What is the secret war?

“The Secret War"

In the early 1960s, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Special Activities Division began to recruit, train and lead the indigenous Hmong people in Laos to fight against North Vietnamese Army intruders into Laos during the Vietnam War.

What happened in the secret war?

The bombings were part of the U.S. Secret War in Laos to support the Royal Lao Government against the Pathet Lao and to interdict traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The bombings destroyed many villages and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lao civilians during the nine-year period.

What was the purpose of the secret war?

Throughout the air campaign, the essential U.S. objective was to strike North Vietnamese targets on the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail, a mission having nothing to do with the ground war in Laos.

Who won the secret war?

The U.S. government swept the secret war under the rug and as a result men, women and children continue to be killed and injured. In August 2016, Barack Obama was the first sitting U.S. president to ever visit Laos. On behalf of the American people, he pledged three years of $30 million in aid to the Lao government.

What is the Hmong secret war?

11/09/2017 | 56m 52s | In 1961, four years before the Vietnam War, the CIA funded a Secret War in Laos. The Hmong became CIA's surrogate army, fighting and preventing Communism from consuming the country of Laos.

Secret Wars: What You Need To Know

Why is it called secret war?

These three countries came together and took on the task of stopping the spread of communism into Laos. This war between communist Vietnam and the alliance was known as the Secret War.

What race is Hmong?

The words Hmong and Mong refer to an Asian ethnic group. Their homeland is in China, especially along the Yangtze and Yellow river. In the 18th century, Hmong people started moving to other Southeast Asian countries. Today, they live in all of China, northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar.

When did the secret war start?

In 1964, the United States Air Force began attacking targets in Laos, using planes like AC-130s and B-52s loaded with cluster bombs on secret operations stationed in Thailand. The United States launched its first surveillance aerial operation in the same year.

What is the most heavily bombed country in the world?

In an attempt to destroy the Ho Chi Min Trail and protect the central government from total collapse, the nine years of bombing decimated the countryside and killed thousands of villagers. To this day Laos remains the most heavily bombed country in the world relative to its population.

Is Vietnam still communist?

Technically, Vietnam until this day is still a communist country having the one-party rule, that is the Communist Party of Vietnam, under Marxist-Leninist governance. Together with China, Laos, Cuba and, to a large extent, North Korea, Vietnam is the remaining communist countries today.

How many bombs dropped on Vietnam?

Between 1965 and 1975, the United States and its allies dropped more than 7.5 million tons of bombs on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia—double the amount dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II. Pound for pound, it remains the largest aerial bombardment in human history.

What is a secret war agent?

noun. an agent of a secret service. (loosely) a person employed to collect the military secrets of one country and relay them to another, especially a person living in a foreign country while so working for his or her own nation; spy.

What started the Vietnam War?

Why did the Vietnam War start? The United States had provided funding, armaments, and training to South Vietnam's government and military since Vietnam's partition into the communist North and the democratic South in 1954. Tensions escalated into armed conflict between the two sides, and in 1961 U.S. President John F.

Why is Laos forgotten?

Why is Laos called “Asia's forgotten country”? Well, as it is landlocked among Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, it has long been isolated from the rest of the world. Nowadays, Laos is slowly getting onto its feet, although most of the country is still untouched and authentic.

Why is Laos so poor?

Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, European colonial rule and a disturbing lack of freedom makes Laos poor. Laos was a colony of France until 1953, and since then has struggled to establish a stable and free system of government.

How many Hmong died in the secret war?

The Secret War marked the Hmong genocide and deadliest war in American history; more than 58,000 U.S. military died, between 30,000 to 40,000 Hmong boys and men died, and approximately 50,000 Hmong civilians were killed or wounded (Minnesota Historical Society, n.d.).

What was the most destroyed city in world war 2?

Hiroshima lost more than 60,000 of its 90,000 buildings, all destroyed or severely damaged by one bomb. In comparison, Nagasaki – though blasted by a bigger bomb on 9 August 1945 (21,000 tonnes of TNT to Hiroshima's 15,000) – lost 19,400 of its 52,000 buildings.

What is the most bombed city in the world?

The U.S. firebombed Tokyo on the night of March 9–10, 1945, and killed more than 100,000 people in the deadliest conventional bombing in history, known as Operation Meetinghouse.

Did North or South Vietnam win?

Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.

How is Vietnam doing today?

Once one of the world's poorest and most isolated countries, Vietnam is now a middle-income country with a dynamic, young population and a promising future. Since joining ASEAN in 1997, Vietnam has played a significant role in regional diplomacy and development.

What country was bombed most in ww2?

Making history in 1942, Malta became the most bombed place on earth. Ever. In total, 15,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on this archipelago. The World War Two Siege of Malta took place from 1940 to 1942.

What did the CIA do in Vietnam?

The CIA provided suggestions for political platforms, supported candidates, used agency resources to refute electoral fraud charges, manipulated the certification of election results by the South Vietnamese National Assembly, and instituted the Phoenix Program.

What does Hmong mean in English?

Definition of Hmong

1 : a member of a mountain-dwelling people inhabiting southeastern China and the northern parts of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. 2 : the language of the Hmong people.

Why do Hmong live in Minnesota?

The Hmong — a distinct ethnic group with ancient roots in China—began coming to Minnesota in 1975 as refugees from the destructive wars that had ravaged their homelands in Laos. Today, there are more than 66,000 Hmong in Minnesota, and the Twin Cities metro is home to the largest concentration of Hmong in America.

What language do the Hmong speak?

Hmong is part of the Chuanqiandian Cluster, a branch of the Chinese Miao language. More than 2.7 million people speak Hmong worldwide.