In July 1994, Thomas P. Odom was part of the U.S. Embassy team 
that responded to the Goma refugee crisis. He witnessed the deaths 
of 70,000 refugees in a single week. In the previous three months of 
escalating violence, the Rwandan genocide had claimed 800,000 
dead. Now, in this vivid and unsettling new book, Odom offers the 
first insider look at these devastating events before, during, and 
after the genocide.

    Odom draws on his years of experience as a defense attaché and 
foreign area specialist in the United States Army to offer a complete 
picture of the situation in Zaire and Rwanda, focusing on two U.S. 
embassies, intelligence operations, U.N. peacekeeping efforts, and 
regional reactions. His team attempted to slow the death by cholera 
of refugees in Goma, guiding in a U.S. Joint Task Force and 
Operation Support Hope and remaining until the United States 
withdrew its forces forty days later. After U.S. forces departed, 
Odom crossed into Rwanda to spend the next eighteen months 
reestablishing the embassy, working with the Rwandan government, 
and creating the U.S.–Rwandan Demining Office.

    Odom assisted the U.S. ambassador and served as the principal 
military advisor on Rwanda to the U.S. Department of Defense and 
National Security Council throughout his time in Rwanda. This book 
candidly reveals Odom's frustration with Washington as his 
predictions that a larger war was coming were ignored. 
Unfortunately, he was proven correct: the current death toll in 
Rwanda is over three million.

    Odom's account of the events in Rwanda not only illustrates how 
failures in intelligence and policy happen but also shows that a 
human context is necessary to comprehend these political 
decisions.

_________________________________________________________

THOMAS P. ODOM is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He served 
as an army strategic scout for over fifteen years, with five tours in the 
Middle East and Africa, and as the U.S. Army’s intelligence officer on 
the Middle East during the first Gulf War. Among his previous 
publications are two books on hostage rescues in the Congo. He is a 
coauthor of the U.S. Army’s history of the Gulf War.


Number 100: Texas A&M University Military History Series


What people are saying about this book

"Journey Into Darkness is a welcome addition to the serious literature 
available on neglected aspects of American foreign and defense policy 
during the 1990s . . . of  value to students of contemporary history and 
intelligence gathering as well as to  military historians, soldiers, and 
Africanists."—The Journal of Military History, Summer 2006

". . . provides unique insight into a multicultural and multinational 
environment and the associated high-level politics that surround intense 
events such as genocide . . . 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."—Military Review, Jan/Feb 2006

"Odom joins the growing and honorable list of military men frustrated by 
what turned out to be the tragice US-UN hesitations over humanitarian 
intervention in Rwanda."—CHOICE, Feb. 2006

". . . provides a rare but accurate account of the real challenges facing 
Rwanda and the region and why the efforts to seek solutions to the 
challenges have been elusive . . . Journey into Darkness is an excellent 
contribution to the understanding of the Rwandan genocide and its 
regional consequences. It is a must-read piece of work for all decision 
and policy makers in governments or private civic organizations."—Dr. Zac 
Nsenga, Ambassador of Rwanda, Washington, DC

". . . an insightful book about Africa—most especially about the terrible 
humanitarian crisis, genocide, and war that afflicted Rwanda and eastern 
Zaire in 1994 and 1995."—Robert E. Gribbin, former U.S. Ambassador to 
Rwanda

"This book is unique. [Odom] is a perceptive observer and is skilled at 
translating his perceptions and conclusions into verbal images and in 
evoking the feel and drama of the events. In particular, this book offers 
valuable insights into the culture of the army at high levels, based on 
the author's direct participation in key events, such as the Gulf War, 
and in his personal interaction with senior political and military officers."
—Norman Cigar, U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College

"Colonel Odom's study is an important contribution to the literature on 
genocide and Africa. It should be of interest to every academic library 
in the country."—W. A. Terrill, U.S. Army War College