Operation Tailwind

Operation Tailwind was a secret US military operation in Laos that ran from September 11-13, 1970. It was related to the Vietnam War . A small unit of American soldiers from the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group , advanced into Laos to ease pressure on the Viet Cong troops who had set up a network of secret routes, the Ho Chi Minh Trail , there. to increase. In addition, the pro-Western government of Laos should be encouraged to launch a new offensive.

The use

The CIA department in Laos was concerned about the situation in the country as the local communist troops, with the help of Vietnamese guerrillas, had won an important battle against the government. An inquiry was sent to Saigon as to whether a special unit near Chavane might attack the Vietnamese positions. Although US troops had never penetrated so deep into Laotian territory, the operation was approved. The target area was 20 kilometers outside of the clandestine operations limit radius.

Three American groups, 16 soldiers, were flown from Dak To to Laos together with 110 Vietnamese Montagnards . The men were under the leadership of Captain Eugene McCarley. Because of the great distance, the units were flown to Laos by three large marine helicopters of the type CH-53 Sea Stallion with an escort of 12 attack helicopters .

Upon arrival in the target area, the troops immediately began to cause disturbance. The elite soldiers attacked Vietnamese supply camps and directed air strikes on Viet Cong troops. These tried to protect themselves by a massive concentration of troops, but the Americans were able to bypass them and were also active at night.

The soldiers had their greatest successes on the third day of the mission. A Vietnamese camp was stormed and 54 completely surprised NVA soldiers were killed. A large bunker with important secret documents was found under the camp . The Americans had just destroyed a logistics center. The Viet Cong in the area were immediately alerted and began searching the area for the Americans, but the Americans were able to escape through three different landing zones .

The loss of the mission amounted to three dead Montagnard fighters. 33 members of this ethnic group were wounded. All 16 Americans involved also suffered wounds, but the use of the medic, Sergeant Gary Rose, did not result in more casualties. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross .

Revelations

In 1998 , a completely different version of what happened on CNN's television was broadcast in a feature report. This was called the "Valley of Death" (German: Valley of Death). Allegedly the mission was all about killing a group of Americans who defected to the Vietnamese. These would have holed up in a village. It was further alleged that the nerve agent sarin was used in preparation for the attack on the village . It is said that 100 civilians were killed in the gas that was distributed by planes over the village.

The show and an accompanying newspaper report had credible sources. Some high-ranking officers in the special forces stated that nerve gas was not only used in this mission. Some of the soldiers involved in Operation Tailwind also confirmed the allegations. In the area of ​​the landing zone they were unprotected and the nerve gas should provide cover. However, some of the gas was blown to the landing area due to unfavorable wind conditions. Although the soldiers did not have gas masks, they did not die, only had coughing fits. In this version of the mission, it is also unclear why the Viet Cong, who had a chemical anti- weapon unit stationed nearby, did not take advantage of this for targeted propaganda .

The Department of Defense was arranged to conduct an independent investigation on allegations of war crimes . It eventually emerged that the allegations were most likely false. The soldiers were already old and had some psychological problems 24 years after their deployment. In addition, the interviews were severely cut in order to create a false picture of the facts.

consequences

CNN and TIME magazine then conducted their own internal investigations. After three weeks, the report was publicly labeled as false and several responsible editors had to leave the station. However, two of them resisted their release and put together a 77-page document in which they reaffirmed their view of the operation. A military expert on behalf of CNN then said that a large concentration of tear gas had been used, but definitely not poison gas.

CNN released a report in July clarifying the allegations were untrue. It cannot be proven that sarin was used or that American deserters were the target of the operation.

Two of the dismissed sued in court and agreed with the broadcaster on payments in the millions. In 2006, none of the executives responsible for the dismissal were employed by CNN.

Web links

• CNN response
• The Ministry of Defense report
• CNN's report
• Collection of material on Operation Tailwind from aim.org
• Interview with one of the dismissed
• A CNN military expert discusses the report

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.