ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of United States (US)-African policy in the Richard Nixon administration. It argues that the African Bureau initially had no issue with the “Tar Baby” policy but quickly expressed apprehension at increased Soviet activity in the region. The Carnation Revolution in April 1974 provided the opportunity to address this imbalance in US–African policy but Kissinger focused on the threat of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) infiltrating North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Despite warnings from the African Bureau about a power vacuum in the sub-Saharan region in late 1974, Kissinger was intent on removing the proactive head of the African Bureau, Donald Easum, and replacing him with a more perceived docile diplomat named Nathaniel Davis.
