America 250: A Secret Military Operation Under the Command of the CIA

America 250: A Secret Military Operation Under the Command of the CIA
Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Laos. Genevia, 20 July 1954.

The sentence "a secret military operation under the command of the CIA was being waged" describes a covert military action directed by the CIA. This type of operation often involves clandestine activities and may not be publicly acknowledged. One example is the CIA's involvement in Laos during the Vietnam War, where they organized local forces to fight against communist forces. Another example is the Special Activities Center, which carries out covert operations for the CIA.

While the United States was publicly engaged in the Vietnam War, a secret military operation under the command of the CIA was being waged in the neighboring nation of Laos. At Long Tieng, a concealed airbase in the heart of the country, the CIA trained an army of allied guerilla fighters, including a large number of the Hmong people (an ethnic group from southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand), to destroy enemy supply lines. AMERICA'S SECRET WAR uncovers the history of this covert mission through stories of Hmong survivors and a rich collection of never-before-seen archival images, maps, and documents, including recently declassified CIA intelligence.

Highly personal testimonials from world-renowned diplomat Dr. Yang Dao; Hmong scholars Lee Pao Xiong and Dr. Mai Na M Lee; Special Guerilla Unit soldiers; nurses; and second generation family members paint a vivid portrait of life in Laos during the war. Their stories also detail the harrowing run for their lives they were forced to make after the fall of Saigon and Cambodia, as members of the enemy organization Pathet Lao hunted them down. Many narrowly escaped to Thai refugee camps by hiding in the jungles, sometimes for months, without food, and crossing the two-mile wide Mekong River in the dead of night on anything that would float. Their journey continued in and out of multiple refugee camps and ultimately to the United States.

The film underscores that the Secret War — which was not acknowledged by the CIA until 1994 — was and is an integral part of the Vietnam War’s history. Although they are now U.S. citizens, Hmong veterans of the Secret War do not qualify for veterans' medical benefits and are not allowed to be buried in U.S. veterans' cemeteries.

Directed and Written by Lisa Blackstone

People also ask
What is the secret military unit of the CIA?
What did the CIA do in Laos?
For 13 years, the CIA paramilitary officers from what is now called the Special Activities Center directed native forces against North Vietnamese forces. The CIA particularly organized Hmong people to fight against the North Vietnamese-backed Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao were the communists in Laos.

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