JOURNAL OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 16, 2003
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: April 29, 1971
• Content Type: NOTES

:,,Approved For Release 2003/08/08: CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
SECRET
JOURNAL
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL
Thursday - 29 April 1971
25X1
25X:1
25X1.
25X1
25X1A
1. - JMM) Met with Senator George M cGovern and
Mr. John Holum, of the Senator's staff, in response to the Senator's letter
to the Director of 13 April 1971 inquiring about possible Agency knowledge of
or indirect involvement in drug traffic in Southeast Asia. (See Memo for
Record for details. )
2. I I - GLC) Victor Zafra, OMB, called and gave clearance
on our sending our proposed letter on S. 1438 to Senator Ervin. Zafra said
.they would have preferred to wait until the Civil Service Commission testifies
before the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee on similar legislation,
but he said OMB appreciated our desire tc set the record straight with Senator.
Ervin. He said if significant changes are, made the Administration could con-
ceivably approve it. On the other hand, it was also quite possible they would
seriously consider a veto if such changes are not made. He asked that we
eliminate the "advice" sentence of our letter.
3 GLC) Ed Braswell, Chief Counsel, Senate Armed Services
Committee, called to say General Bruce Holloway, Commander of the Strategic
Air Command, will be briefing the Committee tomorrow and asked if one of our
"!top men" could come up and give Chairman Stennis and him a briefing on the
threat at 9:30 tomorrow morning. I called later and advised Mr, Maury and
Mr.- Bruce Clarke would be there at 9:30 a. m.
. 4. LLM) In an effort to close out her inquiry last
week (see Journal of 26 April), called Miss Rosalind Hoffman, in the office of
Representative Robert Drinan, and referred her to House Government Operations
Committee reports on the use of polygraphs by the Federal Governme it. This
appeared to satisfy her immediate interest. (The reference to the Committee
reports was based upon advice of Messrs. Osborne, Security. )
:Miss Hoffman then asked about the Agency position. on Representative Bob
Wilson's and Senator Sam Ervin's bills relating to. the constitutional rights of
employees (H. R. 7199 and S. 1438). I told her that in past Congresses the Agency
had made its views known to the committees having jurisdiction over this proposed
legislation with respect to the need for exemption.
Approved For Release 2A OS ~fi:'CIA-RDP73B00296R0003000626/5/2003
 1EICE f For Release 2003/08/08 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
ALLEGATION
FACT
. 7)
"... CIA has committed the U. S. to
support a faction of Meo tribesmen
led by General Vang Pao whose sole
objective is to dominate other factions
of this opium producing Meo tribe
throughout northern Laos. "
"CIA has involved us in this covert
operation which is being fought
around the Plaine des Jarres more
than 1, 000 miles away from the
'4~* d.
Ho Chi Minh Trail,
". . : this tribal war has as one of
its prizes an area capable of producing
on an annual basis 4 to 10 tons of
marketable opium. . .Refined as heroin
and sold on the streets of Los Angeles
it would bring nearly $900 million..,
The clandestine yet official operations
of the U. S. Government could be
aiding and abetting heroin traffic
here at home. "
The original decision to support the
Meo tribesmen under Vang Pao was made
by President Kennedy in 1961. Following
the Geneva Agreement of 1962 U. S.
advisors were withdrawn. But in 1963
when it became obvious that the North
Vietnamese had no intention of observing
Laos neutrality and in response to appeals
by Vang Pao, the U. S. resumed logistical
and materiel support.
The charge that Vang Pao seeks to
dominate other factions throughout northern
Laos apparently overlooks the fact that
Vang Pao's troops are engaged solely in
defending their own homeland against
vastly superior invading forces--67, 000
North Vietnamese troops.
The Plaine des Jarres is only 300
miles from the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and
operations there have a direct impact
on the enemy's use of the Trail.
Opium is indeed grown in northern
Laos, but that produced by the Meo
tribes is consumed locally and does
not reach the,.export market. Most of the
opium exported::from Southeast Asia comes
from Burma. According to the Bureau of
Narcotics, all of Southeast Asia provides
only 5% of the opium and opium derivatives
sold in the U. S.
In fact over the past several years U. S.
advisors have successfully persuaded the
Meo's to substitute cash crops of rice and
livestock in order to reduce their reliance
on opium. U. S. airlines operating in the
Far East, including Laos, employ
stringent security precautions against
smuggling of all kinds including opium.
Approved. For Release 2003/08/08 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
 -1 Approved For Release 2003/08/08 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
According to the New Yorker magazine (attached) Representative
Tunney's advisor on Southeast Asian affairs is a Princeton professor
named John T. McAlister, Jr. In fact Mr. McAlister is a 30-year old
assistant professor whose book, mentioned in the New Yorker, originated
as a university thesis dealing with Vietnamese history of 25 years ago
(1945-1946).
Approved For Release 2003/08/08 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
 Approved for Release, 2003/08/08 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2
THE. TALK OF THE TOWN
Representative 'runney is in the
,
and this is
n
ai
,
g
qO1e'J (lJlll COf111Y1.1'llt middle of a hard camp
.
tn
ry
N March 24th, Representative of curs, , cl+' thatghisa
I on Soutl>+ ser john V
9
.
Tunncy, a California
a ;- is Professor Jahn T.
g
.
a
Asian
dt
f the ~VtNnlrow ~Vil-
~! llcmocrat who seeks his party's
o
. I nomination for United States senator, McAlister, Jr. ,s?n School of Pnhlic and Ltternational~
addrecsed the Wilshire Chamber of 'Affairs at Princeton, who is the author i
Commerce in Los Angeles and made of "Viet-Nam: The Origins of Rew" f,,
some charges about our involvement in ci
L lutiun" and is probably the most cmi-
h
ave
L as far as we
nos that have not-1.. been ' ....nt scholar in the Southeast Asian
made. We yield the floor to the yon' t
he candidate made these
,
h
t
at
lrity t
w gresstnan
assertions, we checked.
r
di
y
na
traor
ex We are today engaged ? .. in a secret With the Professor and found that this,
war in Laos, a tribal he in which the . He would - he saido
committed t
h
has
hh truth ?of them ins any fo-
GI
CI
A
a
n,
M
ft
.
.
.
t
r to e
ibn
.acit@f tresme, sgato support a a factor
rum, The next move, we should think
t I
lea by General Vang Pao, whose sole
Senator we shght.
ti ons of
f
r
h
Wou
ac
er
te
ld tie up to
te ot
ie is to domina.
n
i
..n?-?rnducine Mco tribe through-
..:
hi
p
s
t
t
s
out Northern Laos. a he ..,.n.
covert operation, which
hi
i
s
n t
d us
valve is being fought around the Plain of Jars,
more than one thousand miles away from
1 the Ho Chi Minh Tirail. The Adm nis-
m
our deepening involvement in an opiu
tribal war which has the potential to
engulf all of Southeast Asia in a full-
fledged conflict which would have global
repercussions....On grounds of moral
as a defender of democracy,
i
l
i
, ,....... _ .
ng
tt
we have unw
become involved in a situation which, to
d
l
,
or
the Meo tribesman or Laotian war
little to do with his major cash ,
h
as very
a ? crop--opium. For this tribal war has, as
one of its prizes, an area capable of pro-
ducing on an annual basis, four to .ten
12 tons of marketable opium. This is equal
from two to six million dollars in Lao-
to
Relined as heroin and sold
fl currency
an. on the streets of Los Angeles, it would
ine hundred million dol-.
l
y n
ink near
br tars.... The clandestine yet official opera-
tiors of the United States government
-:d:.... ^nd abetting heroin traf- t
__t, b
e
fic here at home.
J
Approved For Release 2003/08/08 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000300060010-2