The workshop, The Congo Crisis and its Aftermath, 1964-1968, will bring together scholars and declassification experts to review the state of the Foreign Relations of the United States series, edited by the Department of State, in particular the newly published Volume XXIII, Congo. The volume consists of two sections. The first part of the volume, covering 1960 to 1963, documents the chaotic nature of the Congo crisis and the pervasive influence of U.S. Government covert actions in the newly independent nation. They also provide the analysis that is at the core of policy formulation with regard to covert action. The second part of the volume, covering 1964 to 1968, documents the continuation of the U.S. covert political action programs and their role in providing paramilitary and air support to the Congolese Government in an effort to quell provincial rebellions. The documentation illustrates a gradual shift in policy to engage other nations in the stabilization of Congo-Léopoldville, including the joint U.S.-Belgian rescue of European and U.S. hostages during Operation Dragon Rouge and the efforts of the Department of State to convince other nations, including Belgium and members of the Organization of African Unity, to support the Congo-Léopoldville Government and condemn outside interference. Workshop participants include State Department Historian Stephen Randolph, historians Wm. Roger Louis, Richard Immerman, Robert McMahon, Lisa Namikas, and former State Department officials Myra Burton and Roger Moran. 

New Evidence on the Congo Crisis and Aftermath, 1960-1968

9:00am-9:15am: Welcome and Opening Remarks
Christian Ostermann (Wilson Center)
Stephen P. Randolph (The Historian, Office of the Historian)

9:15am-9:45am: Keynote Address
Roger Moran (Former State Department Official)

9:45am-10:30am: Roundtable - Challenges of Declassification and the Future of FRUS
Wm. Roger Louis (Wilson Center, University of Texas at Austin), chair
Richard Immerman (Temple University)
Ted Keefer (former general editor for the Foreign Relations series)
Stephen P. Randolph (The Historian, Office of the Historian)

10:30am-10:45am: Break

10:45am-12:30pm: Roundtable - New Evidence on the Congo Crisis
Robert McMahon (The Ohio State University), chair
Ambassador Edward Brynn (Former US Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ghana)
Myra Burton (Office of the Historian)
Lise Namikas (Louisiana State University)
David Robarge (Chief Historian, Central Intelligence Agency)
Herbert F. Weiss (Emeritus Professor, City University of New York)
Stephen R. Weissman (author of American Foreign Policy in the Congo, 1960-1964)