CIA-BACKED LAOTIANS SAID ENTERING CHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01720R001100050022-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 21, 2006
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: January 26, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Releas'~12006/08/21: CIA-RDP80RO1720ROO 0050022-7
ME WASHINGTON POST Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1971
41AMIL~C;j~~
cildied
W-7- 0
Lf 'I "t cr. C
By Michael Morrow
(5 1971, DlsPatch News Service International
ever, this reason was an ex- He has beer.
cuse used by the American least once during his c
embassy here to get rid of Laos, and reportedly
I oe, whose style has bee a 'has been put on his c
source of long-term friction. the Pathet Lao. He is r
with members of the Ameri- the only American le gaily
can mission in Laos including vied to a woman of the
Ambassador McMurtrie God-
ley. tribes.
The September story was re-
portedly a major concern of
CIA Director Richard Helms
when he visited Laos in thee
fall. Helms was quite upset
that there might be a leak
within the CIA in Laos,
sources close to the CIA re-
port.
Whether by design or coinci-
VIENTIANE, Laos-United dence, Vince Shields, in!
g close
States intelligence operations'toAthe cor
dtot] euf ve were charge of CIA operations at
LonP Cheng on the
or hdof e of
include the sending of armed thrown into a 12 by 12 by 12 the Plain Laotian reconnaissance teams foot pit exposed to the ele- entiane, and PaJars c in,
into China from northern ments. They were eventually station , an chief for trickth k Devlin,
Laos, sources here say. Teams executed. the CIA Vi-
are reported to have gone 'as entiede, have both been trans-
Like most CIA operations in ferred.
far as 200 miles into China, Laos, the one out of Nam Lieu A9 for the mission into
dispatched from a secret CIA is directed from a headquar- 'China , sources close to the
outpost 15 minutes' flying iters at Udorn air base in CIA and Western diplomatic
time north of the Laotian (northeastern Thailand. There , sources both report that to
opium center at Houei Sai, are several Americans atptheir knowledge the missions
According to sources close Pam Lieu, including CIA are continuing.
to the Central Intelligence land military intelligence per- Since leaving Narn Lieu,
Agency, and confirmed by sonnel. Sources close to the Poe has spent most of his time
Western diplomatic sources in CIA report the, number has at Udorn air base, although
Vientiane, the CIA is sending increased recently from four one source reported that Poe
out hill tribesmen armed with to more than 10. continued to do "odd jobs" on
American weapons, a three- In addition to activities in- the Thai-Cambodian border.
pound radio with a range of side China, the Nam Lieu Those who know him say he is
400 miles and equipment to Americans also help direct a unhappy away from Nam
tap Chinese telegraph lines, joint operation of "SGU" (spa- Lieu.
watch roads and do other cial guerrilla units) and the Poe is an ex-Marine noncom-
types of intelligence gather- Thai army at Xieng Loin missioned officer, wounded at
ing. south of Houei Sai on the Iwo Jima, who remained in
"There is always a team in Lao-Thai border. They also. Asia after World War II..In
China," sources close to the run intelligence-gathering mis- the 1950s he helped organize
CIA said, sions on a road being built CIA-trained Tibetan insur-
Staging area for the opera- by the Chinese government gents, escorting them to Colo-
a taging ale mountain opera- (under an agreement reached rado for training and going
tion is S
airstrip called Nam Lieu (also with the now-defunct coals back with them into Tibet,
known as Nam Yu). The stn} tion government of Laos) in Later he worked in the
which one Air American pilot the same vicinity. Thai-Cambodian border area
whc on as rdAmeri n clot Until mid-September of last with the Khmer Serai, anti-Si-
to grtinto," is surrounded by year, the Nam Lieu operation hanouk guerrillas receiving as-
to get int I is serviced by headed by a rough-and-! sistance from the CIA, and
both Air America and ed by tumble veteran guerrilla organ-I other parts of Thailand. He
both Air merica, and is also. izer named Anthony "Tony i has been in and out of Laos
away-station for opium taail- Poe. Poe is a legendary figure] since before the Geneva Ac-
ers from northern Laos and in Laos known best for his dis- cords of 1962 and was one of
Burrna on route to drug facto- like of journalists, disregard the first Americans involved
ries at Ilouei Sai. for orders and radio codes, ca- in arming and training para-
pscity for Lao whiskey and ex-; military groups in Laos.
During 1968, five Chinese pertise at clandestine guerrillas Poe is considered stubborn
f
the unctionaries caught up in 11 operations. and brusque, sometimes going
purges of the Cultural l ?__ _, _, .. :.,... r:4_
,.
of
They were treated well by the 'l Service b International on the
Americans for a time but
eventually were turned over Nam Lieu operations, ostensi-
to the Royal Laotian govern- because the article 'blew,
mgovern-
ment. I his is cover." According to
sources close to the CIA, how-
looks down on most American
operations because of their
heavy reliance on American
'personnel.
Approved For Release 2006/08/21 : CIA-RDP80R01720R001100050022-7