17°27′21″S22°36′47″E / 17.45583°S 22.61306°E /-17.45583; 22.61306
Jamba is atown inAngola, located in the municipality ofLuiana in the southeastern province ofCuando, just north of theNamibian border along theCaprivi Strip.[1]
The town is best known as the former military headquarters ofUNITA, a rebel movement supported bySouth Africa and theUnited States that fought theSoviet-aligned and supported government in theAngolan Civil War, aCold War conflict.
The name Jamba meanselephant inUmbundu, a language spoken in SouthernAngola.
Jamba served asUNITA's headquarters from 1976 until 1992. The headquarters itself was an elaborate military encampment withradar capabilities and sophisticatedanti-aircraft weaponry that protected the headquarters throughout the 16-yearAngolan Civil War. UNITA also maintained a large military airstrip in Jamba.
Author Paul Hare described Jamba as "a spread out, well-organised guerrilla encampment, carefully planned and camouflaged to protect against air attacks".[2]
On December 24, 1999, Jamba was captured byAngolan military forces.[2]
UNITA was led byJonas Savimbi, a charismatic political and military leader who is generally considered one of the more important figures in the history of Angola. Savimbi forged relations with the U.S. and ultimately became an important proxy for the West during theCold War.
Savimbi's critics allege that his military campaign was hugely costly and destructive to modern Angola and that, during theCivil War, human rights were violated by Savimbi and UNITA. Similar allegations were made against the government of Angola during the war.
Under the U.S. administrations ofRonald Reagan andGeorge H. W. Bush, Jamba grew as a major center of UNITA rebel activity, with the construction of elaborate air defense capabilities and runways designed for the replenishment of U.S. war supplies, which were shipped to UNITA.[3] Both Zaire and South Africa cooperated with the U.S. in supporting Savimbi and UNITA in their war against theMarxist Angolan government.
In 1985, Jamba was the host of theDemocratic International or "Jamba Jamboree", a meeting of globalanti-communist insurgents organized by United Statesconservatives, includingJack Abramoff. At the conference, the participants signed a communiqué declaring "our solidarity with all freedom movements in the world and ... our commitment to cooperate to liberate our nations from theSovietimperialists"[4] Other participants in the conference included:
In later years, Savimbi was visited regularly in Jamba by some of his closest American advisors and advocates, includingMichael Johns,Grover Norquist, and others.[5]
The policy of support for anti-communist resistance movements, which was supported byThe Heritage Foundation and other influential conservatives, ultimately came to be known as theReagan Doctrine and was a central component of the foreign policies of the Reagan and (to a lesser extent)George H. W. Bush administrations.
InCall of Duty: Black Ops II, Jamba was the staging point where Jonas Savimbi starts his counterattack onMPLA forces while being aided byCIA agents Hudson and Mason while the agents are searching for a squad gone MIA (Missing In Action).
