Author: Kenneth Conboy
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700611479
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
During the Vietnam war, the United States sought to undermine Hanoi's subversion of the Saigon regime by sending Vietnamese operatives behind enemy lines. A secret to most Americans, this covert operation was far from secret in Hanoi: all of the commandos were killed or captured, and many were turned by the Communists to report false information. Spies and Commandos traces the rise and demise of this secret operation-started by the CIA in 1960 and expanded by the Pentagon beginning in1964-in the first book to examine the program from both sides of the war. Kenneth Conboy and Dale Andrade interviewed CIA and military personnel and traveled in Vietnam to locate former commandos who had been captured by Hanoi, enabling them to tell the complete story of these covert activities from high-level decision making to the actual experiences of the agents. The book vividly describes scores of dangerous missions-including raids against North Vietnamese coastal installations and the air-dropping of dozens of agents into enemy territory-as well as psychological warfare designed to make Hanoi believe the "resistance movement" was larger than it actually was. It offers a more complete operational account of the program than has ever been made available-particularly its early years-and ties known events in the war to covert operations, such as details of the "34-A Operations" that led to the Tonkin Gulf incidents in 1964. It also explains in no uncertain terms why the whole plan was doomed to failure from the start. One of the remarkable features of the operation, claim the authors, is that its failures were so glaring. They argue that the CIA, and later the Pentagon, was unaware for years that Hanoi had compromised the commandos, even though some agents missed radio deadlines or filed suspicious reports. Operational errors were not attributable to conspiracy or counterintelligence, they contend, but simply to poor planning and lack of imagination. Although it flourished for ten years under cover of the wider war, covert activity in Vietnam is now recognized as a disaster. Conboy and Andrade's account of that episode is a sobering tale that lends a new perspective on the war as it reclaims the lost lives of these unsung spies and commandos.
Spies and Commandos
Author: Kenneth Conboy
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700611479
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
During the Vietnam war, the United States sought to undermine Hanoi's subversion of the Saigon regime by sending Vietnamese operatives behind enemy lines. A secret to most Americans, this covert operation was far from secret in Hanoi: all of the commandos were killed or captured, and many were turned by the Communists to report false information. Spies and Commandos traces the rise and demise of this secret operation-started by the CIA in 1960 and expanded by the Pentagon beginning in1964-in the first book to examine the program from both sides of the war. Kenneth Conboy and Dale Andrade interviewed CIA and military personnel and traveled in Vietnam to locate former commandos who had been captured by Hanoi, enabling them to tell the complete story of these covert activities from high-level decision making to the actual experiences of the agents. The book vividly describes scores of dangerous missions-including raids against North Vietnamese coastal installations and the air-dropping of dozens of agents into enemy territory-as well as psychological warfare designed to make Hanoi believe the "resistance movement" was larger than it actually was. It offers a more complete operational account of the program than has ever been made available-particularly its early years-and ties known events in the war to covert operations, such as details of the "34-A Operations" that led to the Tonkin Gulf incidents in 1964. It also explains in no uncertain terms why the whole plan was doomed to failure from the start. One of the remarkable features of the operation, claim the authors, is that its failures were so glaring. They argue that the CIA, and later the Pentagon, was unaware for years that Hanoi had compromised the commandos, even though some agents missed radio deadlines or filed suspicious reports. Operational errors were not attributable to conspiracy or counterintelligence, they contend, but simply to poor planning and lack of imagination. Although it flourished for ten years under cover of the wider war, covert activity in Vietnam is now recognized as a disaster. Conboy and Andrade's account of that episode is a sobering tale that lends a new perspective on the war as it reclaims the lost lives of these unsung spies and commandos.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700611479
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
During the Vietnam war, the United States sought to undermine Hanoi's subversion of the Saigon regime by sending Vietnamese operatives behind enemy lines. A secret to most Americans, this covert operation was far from secret in Hanoi: all of the commandos were killed or captured, and many were turned by the Communists to report false information. Spies and Commandos traces the rise and demise of this secret operation-started by the CIA in 1960 and expanded by the Pentagon beginning in1964-in the first book to examine the program from both sides of the war. Kenneth Conboy and Dale Andrade interviewed CIA and military personnel and traveled in Vietnam to locate former commandos who had been captured by Hanoi, enabling them to tell the complete story of these covert activities from high-level decision making to the actual experiences of the agents. The book vividly describes scores of dangerous missions-including raids against North Vietnamese coastal installations and the air-dropping of dozens of agents into enemy territory-as well as psychological warfare designed to make Hanoi believe the "resistance movement" was larger than it actually was. It offers a more complete operational account of the program than has ever been made available-particularly its early years-and ties known events in the war to covert operations, such as details of the "34-A Operations" that led to the Tonkin Gulf incidents in 1964. It also explains in no uncertain terms why the whole plan was doomed to failure from the start. One of the remarkable features of the operation, claim the authors, is that its failures were so glaring. They argue that the CIA, and later the Pentagon, was unaware for years that Hanoi had compromised the commandos, even though some agents missed radio deadlines or filed suspicious reports. Operational errors were not attributable to conspiracy or counterintelligence, they contend, but simply to poor planning and lack of imagination. Although it flourished for ten years under cover of the wider war, covert activity in Vietnam is now recognized as a disaster. Conboy and Andrade's account of that episode is a sobering tale that lends a new perspective on the war as it reclaims the lost lives of these unsung spies and commandos.
Spies and Commandos
Author: Kenneth J. Conboy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. sought to undermine Hanoi's subversion of the Saigon regime by sending Vietnamese operatives behind enemy lines. All the commandos were killed or captured, with many reporting false information. This book traces the rise and demise of this secret operation.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. sought to undermine Hanoi's subversion of the Saigon regime by sending Vietnamese operatives behind enemy lines. All the commandos were killed or captured, with many reporting false information. This book traces the rise and demise of this secret operation.
The CIA's Secret War in Tibet
Author: Kenneth J. Conboy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
In one of the most remote covert campaigns of the cold war, the CIA harnessed, nurtured, and encouraged the Khampa tribesmen of Tibet in their defiance against Chinese subjugation. This is the first time the story has been told.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
In one of the most remote covert campaigns of the cold war, the CIA harnessed, nurtured, and encouraged the Khampa tribesmen of Tibet in their defiance against Chinese subjugation. This is the first time the story has been told.
Buddha's Warriors
Author: Mikel Dunham
Publisher: Penguin Books India
ISBN: 9780144001040
Category : Tibet (China)
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Book Description
The Chinese Invasion And Occupation Of Tibet Has Been One Of The Great Tragedies. More Than A Million People Have Died As A Result. An Ancient Culture With Its Buildings, Literature, And Artifacts Has Been Largely Destroyed. In Kham, Eastern Tibet, In Particular, Where People Retained The Warrior-Like Qualities Of Old, Groups Of Men Banded Together To Oppose The Chinese By Force&. And I Am Glad That Mikel Dunham Has Been Able To Tell These Brave Men S Story In This Book, Much As They Told It To Him. His Holiness The Dalai Lama, From The Foreword In The Last Sixty Years, Tibet Has Been So Mythologized And Politicized That The Outside World Remains Confused About What Really Happened When Mao Tse-Tung Invaded In 1950. Buddha S Warriors Is The Story Of The Tens Of Thousands Of Tibetans Who Violently Resisted The Bloody Occupation Of Their Country And The Desecration Of All That Was Holy To Them. From The Farthest Reaches Of Tibet Kham, Amdo And Golok The Most Feared Tribes In Asia Mounted Their Warhorses And Rode Together For The First Time In History. By Their Side Were Thousands Of Buddhist Monks Who Renounced Their Vows Of Nonviolence, Grabbed Swords, And In The Name Of Freedom Charged Into Enemy Lines. Tibet S Only Source Of Outside Help Came From A Small Group Of Cia Agents, Who Secretly Trained And Armed The Freedom Fighters. Author Mikel Dunham Spent Seven Years Interviewing The Warriors Who Fought The Chinese, Collecting Stories That Otherwise Would Have Been Lost To History. He Also Befriended The Cia Officers Who Trained The Young Tibetans. These Firsthand Accounts Bring Faces And Deeply Personal Emotions To The Forefront Of The Ongoing Tragedy Of Tibet. Buddha S Warriors Is A Sweeping History Of A Nation And An Ancient Culture Under Siege. The Saga Of The Tibetan Resistance Movement Is One Of Brave Soldiers And Cowardly Traitors, Courage Against Repression, Buddhism Against Atheism, And, Ultimately, Of What Happens To An Isolated Civilization When It Is Thrust Almost Overnight Into The Horrors Of Modern-Day Warfare.
Publisher: Penguin Books India
ISBN: 9780144001040
Category : Tibet (China)
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Book Description
The Chinese Invasion And Occupation Of Tibet Has Been One Of The Great Tragedies. More Than A Million People Have Died As A Result. An Ancient Culture With Its Buildings, Literature, And Artifacts Has Been Largely Destroyed. In Kham, Eastern Tibet, In Particular, Where People Retained The Warrior-Like Qualities Of Old, Groups Of Men Banded Together To Oppose The Chinese By Force&. And I Am Glad That Mikel Dunham Has Been Able To Tell These Brave Men S Story In This Book, Much As They Told It To Him. His Holiness The Dalai Lama, From The Foreword In The Last Sixty Years, Tibet Has Been So Mythologized And Politicized That The Outside World Remains Confused About What Really Happened When Mao Tse-Tung Invaded In 1950. Buddha S Warriors Is The Story Of The Tens Of Thousands Of Tibetans Who Violently Resisted The Bloody Occupation Of Their Country And The Desecration Of All That Was Holy To Them. From The Farthest Reaches Of Tibet Kham, Amdo And Golok The Most Feared Tribes In Asia Mounted Their Warhorses And Rode Together For The First Time In History. By Their Side Were Thousands Of Buddhist Monks Who Renounced Their Vows Of Nonviolence, Grabbed Swords, And In The Name Of Freedom Charged Into Enemy Lines. Tibet S Only Source Of Outside Help Came From A Small Group Of Cia Agents, Who Secretly Trained And Armed The Freedom Fighters. Author Mikel Dunham Spent Seven Years Interviewing The Warriors Who Fought The Chinese, Collecting Stories That Otherwise Would Have Been Lost To History. He Also Befriended The Cia Officers Who Trained The Young Tibetans. These Firsthand Accounts Bring Faces And Deeply Personal Emotions To The Forefront Of The Ongoing Tragedy Of Tibet. Buddha S Warriors Is A Sweeping History Of A Nation And An Ancient Culture Under Siege. The Saga Of The Tibetan Resistance Movement Is One Of Brave Soldiers And Cowardly Traitors, Courage Against Repression, Buddhism Against Atheism, And, Ultimately, Of What Happens To An Isolated Civilization When It Is Thrust Almost Overnight Into The Horrors Of Modern-Day Warfare.
Into Tibet
Author: Thomas Laird
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802196624
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 576
Book Description
A “fascinating” story of espionage that “fills a blank space in the hidden history of the Cold War” (Houston Chronicle). Into Tibet is the incredible story of a 1949–1950 American undercover expedition led by America’s first atomic agent, Douglas S. Mackiernan—a covert attempt to arm the Tibetans and to recognize Tibet’s independence months before China invaded. A Nepal-based American journalist reveals how the clash between the State Department and the CIA, as well as unguided actions by field agents, hastened the Chinese invasion of Tibet. A gripping narrative of survival, courage, and intrigue among the nomads, princes, and warring armies of inner Asia, Into Tibet rewrites the accepted history behind the Chinese invasion of Tibet. “A gripping tale.” —The Washington Post
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802196624
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 576
Book Description
A “fascinating” story of espionage that “fills a blank space in the hidden history of the Cold War” (Houston Chronicle). Into Tibet is the incredible story of a 1949–1950 American undercover expedition led by America’s first atomic agent, Douglas S. Mackiernan—a covert attempt to arm the Tibetans and to recognize Tibet’s independence months before China invaded. A Nepal-based American journalist reveals how the clash between the State Department and the CIA, as well as unguided actions by field agents, hastened the Chinese invasion of Tibet. A gripping narrative of survival, courage, and intrigue among the nomads, princes, and warring armies of inner Asia, Into Tibet rewrites the accepted history behind the Chinese invasion of Tibet. “A gripping tale.” —The Washington Post
The Cambodian Wars
Author: Kenneth Conboy
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700619003
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
For most Americans, Cambodia was a sideshow to the war in Vietnam, but by the time of the Vietnam invasion of Democratic Kampuchea in 1978 and the subsequent war, it had finally moved to center stage. Kenneth Conboy chronicles the violence that plagued Cambodia from World War II until the end of the twentieth century and peels back the layers of secrecy that surrounded the CIA's covert assistance to anticommunist forces in Cambodia during that span. Conboy's path-breaking study provides the first complete assessment of CIA ops in two key periods-during the Khmer Republic's existence (1970-1975), in support of American military action in Vietnam, and during the Reagan and first Bush presidencies (1981-1991), when the CIA challenged Soviet expansion by supporting exiled royalists, Republicans, and even former Communists trying to expel the Vietnamese from their country. Through interviews with dozens of CIA Cambodia veterans-as well as special forces officers from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia-he sheds new light on the contributions made by foreign intelligence services. Through information gleaned from the U.S. Defense Attache's Office in Phnom Penh, he offers a detailed look at the development of the Khmer Rouge military structure, while his use of Vietnamese-language histories released by the People's Army of Vietnam helps more fully illuminate the PAVN's participation in the Cambodian wars. More than a simple expos of CIA activities, however, The Cambodian Wars is also an authoritative history of that country's struggles over half a century. Conboy examines Cambodia as kingdom, colony, republic, revolutionary state, and Vietnamese satellite, and offers fresh insight into the actions of key players-Norodom Sihanouk, Lon Nol, Sisowath Sirik Matak, Son Ngoc Thanh, and others-that will enlighten even those who think they know that country's history. Three decades in the making, The Cambodian Wars tells a little known chapter in the Cold War in which non-communists pulled off a surprising victory. Featuring dozens of photos covering events from 1970 to the trial of Pol Pot in 1997, it is must reading for anyone interested in contemporary Southeast Asian history, CIA covert operations, and the Vietnam War.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700619003
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
For most Americans, Cambodia was a sideshow to the war in Vietnam, but by the time of the Vietnam invasion of Democratic Kampuchea in 1978 and the subsequent war, it had finally moved to center stage. Kenneth Conboy chronicles the violence that plagued Cambodia from World War II until the end of the twentieth century and peels back the layers of secrecy that surrounded the CIA's covert assistance to anticommunist forces in Cambodia during that span. Conboy's path-breaking study provides the first complete assessment of CIA ops in two key periods-during the Khmer Republic's existence (1970-1975), in support of American military action in Vietnam, and during the Reagan and first Bush presidencies (1981-1991), when the CIA challenged Soviet expansion by supporting exiled royalists, Republicans, and even former Communists trying to expel the Vietnamese from their country. Through interviews with dozens of CIA Cambodia veterans-as well as special forces officers from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia-he sheds new light on the contributions made by foreign intelligence services. Through information gleaned from the U.S. Defense Attache's Office in Phnom Penh, he offers a detailed look at the development of the Khmer Rouge military structure, while his use of Vietnamese-language histories released by the People's Army of Vietnam helps more fully illuminate the PAVN's participation in the Cambodian wars. More than a simple expos of CIA activities, however, The Cambodian Wars is also an authoritative history of that country's struggles over half a century. Conboy examines Cambodia as kingdom, colony, republic, revolutionary state, and Vietnamese satellite, and offers fresh insight into the actions of key players-Norodom Sihanouk, Lon Nol, Sisowath Sirik Matak, Son Ngoc Thanh, and others-that will enlighten even those who think they know that country's history. Three decades in the making, The Cambodian Wars tells a little known chapter in the Cold War in which non-communists pulled off a surprising victory. Featuring dozens of photos covering events from 1970 to the trial of Pol Pot in 1997, it is must reading for anyone interested in contemporary Southeast Asian history, CIA covert operations, and the Vietnam War.
Safe for Democracy
Author: John Prados
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
ISBN: 1615780114
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 736
Book Description
From its founding in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency has been discovered in the midst of some of the most crucial-and most embarrassing-episodes in United States relations with the world. Safe for Democracy for the first time places the story of the CIA's covert operations squarely in the context of America's global quest for democratic values and institutions. National security historian John Prados offers a comprehensive history of the CIA's secret wars that is as close to a definitive account as is possible today.
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
ISBN: 1615780114
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 736
Book Description
From its founding in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency has been discovered in the midst of some of the most crucial-and most embarrassing-episodes in United States relations with the world. Safe for Democracy for the first time places the story of the CIA's covert operations squarely in the context of America's global quest for democratic values and institutions. National security historian John Prados offers a comprehensive history of the CIA's secret wars that is as close to a definitive account as is possible today.
Spies in the Himalayas
Author: M. S. Kohli
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
Spies in the Himalayas chronicles for the first time the details of these expeditions sanctioned by U.S. and Indian intelligence, telling the story of clandestine climbs and hair-raising exploits. Led by legendary Indian mountaineer Mohan S. Kohli, conqueror of Everest, the mission was beset by hazardous climbs, weather delays, aborted attempts, and even missing radioactive materials that may or may not still pose contamination threat to Indian rivers.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
Spies in the Himalayas chronicles for the first time the details of these expeditions sanctioned by U.S. and Indian intelligence, telling the story of clandestine climbs and hair-raising exploits. Led by legendary Indian mountaineer Mohan S. Kohli, conqueror of Everest, the mission was beset by hazardous climbs, weather delays, aborted attempts, and even missing radioactive materials that may or may not still pose contamination threat to Indian rivers.
Tibet
Author: Michel Peissel
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312309534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
A passionate homage to Tibet in words and pictures by one of the last great explorers who brings the geographical, spiritual, and intellectual heart of the country to life. 250 photos.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312309534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
A passionate homage to Tibet in words and pictures by one of the last great explorers who brings the geographical, spiritual, and intellectual heart of the country to life. 250 photos.
A Great Place to Have a War
Author: Joshua Kurlantzick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451667892
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
The untold story of how America’s secret war in Laos in the 1960s transformed the CIA from a loose collection of spies into a military operation and a key player in American foreign policy. January, 1961: Laos, a tiny nation few Americans have heard of, is at risk of falling to communism and triggering a domino effect throughout Southeast Asia. This is what President Eisenhower believed when he approved the CIA’s Operation Momentum, creating an army of ethnic Hmong to fight communist forces there. Largely hidden from the American public—and most of Congress—Momentum became the largest CIA paramilitary operation in the history of the United States. The brutal war lasted more than a decade, left the ground littered with thousands of unexploded bombs, and changed the nature of the CIA forever. With “revelatory reporting” and “lucid prose” (The Economist), Kurlantzick provides the definitive account of the Laos war, focusing on the four key people who led the operation: the CIA operative whose idea it was, the Hmong general who led the proxy army in the field, the paramilitary specialist who trained the Hmong forces, and the State Department careerist who took control over the war as it grew. Using recently declassified records and extensive interviews, Kurlantzick shows for the first time how the CIA’s clandestine adventures in one small, Southeast Asian country became the template for how the United States has conducted war ever since—all the way to today’s war on terrorism.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451667892
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
The untold story of how America’s secret war in Laos in the 1960s transformed the CIA from a loose collection of spies into a military operation and a key player in American foreign policy. January, 1961: Laos, a tiny nation few Americans have heard of, is at risk of falling to communism and triggering a domino effect throughout Southeast Asia. This is what President Eisenhower believed when he approved the CIA’s Operation Momentum, creating an army of ethnic Hmong to fight communist forces there. Largely hidden from the American public—and most of Congress—Momentum became the largest CIA paramilitary operation in the history of the United States. The brutal war lasted more than a decade, left the ground littered with thousands of unexploded bombs, and changed the nature of the CIA forever. With “revelatory reporting” and “lucid prose” (The Economist), Kurlantzick provides the definitive account of the Laos war, focusing on the four key people who led the operation: the CIA operative whose idea it was, the Hmong general who led the proxy army in the field, the paramilitary specialist who trained the Hmong forces, and the State Department careerist who took control over the war as it grew. Using recently declassified records and extensive interviews, Kurlantzick shows for the first time how the CIA’s clandestine adventures in one small, Southeast Asian country became the template for how the United States has conducted war ever since—all the way to today’s war on terrorism.