Long Cheng
Long Cheng (alternative transcription: Long Tieng ) is a base and airfield used by the Lao military in the province of Saysomboun , about 130 km north of the capital Vientiane as the crow flies .
Long Cheng became famous under the names Lima Site 98 (LS 98) or Lima Site 20A (LS 20A) as a secret base of the CIA during the Secret War designated American US intervention in the Laotian Civil War . In the late 1960s, about 40,000 people lived in Long Cheng, making the base the second largest city in the country; At the same time, the airport was one of the most popular airports in Southeast Asia, with around 400 take-offs and landings a day (mainly by Air America aircraft ).
From 1962 the CIA established the air base deep in the remote tropical mountainous country; soon Laos were from there military action in all coordinated, pro-American Hmong - guerrillas trained and objectives for US long-range bombers marked. For a long time the place was not shown on any map and even the US Congress knew nothing of its existence. After the Americans withdrew from Vietnam, Long Cheng was also evacuated and shortly afterwards occupied by the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese troops .
US map showing the location of the LS 98 Long Tieng base
Long Tieng, 1973
Documentaries
- Marc Eberle : America's secret war in Laos (English The Most Secret Place on Earth - The CIA's cover was in Laos ), broadcast on Arte
- DMAX Report: The Secret War - America's Denied Soldiers (2003, Discovery Communications)
literature
- Michael Schultze: History of Laos . 1994
- Martin E. Goldstein: American policy toward Laos . 1973 (English)
- Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical dictionary of Laos . 3rd edition. 2008 (english)
Web links
- Jürgen Kremb: The city that nobody was allowed to know . one day , November 15, 2008
- The largest military operation by the CIA. taz .de
- Laos: Deeper Into the Other War . TIME , 1970
Coordinates: 19 ° 6 ′ 27.7 ″ N , 102 ° 55 ′ 26.1 ″ E