Douglas valentines book the phoenix program gets the evolutionary. The national police, the saigon army, the provincial reconnaissance units prus, or the american military. Within days of the jfk assassination in november 1963, president johnson had reversed jfks plan to withd. Colbys confusion was understandable, since phoenix was a joint operation between the us and the south vietnamese, who used it as a means of extortion, a protection racket and a way to settle. The phoenix program was a program designed and coordinated by the united states central intelligence agency cia during the vietnam war. Once the phoenix staff identified a member of the viet cong political organization, they passed the information to another organization for action. We hear pop culture references to it from time to time such as mel gibsons character in lethal weapon. By donating books to the soldiers and veterans of our country, provide them a chance to escape during downtime or to educate themselves. I am pleased that it has connections with the drift i love that place.
While as a work of history the phoenix program is one of the most important books ever written on the cia and the military, on the birth of us counterterror policy, and government sponsored. Operation phoenix nova for e book 1 its not often i get side tracked into reading galactic stories about love and war but this one caught my eye and i loved the storyline. These cia teams in afghanistan are not just reminiscent of the operation phoenix program in vietnam, the death squads of central america. His book, initially banned by the government, was a bestseller in vietnam. Phoenix program, cia military, intelligence, and internal security program in the vietnam war. Continue to check the veteran voyage 360 webpage for updates you can make a difference tags.
Ive been entrapped by a poignant backstory, a welltold mystery, a fantastic cast of characters and a beautiful romance. As doug valentine points out in his powerfully documented book, the phoenix program, neutralization quotas put on them meant they had to. Contrary to moyars mythical view, which he presents in more depth in his 1997 book, phoenix and the birds of prey, the prus partook in indiscriminate brutality and failed to infiltrate the. As a districtlevel operation phoenix officer in vietnam from february 1971 to august 1972, stuart herringtons job was to root out insurgency in the villages and hamlets of duc hue. He served the last year of his thirtyyear army career as. How to donate books to soldiers and veterans bizfluent. Cooper a former foreign service officer, cooper spent 18 months in vietnam, most of it as a phoenix adviser at cantho, in the mekong delta.
I wrote this story about the phoenix program in honor of the forthcoming publication of vietnam labyrinth by tran ngoc chau. The first book to shed light on and analyze the details of the whole operation. Vela incident, alleged 1979 israelisouth african nuclear test supposedly codenamed operation phenix project phoenix south africa, sandf project to revitialise the reserve force. Check market prices, skin inspect links, rarity levels, stattrak drops, and more. As douglas valentine writes in his brilliant book, the. The phoenix program was a disaster in vietnam and would be in. Op file, operation starlite, 18 aug18 sep 1965 dated 961965 document no.
The cias phoenix program in vietnam and the war on terror. Psychological operations aim at the mind of the enemy. May 28, 2012 the program was in operation between 1965 and 1972, and similar efforts existed both before and after that period. Between 1957 and 1972, the vietcong crippled the administration of the south vietnam saigon government by the systematic murder of an estimated 36,752 appointed village chiefs and other officials. Valentine the hotel tacloban counters that claim in this shocking expose of the origins. Operation phoenix, like all intelligence operations, is a dirty business, but it is a necessary one, never more than now. Ambassador, the bureaucrats of the state department, and the occupants of the white house, knew of phoenix. Army special units set up a string of torture and death camps throughout south vietnam. South vietnams role in the controversial counterinsurgency effort offers lessons. Jan 12, 2011 this feature is not available right now. That said, antiinfrastructure operations and related activities in south vietnam do have relevance for contemporary counterinsurgency strategy, operations, and policy in afghanistan and other conflict zones where the united states is heavily engaged. Actually, as a member of the us special operations command ussocom, whether they are army, navy, air force or marines. Many of those who recognize our military mistakes in indochina fail to acknowledge the blunders of our quieter war for hearts and.
Butconsider thisthe american people knew little or nothing about phoenix. By 1972, phoenix operatives had neutralized 81,740 suspected nlf supporters, of. The phoenix program is a grim history of one of the darkest episodes of the vietnam war, the cias civilian torture and assassination program called phoenix. Operation phoenix, a major counterinsurgency program being conducted jointly in vietnam by the central intelligence agency and the defense department, has been swept into the growing controversy stemming from the alleged my lai massacre. Vietnam 1964 1975 from the book the cias greatest hits. A cia operation, the phoenix program aimed at destroying the vietcong infrastructure. Operation phoenix was designed with the stated objective to neutralize the nlf national liberation front of south vietnam, popularly known as the vietcong, and it utilized infiltration, capturing, terrorizing, assassinating, converting, or killing to meet its objectives. If you have ordersawardsdocuments which can add to the information shown, please send copies by snail mail to 2314 cheshire lane, houston, tx 77018. Foremost, its rare to hear a personal account from inside the very secretive operation phoenix. Covert paramilitary operations by the cia in vietnam began early in the sixties, but it was not until 1965, that the u. I was born and raised on a dirt poor farm during the dirty 30s.
This entry was posted on monday, march 14th, 2016 at 10. The heart of the cia effort was operation phoenix, begun in 1965. The collection contains the research material, including original handwritten interview notes and government documents obtained through foia requests, for my book the phoenix program. A personal account, ballantine books, ny, the author is present at an interrogation of a north vietnamese prisonerofwar named do van lanh from the 271st independent regiment. Phoenix suggests that intelligence coordination and the integration of intelligence. The phoenix program was a disaster in vietnam and would be in afghanistan and the nyt should know that. Vietnam 1964 1975 from the book the cias greatest hits by. But phoenix went far beyond aspirations of winning in vietnam. Vietnam 1964 1975 from the book the cias greatest hits by mark zepezauer following the deaths of jfk and ngo dinh diem, it was only a matter of time before us combat troops became involved in vietnam. Vela incident, alleged 1979 israelisouth african nuclear test supposedly codenamed operation phenix. In a gripping memoir that reads like a spy novel, one man recounts his personal experience with operation phoenix, the program created to destroy the vietcongs shadow government, which thrived in the rural communities of south vietnam. Phoenix was designed, coordinated, and executed by the agency jointly with the us military and its intelligence units, the south vietnamese military and its secret police, and australian special operations forces.
Nov 23, 2014 phoenix was operated and executed under the direction of the united states central intelligence agency cia supported by u. Organizations such as books for soldiers and operation paperback provide gently used, donated copies of books for activeduty military, veterans, military families and patients at va hospitals. Phoenix was operated and executed under the direction of the united states central intelligence agency cia supported by u. In the darkest days of the vietnam war, americas central intelligence agency. Former phoenix and cia director william colby contended in his book lost victory that the programs reputation for brutality is undeserved. The phoenix program and the vietnam war john prados. William colby pictured on a poster attacking the phoenix program. Phoenix programme back ass assinations back vietnam war cia programme. Jun 26, 2008 phoenix built on the work of the ciacreated network of over 100 provincial and district intelligence operation committees in south vietnam that collected and disseminated information on the vci to field police and paramilitary units. Herringtons gripping memoir recounts his personal experience with operation phoenix, the program created to destroy the vietcongs shadow government, which thrived in the rural communities of south vietnam. Allen currie, the author of his first shocking debut book titled. Operation phoenix, is a fictional view into what is happening in our world today.
Computers were used by the thugs that ran it, and everyone in authority, from the military officials, to the u. It countered the viet cong apparatus attempting to overthrow the goverruneut of vietnam by targetttng its leaders. Vietnam, phoenix program, beginning circa 6667 cords pacification program. The role of americas phoenix program in the vietnam war readex. The systematic killing and terrorising of civilians exposed in the my lai massacre. In current discourse, phoenix often functions as a codeword, much as it did during the vietnam conflict. Stalking the vietcong takes the reader into a relatively ignored, and perhaps the most important side, of the phoenix programthe district level operations. Special operation forces, special forces operatives from australian army training team vietnam aativ and south vietnams security services.
The phoenix program would become one of the most controversial aspects of americas war in vietnam. Herrington is a very interesting point of view for multiple reasons. Rejalis book includes an investigation of the vietnam war, and the phoenix program, as one of the most heinous examples of the use. This shocking expose of the cia operation aimed at destroying the vietcong infrastructure thoroughly conveys the hideousness of the vietnam war publishers weekly. A vietnam fiasco seen from within qv oil by wayne l. Herringtons stalking the viet cong inside operation phoenix.
The phoenix program, assassinating suspected vc sympathizers in a systematic manner, worked well during the vietnam war and is the blueprint for the current black op targeting thousands of loyal americans using state of the art microwave mw and radio frequency radiation rfr weapons. Ccs daniel boone operations 196768 partial draft we are tyring to collect copies of all awards for personnel earned while participating insupporting projects omega, sigma and ccstf3ae. Dec 01, 2017 between 1957 and 1972, the vietcong crippled the administration of the south vietnam saigon government by the systematic murder of an estimated 36,752 appointed village chiefs and other officials. The rise of phoenix program in vietnam the vietnam war. The phoenix program was a program designed, coordinated, and executed by the united states central intelligence agency cia, united states special operations forces, special forces operatives from the australian army training team vietnam aattv,1 and the republic of vietnam s south vietnam security apparatus during the vietnam war. Operation rolling thunder was the codename for an american bombing campaign during the vietnam war.
The phoenix, legendary animal that comes to symbolize what rises from the ashes. The program was designed to identify and destroy the viet cong. The coverup was instead to disguise the fact that my lai was part of the cia killing program called operation phoenix. Operation city quest of phoenix, az phoenix expedia. I am looking forward to reading book 2 that sounds just as riveting.
Every person who ran program from saigon assigned to program from cia. In the works for 20 years, and cowritten with ken fermoyle, chaus book, i believe, will stand as the most important work by a vietnamese who participated in the vietnam war. What was the phoenix program in the vietnam war and was it. A poignant, personal account by an army district adviser who discovered the vietcong to be a formidable opponent. The douglas valentine vietnam collection at the national security archive in washington, dc, has been open and used by researchers since early 2007. Phoenix program was an intelligence and counterinsurgency program designed to gather, analyze information and then neutralize via capture, infiltration, torture, terrorism, and assassination the infrastructure of the viet cong national liberation front in south vietnam.
Officially, phoenix operations continued until december 1972, although certain aspects. The cias phoenix assassination program lewrockwell. Opinion behind the phoenix program the new york times. Phoenix built on the work of the ciacreated network of over 100 provincial and district intelligence operation committees in south vietnam that collected and disseminated information on the vci. Phoenix program in vietnam war offers lessons for today. Jun 10, 2014 june 10, 2014back in print today is a book that, if youre interested in the phoenix program, is a must read. Operation city quest of phoenix, az by operation city quest tours. Former phoenix and cia director william colby contended in his book lost. Operation dewey canyon 1969 vietnam war offensive 25252 duration. For some contemporary counterinsurgency enthusiasts, the phoenix program represents a highwater mark in terms 2. Vietnam declassified is narrowly focused on operations related to the struggle to suppress the viet cong and win the loyalty of the peasantry9, although major military and political events are mentioned for context. The phoenix program and contemporary counterinsurgency.
Herrington was a counterintelligence officer in the vietnam war. Operation phoenix is not and was not a program of assasination. The phoenix program was a disaster in vietnam and would be. As douglas valentine writes in his brilliant book, the phoenix program. They can range from propaganda to terrorism and both. A retrospective on counterinsurgency operations central. Vietnam order of battle for psychological operations. The cias counterinsurgency in vietnam was brutal and. Herrington was an american intelligence advisor assigned to root out the enemy in the hau nghia province. The program utilized a by any means necessary strategy to warfare that included the use of random assassination and the fabrication of enemy atrocities in order to rally the civilian population around u. In the darkest days of the vietnam war, americas central intelligence agency secretly initiated a sweeping program of kidnap, torture, and assassination devised to destabilize the infrastructure of the national liberation. The phoenix program itself was created by the cia as a way to coordinate numerous counterinsurgency programs during the vietnam war, using methods of blanket surveillance, kidnapping and. Former phoenix advisor wayne cooper said operation phoenix was a unilateral american program, and klare confirmed by saying although most of the dirty work was performed by indigenous operatives, phoenix was designed, organized, financed, and administered by u.
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