WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE RE: CIA-BACKED THAIS IN LAOS SAY THEY ARE REGULAR ARMY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73B00296R000300080083-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 19, 2002
• Sequence Number: 83
• Publication Date: August 9, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

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DATE p7/ PA
CIA-hacked Thais in Laos
Say They Are Regular Army
By D.: E. Ronk
special to Z'he Washington Poet
VIENTIANE, Laos, Aug. 8
-Thai soldiers serving with
the CIA-supported irregular
forces in Laos say they are
regular army troops of Thai-
-land, asked to accept special
assignment in all Thai battal-
ions.
Their assertion contradicts a
Senate Foreign Relations
Committee staff report. made
public last week. The report,
prepared by Committee staff
members James G. Lowen-
stein and Richard M. Moose
referred to Thai troops in
Laos as "irregulars." '
Heavily censored in most of
its references to Thais serving
in Laos, the report said the
Thai fighting men "are re-
cruited for service in Laos
from outside the regular Ti:
army."
Speaking to a reporter, st
eral Thai soldiers said th
were asked to accept an -
signment in Laos after the
vantages of such service we
explained. They have the e
tion of refusing, they said.
According to the Lowe
stein-Moose report, "the C'.
supervises and pays For ti
training of these irregulars i
Thailand and provides the
salary, allowances (includii
death benefits), and opea
tional costs in Laos."
Their units are formed i
Thailand with Thai Comm -
sioned and non-commissions i
officers and are given speci I
training for Laos.
They arrive in Laos aboa-
CIA-supported' Air Ameri i
planes from Udorn airbase i
Northern Thailand., All ordei
from the battalion level do-
are issued by Thais, the ss
diers said. Only at the ve
top, with Gen. ' Vang Pao, t;
Meo commander of Laos Mi
tary Region Two, and ti
CIA's Armee Clandestine,
there interference with t)
Thai chain of command, the
said.
Vang Pao does not coi
mand the Thais, they said, b
consults with Thai office
and the CIA "case officer
who actually make the de-
sions.
See THAIS, AG, Cc; t. 5
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THAIS, From Al
The Thai soldiers agree with
press reports that there is at
least one Thai general in Laos,
using the code name Nai Caw.
This is the equivalent of John
Doe. The Thai troops say he is
a lietenant general.
Code names are frequently
used by and for Thai troops in
wounded Thais treated ill the The Bangkok sources say
U.S. hospital at Udorn Airbase( the officer will be traveling on
were listed as John Doe One l a civilian passport and in civil-
Two, Three, etc. to hide their ian clothing..
national origins., A Thai soldier now sta-
At present the troops say, tioned in Pakse outlined the
there are 10 or 12 Thai hattal. sequence of events in his as-
ions in Laos, or about 4.800 signment to Laos. Returning
men. Two Thai battalions are to Thailand from duty in
at Pakse, in southern Laos, South Vietnam, he said, he
and "about ten" in northern was sent for advance training
battle in . ctor call "Sky-
line" by U.w versonnel.
Shortly ,e ore the fall of
the Bolovei > 'lateau in south-
ren Laos to - arth Vietnamese
forces last .1:,y the Thai bat-
talion was i o.vn to Ubon Air
Base in `1 a iland then to
Pakse, whe e they were air-
lifted to V vicinity of Ba
Houei Sai, the Bolovens
Plateau.
As a resui f the Hanoi of-
fensive, th -y withdrew to
Pakse. The .),Biers said they
are not deer v involved in the
current cou iter offensive to
recapture tine Bolovens,
though some w them are used
as forward ai - lruides, relaying
land say that until recently allj Laos, with headquarters at In Thailand following a 30-day
Long Cheng, the soldiers said. leave. He was told the training
Reliable sources in Bangkok was for assignment to Cam-
say, moreover, that, anotherlbodia, he said.
Thai artillery battery has ei- Following the training, he
ther just entered Laos orl was told his assignment was
shortly will, accompanied by changed to Laos, but that he
an American major. The U.S. could refuse to go and remain
officer is to advise them on n Thailand.
the operation of unfamiliar After the pros and cons were
equipment, believed to be aim-i explained he decided to accept
ing devices. and became a volunteer.
Official U.S. sources deny 1 Following formation of a' th a s( Biers are very
e Th i
i knowledge of such a unit, that
an American officer has been
given such an assignment, andI
that a new American officer
bombing tars pis from ground
to air.
Recent visi urs to Pakse say
"special battalion," he was! much in evi lence in hotels
sent to Udorn, then to Long, and bars. Th ?y do not wear
Cheng. At Long Cheng, the Thai army m sr+angs on their
unit was engaged in.defense uniform: and ? e soldiers say
-has arrived or is expected.' of that headquarters. The they carry , identiifeation,
even on temporary duty. Thais fought in one "heavy" on orders frost t teir officers.
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Thai Combat Troops for Laos
Expected to Double by March
By TAMMY ARBUCKLE
Special to The Star
VIENTIANE - Twelve thou-
sand Thai troops will be availa-
ble for combat inLaos by March
1, high-ranking - Lao military
sources say. This will more than
double the current force of be-
tween 5,000 and 6,000 Thai army
troops deployed in Laos.
American official sources con-
firmed that 12,000 Thais will be
available to meet the expected
dry season offensive by the
North Vietnamese early next
year, but they said that "all of
these Thais will 'not be in Laos
at the same time. Units will be
rotated to Thailand for rest and
rehabilitation."
The additional troops will
come from Thailand's -Black
Leopard Division which is with-
drawing from South Vietnam.
Headquarters will be at Kan-
chanaburi, northwest of Bang-
kok and many hundreds of miles
from Thailand's border.
The Bangkok Post, an English
language daily, has quoted gov-
ernment sources as saying the
new troops will be used as a
guerrilla force within Thailand
to counter the Communist insur-
gency problem in Thailand.
Lao military sources said
there would be an announcement
telling of the formation of the
Thai guerrilla force to fight in
Thailand, but that the troops ac-
tually are destined to fight in
Laos.
Thus American officials hand-
ling funds would be able to dis-
burse money to the Thais, al-
though they would be paying
for troops in Laos.
The reason for this is that ad-
ministration officials are try-
ing to get around the congres-
sional ban on the use of Defense
Department funds to pay for
mercenaries in Laos. As part
of this, U.S. government offi-
cials here and in Washington
describe the Thais as 'volun-
teers" and ethnic Lao from
northeast Thailand.
In reality, however, the Thais
serving in Laos are regular
members of the royal Thai army
who volunteered to serve in Laos
for extra pay.
Eight Thai soldiers who were
interviewed confirmed the ar-
rdngement. Three of the soldiers
came from Bangkok or its sister
city, Thonburi, one was from
Nonthaburi and the others were 1
from north or northeast Thai- I
land.
The Thais have their own com-
mand system and have almost1 with it. casualties running at 10
nothing to do with the royal Lao men ki to action a day.
army The only Lao military de- This a it the Thais have been
cision which affects them is by a involve iii most major action in
Lao regional commander who i Laos. ;u y fought at Houei Sal
may ask American officials to I fell the Th 'y took part in the Plain
deploy the Thais in a certaintof Jar. tiperation, helping the
place as part of an over-all Lao
army operation.
U.S. administrators h a v e
claimed the Thais are part of
the royal Lao army, but none of
the eight Thais spoken to consid-
ered themselves as such. Ameri-
can officials attempting to cir-
cumvent the congressional res-
triction deserve some sympathy,
for their problem is a difficult
one.
The Thais are essential to the
survival of the royal Lao forces
against the North Vietnamese.
The Lao army is sadly depleted,
ILao rec apLure the area. Thai ar-
'tillerym are manning firebase
Lion on 1r plain now.
The 'hais also took the re-1
sponsibi it.. for clearing out a
new enc !n+v position at Pak Song
last we k. freeing sufficient Lao
troops r; a helicopter lift to
take Pa;- c ping from the east.
The 4'11 Lao casualties at
Pak So 19 (1,262, including 212
killed aad 295 missing out of a
force or f? 'wer than 3,000) make
it likely tl at Thais will be need-
ed in ti southern Laos Bolo-
vens P- u an.
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New Raise Voted
For Military Pay
By Spencer Rich
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Senate voted yesterday
to boost military pay another
$381 million a year and to im-
pose a watered-down limit on
U.S. outlays for "the secret
war in Laos."
The military pay amend-
inent, offered by Sen. Gordon
Allott (R-Colo.), was added to
the $21 billion defense pro-
curement authorization bi]I
by a 65 to 4 vote. Effective
Nov. 16, it would boost basic
pay at the lowest enlisted and
officer grades and is in addi-
tion to $2.366 billion in raises
just approved in the drat-,
extension bill. The extra pay
raise may prove unaceeptabiej
to the House.
Despite the reported si ren-
uous opposition of l lenry A.
Kissinger, Assistant to the
President for National Seeu-1
rity Affairs, the Laos spending
limit was added to the pro-
curement bill by a 67 to '111
vote after sponsor Stuart Sym-
ington (D-Mo.) and Armed
Services Committee Chairman
John Stennis (D-Miss.) worked
i out a compromise softening an
!earlier Symington proposal.
As approved by the Senate.
the sio o
0million in fiscal, 72 the
total of U.S. outlays ll,io-,
for all forms o military
[an economic asses an~-e other
o s thinffic cof U.Som ir
~. III n ns ovel=- )17 1
f an
ern nos an me =o TV 11, iii
Trail .
SENATE, From Al
Symington's earlier amend-
nent, which was toatally unac-
!eptable to the Nixon adminis-
t ration, would have Imposed a
$ 200 million limit and would
h eve Included in that figure
the costs of bombing in the
orth.
Although $350 million is pre-
ei sely the amount the Nixon
administration had anticipated
39 tending in fiscal 1972 for mil-
itary and economic assistance
to, Laos - other than for
bombing and strafing runs -
thus is the first time any limit
hits ever been imposed on en-
largement of the war there.
I Th a amendment thus estab-
lbshes the principle of congres-
sional surveillance and- 5yt i
Pte of estash'ing some cell-
il`ig is more important than the
precise figure," said Harold
}ughes (D-Iowa).
Kissinger, according to Sen-
ate sour. told Stennis in
several to hone calls that he
opposed n; limitation. But
Stennis : finally agreed with
Symington , hat some form of
direct cor -a 2ssional control is
needed, a 3d proposed to Sym-
ington th( iollowing revision:
Give the a Iministration the
money it . a its this year ($350
million) i is cad of cutting it
to $200 n;.11.on, leave outlays
for air o e ations unlimited,
but establi h the principle of a
congressio is limit.
In the 7 to 11 vote, Sens.
Mike ~,,g:.i'ield (D-Mont.),
J.W. ulbn i n (D-Ark.), Mark
Hatfie i 1-Ore.) John Sher-
man oo r (R-Ky.)-and other
critiiccss p a war r in L os-
where the .:IA is financing
not only t fie Lao government
but also T is t soldiers hired to
ight agar 5i the Communists
- osed h, revisedSymin~-
ton amen( ir.-ent. They appar-
en y e r d'1'Fiat it could be
read as a: citing to the Lao.
tian opera c,i even while lim-
iting At.
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NEW YORK TIMES DATE Ot_?1
LIMIT ON LAOS AID
VOTED BY SENATE
$350-Million Ceiling Set in',
Compromise Amendment
q_ economic assistance to
Laos.
The ceiling, in an amendment,
to the military procurement au-j
thorization bill, was a compro-i
mise version of a proposal made
by Senator Stuart Symington
of Missouri. As chairman of a
Senate Foreign Relations sub-
committee, Senator Symington
has disclosed that the United
States, operating principally
through the Central Intelligence
Agency, has been supporting
the Laotian Government against'
enemy forces.
Senator Symington had origi-
nally proposed a $200-million,
ceiling, but as a compromise j
raised the figure to $350-mil-j
lion-the amount the Adminis-i
tration recently stated was
planned for economic and mili
tary assistance in Laos in the;
current fiscal year. Not included
in this total is United States air
support for government and
C.I.A. supported troops in
northern Laos, which is ex-
ected to cost $140-million.
--of either the Congress or the.
American people."
The Symin ton tendment
stilt' e s ltd of be-
i wn or eliminated
force ..Meo tribesmen and
na Lhan 4,000 Thai "volun-l
teers'_.fighting in Larn. But tol
Senator Symington, tiie signi-I
ficance of the amendnent was
that for the first time it would
establish the principle that Con-
gress could impose limits on'
how much the executive branch
could spend in Laos and in turn
bring the expenditures out into
the open.
In the past, funds for Laos
have been concealed in various
appropriations bills and only a
few members of Congress were
aware of what was being spent.
In arguing for his amendment,
the Senator protested that for
the last 10 years the executive
branch has been fighting a se-
cret war in Laos, us,ng funds
appropriated "largely without
II the knowledge-and _ therefore
obviously without the consent
C.." su ort of a paramilitary
S in ejd_ment
by a1 I vs e.
ct it_would authorize
t ~a Mn i stratiof's planned
pregnatxt in Laos including
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