And the topic that day is Lumumba and the Congo. Eisenhower says something to the effect of we need to get rid of Lumumba physically if necessary. We don't know his exact words, but we know that he said something to this effect. And we know it for a few reasons. One, a note taker at the meeting would later testify to a Senate investigative committee that that he remembers clearly Eisenhower ordering Lumumba's assassination and that the room fell into a stunned silence. Also, during my research for the book, I found handwritten notes from the meeting that included the word Lumumba with a big black X written next to it, which is not proof, but suggestive. And most important, we know that Eisenhower said this based on what happened next, which is that the CIA, at the direction of the President's National Security Advisor, puts into motion an assassination plot against Lumumba. So for the first time in history, an American President has ordered the assassination of a foreign leader. And then Allen Dulles, as head of the CIA, puts into motion an operation to poison Lumumba's food or toothpaste. So a CIA chemist flies to the Congo with a vial of poisons, a syringe, rubber gloves, a surgical mask, and explains to the CIA station chief there, here's this poison, and you are to find a way to get it into Lumumba's body. So that's in September 1960. Meanwhile, a lot has happened on the ground in Congo. Lumumba has been ousted from power by a coup backed by the CIA and led by an army officer named Joseph Mobutu, who was receiving CIA cash at the time. And Lumumba is now under house arrest. Now, the timing here is important. It's now December 1960. Eisenhower's second term is coming to a close. John F. Kennedy has been elected, having defeated Richard Nixon. And so there's going to be a change of party in the White House. And there's legitimate reason to suspect that the Kennedy administration will pursue a different policy toward Lumumba and the Congo than the Eisenhower administration did. So that creates this real fear on the ground in Congo among Lumumba's enemies that Lumumba might come back to power. And so Mobutu is worried about this because he would be out of a job. And Larry Devlin, the CIA station chief, is also worried that Lumumba might come back to power. Larry Devlin considers Lumumba a radical communist sympathizer, a Soviet stooge. And in his view, this would be a disaster for the United States if Lumumba returned to power. And so plans develop to transfer Lumumba to a province where it is certain he will be killed. Larry Devlin does not tell his bosses back at CIA headquarters in Washington what's happening in the Congo. This is the most significant development in weeks that Lumumba is about to be sent to his death. And Devlin sits on this information because he fears, correctly probably, that if he tells his bosses what's about to happen with Lumumba, he will be ordered to put the brakes on the operation. So on January 17, 1961, Lumumba is dragged out of his prison cell, put on a series of planes, tortured during the flights, and lands in Elizabethville, the capital of Katanga. Katanga is that breakaway province that's announced its secession. And within hours of being dragged off the plane in Elizabethville, he's tortured and then shot to death in a clearing in the woods.

[Unnamed Speaker]

The slaying of Patrice Lumumba, deposed Congo premier, touches off worldwide demonstrations, small groups of students and others, as here in Chicago and in London. And it has been the signal for violent reactions in many parts of the world. First in the United nations itself, where a Security Council meeting was violently interrupted.

[Noel King]

So Patrice Lumumba is shot dead. The CIA's man in Congo, Larry Devlin, could have stopped it. Likely could have stopped it. Have the CIA in the United States ever really acknowledged what they did to Lumumba?

[Stuart Reed]

No. The first effort at clarity was the Church committee in the 1970s, which, which uncovered a lot about the poisoning plot against Lumumba. But it let the CIA off the hook because the poisoning plot ended up fizzling out and not being the cause of Lumumba's death. What it did not fully understand was that the CIA essentially gave a green light to Mobutu to send Lumumba to his death. So I think you can draw a very straight line between the CIA's actions and Lumumba's death. There are still documents that are classified to this day, more than 60 years after the fact. To me, the first step in atonement would be transparency and revealing what exactly was known, who did what. There's no reason to hide any of this anymore.

[Noel King]

I wonder if you've thought through a kind of counterfactual. If Patrice Lumumba, who was elected, had never been killed and Mobutu Seziseko Joseph Mobutu had never taken over, not democratically elected, and proceeded to basically pillage the Congo, do you think this country that has suffered so much for 65 plus years, do you think it could be in a different place now if none of this had happened?

[Stuart Reed]

Counterfactuals are impossible to prove.

[Noel King]

Yep.

[Stuart Reed]

But here's what I'd say this. The actual history that Kongo experienced under Mobutu and afterwards was so bad that almost anything would have been better. So after Lumumba's death, Mobutu's fully in control. He leads the Congo, which he renames Zaire, for more than 30 years. Completely kleptocratic, repressive, mismanages, almost everything. And as a result, it's so weak and dysfunctional and unpopular that there's a foreign backed invasion and rebellion that ends up toppling Mobutu. He flees to Morocco, dies of cancer a few months later, in fact. And so begins one of the deadliest wars in recent history. The Great African War, as it's called. The Congolese Civil War is another name for it. And the conflict that's going on today is in fact a part of that very same conflict, arguably the one that began in 96, 97. So in my view, you can draw a pretty straight line between the actions that the US took in 1960 and 1961 up through the present.

[Noel King]

Stuart Reed he's the author of the estimable book the Lumumba the Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination. Avishai Artsy produced today's show. Jolie Myers edited Laura Bullard and Miles Brian Cherry Check the facts. Patrick Boyd and Andrea Christian's daughter engineered and I'm Noel King. It's Today Explained.