The Erawan War: Volume 2: The CIA Paramilitary Campaign in Laos, 1969-1974

During a closed-door meeting of Washington policy makers on 31 March 1971, a senior CIA officer informed National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger that the agency was controlling up to 8 divisions of indigenous troops in Laos. “When the CIA reaches the point of having the largest army in Southeast Asia,” retorted Kissinger, “we better review the program!”

The Erawan War, Volume 2 details how the CIA operation in Laos reached that point, becoming its largest paramilitary operation of the Cold...