LAOS WAR 'SECRET' ONLY FOR DIPLOMATS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-01022R000100230029-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 1, 2002
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: October 24, 1968
• Content Type: NSPR

THE WASHINGTON FOS%
Approved For Rel,,se 2002/05/01:IA=R-01022
Laos
ar :Secret'
OnIffT for
By Jack Foisie
Los Angeles Times
UDORN, Thailand - The
U.S. Air Force maintains that
American planes flying. mis-
sions over Laos "can only re-
turn fire if fired upon."
But to those who know, this
is one of the most outrageous
fibs ? of the war and is. the
4 source of muue'h comedy at
squadron bars.
: In fact, U.S. -involvement in
ipiornats
aircraft for the bnmliing of in-
filtration routes in Laos.
Constriction of the bombing
area of North Victnan- has
shortened distances to targets.
But there has been no lessen-
ing of bombing activity from
any of the five American air
bases in Thailand. In fact,
most fighter-bomber squad-
rons have increased their
number of bombing strikes.
And more of these can be
aimed at Laos.
An entire squadron of F-4
the war in Laos has become so` phantoms-America's latest
Aobvious that it is a "secret fighter-bomber-is committed
only to American diplomats. Ientir,y-to bombing In Laos.
} Under the niceties of inter- Three y,*'t Phantom squad-
,national agreements applying tons at Ubon are committed to;
i
no longer applies. A pilot
serves a year regardless of his
number of missions.
In the 4% months since the
presidential. limitation on,
bombing to below the 19th:
Parallel,, 23 American aircraft,
have been shot down. This Is.
roughly half of what would
have been expected if the.
bombing had continued over!
all of North Vietnam.
The Air Force does not say 1
how many of these planes.
were shot down in Laos.
There is another type of
American military involve-
ment in Laos, well known to
the enemy but not to Ameri-
cans, unless one travels into
the remote areas of Laos- or
visits Nakorn Phanon, another
air base located in-northeast
to Laos, American diplomats the suppression of enemy ant Thailand. This base has more
do not acknowledge this mil aircraft fire and stopping than .100 planes of various
itary participation. Similarly,)truck convoys in either the! types, all propeller-driven.
North Vietnam does not lower portion of North Viet se planes are used in Laos
acknowledge that it also has nam or the eastern length of These
_pl s.
made Laos a battlefield ad- Laos.
junct to the war in. Vietnam At Udorn . base there are A trainer bearing Lao mark-
by moving men and material four more Phaptom squad- ings with two Americans
down the Ho Chi Minh Trail rons. Two carry bombs and, crashed recently Into the Me-
through Laos. rockets. The other two special kon?g River separating Laos
The major stepup in U.S. ize in photo reconnaissance, in and Thailand, much to the dip-
efforts is the increased use which a twoaman crew flies un-, lomatic embarrassment of the
of American aircraft to inter- armed to take pictures from, nations concerned.
diet the roads and trails of the 5000 to 35,000 feet altitude. Although Nakorn Pliano?m's
Ho Chi Minh complex in ease- Within the presidential Mimi aircraft fly missions classified
ern Laos in an effort to stifle
- or at least reduce -- the Cations on bombing there are as most secret, the base is to-. further limitations. The nar- sated an the heart of the most
f supplies Vietnamese 1rnocements viable Communist insurgency
row Southland of North Viet-
of supplies and reinforcements' nam known as the panhandle effort in Thailand.
to units in South Vietnam, In Laos itself there are
is subdivided. The northern main. Yet, the United States ctin some 150 remote sites where
tains the fiction of conducting half is reserved for Navy, the U.S. Air Force and Central
bbig from 7th Fleet car
I only reconnaissance flightsomn- Intelligence Agency carry out
tiers. The southern half and
erations
i
d
. .
e
op
over Laos. var
ct the other day the Laos are the territory of the The more defensible sites'
I
f
n
a
, Air Force.
U.S. Embassy in'the capital of contain American military;
Vientiane acknowledged that, Air Force pilots complain personnel who man aircraftl
since .1964 .71 Americans-69 about bi.g town areas which i navigational and bombing i
airmen and two civilians-' are off limits to bomb strikes.! aids, and activity acknowl-
have been lost in Laos and are I Veteran pilots are barely! edged by the Strategic Air
presumed to be captive of the
Communist Pathet Lao.
All the downed airmen, an
Embassy-- spokesman said,
were on "reconnaissance
flights carried out over Laos
at the request of the Royal
Laotian Government."
The decision of President
Johnson on March 31 to'flImit'
American bombing to areas
of North Vietnam south of the
19th parallel.: has -treed mamv
able to hide their contempt at! Command.
the type of target they are now Some o? the most advanced"
assigned. sites contain "trail watchers
"We are sent to crater a who report on the infiltration
over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
bend In a dirt road, and we do- Their reports are one of the
it," said one. "But in nine, primary souses of the Penta-
hours their antlike a peasant: gon reports on enemy buildup
labor force will have filled up! inTSouth trailna watch teams
the craters, and three days; usually contain no Americans.
from now I'll be committing iii 'Their' capture would contra
million,dollar aircraft and my; diet the diplaihat e.stance that.
life to do it again." the U.S. is not nvolvedi
In the past, only sorties over', tarily in Laos.,`. r
North Vietnam counted to The trail watchers ususally
ward the missions which: l are That _or Laa. ~"
sea
Approved Fore?; ;Midn4-RDP83-0.1022R000100230029-8
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