At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: United States Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government, 1955-75

Timothy Neil Castle

Columbia University Press, 1993 - Laos - 210 pages

On December 2, 1975, the Lao monarchy was abolished and replaced by the Lao People's Democratic Republic. This marked the end of a controversial U.S. policy in which the State Department, the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the United States Agency for International Development supplied covert military aid to a nation that was technically neutral. At War in the Shadow of Vietnam is the first book to recount the full story of U.S. covert activity in Laos from 1955 to 1975. Based on newly declassifled materials as well as interviews with scores of key American and Laotian participants, it describes in detail the structure and execution of America's "secret war" and the long-term consequences. In an effort to defend the Lao kingdom - and to disrupt the flow of communist arms, material, and soldiers traversing Laos en route to South Vietnam - the U.S. created and clandestinely administered a covert military aid plan that fueled a unique and little-known conflict. Castle chronicles the close relationship between the CIA and the Lao army, the role of the CIA's proprietary airline, Air America, and the evolution of U.S.-Thailand cooperation and the impact of Thai support on the Lao military assistance program. Until now, the covert war in Laos has been documented only in fragmented and speculative fashion. By synthesizing an enormous amount of source material - much of it gathered in Laos - Castle not only deepens our understanding of American intervention in Southeast Asia but also provides a masterful reconstruction of a secretive and ultimately tragic episode in United States foreign policy.

Contents

• INTRODUCTION: iii
• Geography: v
• Indochina America and the Cold War: ix
• Bankrolling the French: xi
• Geneva 1954: xiii
• Thailand America and a Military Buildup: xiv
• NEUTRALITY THAT DOESNT WORK: xvi
• The US Presence in Laos: xvii
• The Programs Evaluations Office: xviii
• From Left to Right: xix
• The CIA and les Jeunes: 1
• The Kong Le Coup: 2
• Two Governments: 3
• A Rump PEO: 4
• The Soviet and Chinese Factor: 5
• Phoumis Victory: 6
• Moving Toward Superpower Confrontation: 7
• CONFLICT DIPLOMACY AND COVERT OPERATIONS: 8
• The PhoumiSouvanna Gambol: 9
• Signaling Resolve: 10
• Preparing for a Covert War: 11
• The FAR Farce: 12
• The Loss of Team Moon: 13
• From PEO to MAAG: 14
• Public Posturing: 15
• Operation Millpond: 16
• Thai Military Assistance to Laos: 18
• Sea Supply: 19
• Claiming the Lao Highlands: 20
• Searching for Turks: 21
• Pursuing Diplomacy: 22
• The Hmong Factor: 24
• Project Mad River: 25
• Deadlock: 26
• The Nam Tha Debacle: 27
• Souvanna Prevails: 28
• THE GENEVA FACADE SEE HEAR AND SPEAK NO EVIL: 29
• The PushkinHarriman Understanding: 30
• Withdrawing from Laos: 31
• A Wary Beginning: 32
• The Rebirth of Covert US Military Assistance: 34
• DEPCHIEF: 35
• The Kennedy Letter: 36
• Internal Dissension: 37
• Moscow Backs Out: 38
• A Plausibly Deniable Army: 39
• Flying Rice and Weapons: 40
• USAID Laos: 41
• The Continuing Thai Connection: 42
• SECSTATE THEATER OF WAR: 44
• Ending the Tripartite Coalition: 46
• Returning to the Battlefield: 47
• Project Waterpump: 48
• The Issue of US Aerial Reconnaissance: 49
• Air Americas T28 Strike Force: 51
• Expanding the Air War in Laos: 52
• The Chinese Connection: 53
• The FAR as a Tripwire: 55
• Action Without Authority: 56
• WILLIAM SULLIVANS WAR: 59
• The Vang Pao Army: 61
• Watching the Enemy: 64
• Refugee Relief: 65
• Bookkeeping: 66
• The Military Aid Pipeline: 67
• The Ravens: 68
• Managing the Air War in Laos: 70
• Military Assistance Advisory Group in Exile: 72
• The Primitive War: 74
• The Loss of Phu Pha Thi: 76
• CHANGING WAR CHANGING RULES: 80
• The Secret War Goes Public: 81
• The Congo Club: 83
• Easing the Ambassadors Grip: 84
• A General Joins the Country Team: 85
• Paying for the Lao War: 86
• Expanding the War: 87
• Attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail: 90
• The Breakdown of the Hmong Army: 92
• Brother Races: 93
• The Final Save: 94
• THE DENOUEMENT OF US MILITARY AID TO THE ROYAL LAO GOVERNMENT: 97
• The Vientiane Agreement: 99
• The Demise of Air America in Laos and Thailand: 101
• Withdrawing the Thai SGUs: 102
• The End of Vang Paos Army: 103
• Reorganizing the US Military Presence in Laos: 104
• Formation of the PGNU: 106
• Laos Becomes the Third Domino: 107
• CONCLUSIONS ON A NONATTRIBUTABLE WAR: 110
• NOTES: 121
• BIBLIOGRAPHY: 159
• INDEX: 179

About the author

Timothy N. Castle served two tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, flying over Laos from Nakhon Phanom Air Force Base on thirty-eight combat support missions. Since 1990, he has traveled to Laos frequently as a researcher and senior Department of Defense POW/MIA investigator for Laos, and as a consultant for NBC News. He is senior researcher at the CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence. He is also the author of One Day Too Long (Columbia).

Bibliographic information

• Title: At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: United States Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government, 1955-75
• Author: Timothy Neil Castle
• Edition: illustrated, revised
• Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1993
• ISBN: 023107977X, 9780231079778
• Length: 210 pages