The Erawan War: Volume 1: the CIA Paramiitary Campaign in Laos, 1961-1974

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During a National Security Council meeting in March 1971, Henry Kissinger commented to those around the table, "When the CIA reaches the point of having the largest army in Southeast Asia, we better review the program!" He was referring to the secret war brewing in Laos, where the Central Intelligence Agency was training, funding, and leading tens of thousands of indigenous guerrillas within the kingdom and, occasionally, across its borders. The Erawan War mini-series strips away the veil surrounding this conflict, recounting in detail the CIA's largest paramilitary operation of the Cold War, as well as the Royalist armed forces that battled for decades against communist opponents. It includes hundreds of outstanding photos featuring case officers, military hardware, and battle scenes. These volumes are a must for anyone interested in the Vietnam War, military history, special forces units, and CIA paramilitary operations.Between 1961 and 1974, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the USA trained, funded, and led tens of thousands of indigenous guerrillas in the Kingdom of Laos in the course of a unique 'top secret' paramilitary campaign against communist opponents. AUTHOR: Kenneth Conboy was South East Asian policy analyst and deputy director of the Asian Studies Centre in Washington D.C., 1986-1992. Since then he has held roles in risk management companies in Indonesia, and he currently serves as Risk Management Advisory Country Manager in Indonesia. He has written a number of books about war in Asia, as well as several articles. 77 b/w photos, 8 colour photos, 6 b/w maps, 1 colour map, 6 colour aircraft profiles

Reviews

"This Erawan War history is very informative about a conflict little known to the American public, yet one of America's longest running Cold War engagements."-- "Air & Space Power History"
"From a historical standpoint or a modeling standpoint, this book will be a valuable asset in a lesser known or less publicized portion of the Vietnam conflict."-- "IPMS/USA"
"...a great military and military intelligence history book."-- "The VVA Veteran"
"To most, the war in Laos is either totally unknown or only as a footnote. The author has provided another great read on little known conflicts."-- "ModelingMadness.Com"
"A fascinating look at a front I knew very little about."--Russ Lockwood "Historical Miniatures Gaming Society"

Author Bio

Ken Conboy is currently country manager for a private security and risk consultancy in Jakarta. Prior to that, he served as deputy director at the Asian Studies Center, an influential Washington-based think tank, where his duties included writing policy papers on economic and strategic relations with the nations of South and Southeast Asia. The author of nearly twenty books about Asian military history and intelligence operations, Conboy's most recent title The Cambodian Wars has been called "riveting and brilliantly researched." Conboy , a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and of Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies, was also a visiting fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He has lived in Indonesia since 1992 and this is his first book for Helion's @War series.