The US Opium Wars: China, Burma and the CIA (and the KMT)


"The exiled Kuomintang (KMT) army of Li Mi was as much a proprietary of the Central Intelligence Agency as Civil Air Transport. Installed in Burma, this army was armed by the CIA, fed by the CIA, and paid by the CIA. In later operations in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam the CIA used it as a labor pool. Under this patronage and protection the KMT was able to build up its opium operations in the area of Southeast Asia known as the Golden Triangle.

As a result, the KMT became a pivotal force in the Asian opium trade. Using the infrastructure of remote airstrips and airplanes set in place by the CIA, the KMT was able to export its opium crop from the Shan States of Burma and the mountains of Laos to international wholesalers. For its part, the CIA was more than pleased to see the KMT forces sustained by a stable flow of opium revenue impervious to the whims of Congress Congress or new arrivals in the White House. By the mid-1970s the KMT controlled more than 80 percent of the Golden Triangle opium market. It was a situation that put the newly created Drug Enforcement Agency at odds with the CIA’s opium warlords. Invariably, the DEA emerged defeated from these conflicts.

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Civil Air Transport eventually became China Airlines.

Li Mi (李彌) had one division, division 237, left from his 8th Army by the time they all escaped into disputed land between Burma and Yunan. He was also put in charge of division 93 of the 26th Army.

With just two divisions, they eventually built a base, drew clearly 20,000 people to join the ranks, and attempted to reestablish themselves in China once, and fought off the Burmese army twice. Until international pressure forced their evacuation.

Most Chinese sources shy away from the fact that they operated the Golden Triangle opium market. Instead they claimed it was the deserters who joined existing opium traders that ran the operation.

Judging from what happened to the remnants of the group in Burma and Thailand, I think there might be some truth to it.

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This extraordinary history has also had a big impact on everyday people, not just generals. Many of these people ended up, in various circumstances, in Taiwan. The amazing films of Midi Z give a glimpse into the lives of these people and the challenges they have faced.

Guy

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I read this book when I was a younger lad. A real eye opener to the gears and wheels running behind the scenes.

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But first

AA

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The CIA used to fly these giant silver planes without any markings to do airdrops to support the guerilla fighters that they backed. That included Tibetan anti-communist fighters, as well as those troops under Li Mi’s command. Legend has it when they made a big push back into Yunan around 1951, the counterfeit money dropped by those silver unmarked planes had noticeable defects in them, making it easy for the communists to spot when they tried to infiltrate.

Pretty kookoo bananas you can draw a single straight line from this

image

to this

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I have to say, these new pilots lands a lot smoother than those old airforce retired pilots…

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Maybe, but you can’t beat the crew/passenger ratio. :rofl: