US smashes Army conspiracy against an old communist enemy
A plot by pro-American dissidents to overthrow one of the last Asian communist dictatorships has been thwarted by a US undercover agent who posed as an arms dealer.
The alleged leader of the plot is a 77-year-old former Laotian general who has dedicated his life in exile in America to removing the communist regime from his homeland. Laos remains one of the world’s most obscure countries, a landlocked jungle where communist guerrillas and US special forces fought a “secret war” 40 years ago.
But now US authorities find themselves in the ironic position of leaping to the defence of an authoritarian regime they spent 13 years, and many lives, fighting to destroy. Laos was strategic to block the Ho Chi Min trail.The plot was uncovered through the work of an undercover officer of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who posed as an arms dealer offering to sell the group automatic rifles, rocket-propelled and Claymore grenades, anti-tank weapons, plastic explosives and Stinger surface-to-air missiles.
The former soldier accused of acting as a middleman for the arms deal is Lieutenant-Colonel Harrison Jack, a member of the California National Guard, who served as a covert operative in SouthEast Asia during the Vietnam War. The prosecutors claim that the conspirators had promised $150,000 (£75,000) for the first tranche of weapons in three instalments, and up to $9.8 million for further deliveries, to be raised from Hmong communities across the country.
The arms were to be shipped later this month to Thailand, which borders Laos. Meanwhile, the defendants allegedly attempted to recruit mercenaries from former members of the US army and navy special forces.
The Lao Government welcomed the arrest of its old enemy General Vang by the government that fought it for so long. “This is the great news,” said Yong Chanhthal-ansy, the Lao Foreign Ministry spokesman. “We hope the United States will prosecute them under the Patriot Act and punish the violators severely.”
— The Lao population of 6.5 million has lived under communist dictatorship since Pathet Lao guerrillas took control of the country in 1975 — 193,000 Laotians, mostly members of the Hmong minority, live in the United States. More than 60,000 live in California.
This has been a trend since the US Cavalry promised treaties with American Indians (the true Americans). Historically the US has broken with allies as soon as they are no longer useful. Look at Saddam, he was our puppet until he was no longer needed – only then did we distance ourselves from his atrocities. How do we expect the Iraqi collaborators to remain loyal when the US denies protection for their families. Anyone who helps the US is automatically a target. Ask the survivors who are trying to immigrate to the US.
