Professional Soldiers ® - I Offer My Memoirs on Rwanda for Review

To all,

LTG Jim Clapper (the Director of the DIA when I was downrange) did this review of the book in the Jan-Feb edition of Military Review.

Best

Tom

JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS:
Genocide In Rwanda, Thomas
Odom, Texas A&M University
Press, College Station, 2005, 312
pages, $59.95.
Journey into Darkness is Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Odom’s personal account of the horror that resulted from the Rwandan genocide. The book provides unique insight into a multicultural and multinational environment and the associated highlevel politics that surround intense events such as genocide. Odom describes the amalgam of culture and politics that resulted in the genocide and that continue to
impel killing and instability in the region. Odom’s story is so vivid the reader can easily picture the events and feel the frustration resulting from the milieu of miscommunication, distance, culture, preconceived notions, and personal agendas. Despite these overwhelming odds, Odom is able to establish a working relationship with the U.S. community, nongovernmental entities, and the UN.

Although Odom’s book centers around Rwanda, his account of the culture, the military, and the Goma refugee situation in Zaire provides an excellent background for the entire crisis. Odom’s not being accepted as an official defense attaché (DAT) in Zaire, for example, immediately sets the tone for the book. When Colonel (later Brigadier General) Loleki, former Zairean defense attaché in Washington, departs the United States with a $50 thousand debt and 5 luxury cars, the U.S. Department of State refuses togrant a visa to his replacement until Zaire pays the debt. Loleki later bribed his way to brigadier and to director of the foreign liaison, which put him in a position to retaliate—and he decided to not accept Odom as an accredited defense attaché. Although Odom was not formally recognized as a DAT, he was permitted to stay in country. The implication of his unofficial status was that Odom was not allowed inside the Ministry of Defense Headquarters. Nevertheless, he developed a patrolling routine and network that proved valuable in reporting information about Les Forces Armées Zairoise and the general climate of the country.

Being set against the depressing backdrop of pervasive death makes Odom’s account all the more compelling. His involvement in the prevention of genocide began in July 1994 when Rwandan refugees were crossing the border of Southeastern Zaire into the city of Goma, where he was sent to lead the U.S. Embassy team. More than 750,000 Rwandan refugees had gathered in Goma, and an outbreak of cholera began to spread. By late July, 6,700 people were dying each day from cholera. In a daily report to the Pentagon, Odom consistently emphasized the need for water purification equipment. Some interesting aspects of the book include Odom’s relationship with the French Military and nongovernmental organizations; the honing of his diplomatic skills; and his success in establishing liaison and working relationships with the U.S. joint task force that would ultimately conduct Operation Support Hope.

Odom’s commitment to the profession of arms, his superb performance under fire, and his expertise as a foreign area officer are manifested in this book, which serves as a tribute to him and those like him who labor quietly, as unique amalgams of Soldier and diplomat, in far-flung corners of the earth.
LTG James R. Clapper, USAF,
Retired, Fairfax, Virginia