Secret War in Tibet

8/7/2019 Secret War in Tibet

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The Secret War in TibetBy Jim Danisch

In the process of editing my friend Tshewang Lama’s new expanded edition of “KailashMandala”, I was intrigued with his brief history of the Tibetan Resistance, funded by theC.I.A. in Mustang, Nepal. It inspired me to research the web, from which the followinginformation was extracted. A very thorough account is given in Kenneth Conboy andJames Morrison’s “The C.I.A.’s Secret War in Tibet”, and in Mikel Dunham’s “Buddha’sWarriors”.

The only country to offer anything to Tibet after the Chinese invasion in 1949 was theU.S., through the C.I.A. Resistance fighters recruited from the Khampa people – Tibet’swarriors from the East -- were trained in Colorado, among other places. There were



parachute drops in the middle of the night into Mustang, flown by the C.I.A.’s AviationResearch Centre in India and Air America, secret missions, suicide pills and overridingpolitics. Many resistance fighters were tortured and killed. Although the Khampas weresupposed to disrupt Chinese activities across the border, they seem to have had littleserious effect. The U.S. government funded the action as a minor annoyance to China,

and stopped support when Nixon began the rapprochement with China around 1970.

From 1960 to 1964 around 4,000 to 6,000 Khampa Resistance Fighters were inMustang, including 2,100 Khampas in 12 camps, 800 with firearms, 300 C.I.A.-trained.C.I.A. supported them for twelve years at about US$ 2 million per year from 1960 to1972, when funding stopped. The C.I.A. provided M-1 rifles, Springfield rifles, 2 inchmortars, 80mm recoilless rifles, 55mm recoilless rifles, and khaki uniforms. They wereled by Baba Yeshi, a powerful Mustangi clan chief, who was replaced in 1969 by C.I.A.-trained General Gyatso Wangdu.

To feed the remote Special Frontier Forces outposts along the border, the C.I.A. had

the Kellogg Company develop a special tsampa (Tibetan staple, roasted barleyporridge) that was fortified with vitamins and other nutrients. It could easily be air-dropped from Air America planes.

In 1974, the Nepali Army, under pressure from the Chinese, decided to clear theresistance out of Mustang. When General Wangdu, the chief of the Khampa rebels,had to flee with a contingent of 80 men, they headed for the Tibetan Plateau with horsesand pack mules. After moving to the south side of Taklakot, they were attacked byChinese soldiers and village militias. They escaped from Tibet back into Nepal, butwhen they arrived at Tingkar pass in Darchula, the Nepali army was waiting for them. Inthe fighting that followed, Wangdu was killed. But most of his men managed to escapeto India via Kalapani, on the Indo-Nepal border.

Some of the other Khampas were resettled in Nepal, but probably most of them filteredback to their old homelands, or died in the resistance.

On July 6, 1974, U.S. Ambassador Cargo in Kathmandu sent a telegram to theSecretary of State, regarding the news that the Nepal Army was clearing out Mustang,ending the secret war (GON = Government of Nepal, USG = US Government):

“…BY LISTENING BUT NOT PROBING WE HOPE TO AVOID THE APPEARANCE OFHAVING A SPECIAL INTEREST IN A MATTER THAT MIGHT IMPLY INVOLVEMENTOR UNDUE CONCERN. SHOULD THE SITUATION DEVELOP TO THE POINT THATRESPONSE IS REQUIRED TO ACCUSATIONS OF USG INVOLVEMENT WITHKHAMPAS IN NEPAL. I WOULD HOPE THAT WE COULD STATE THAT THISMISSION IS NOT, NOR HAS IT EVER IN THE PAST, BEEN INVOLVED WITH THEKHAMPAS OF MUSTANG. PRIVATELY, IF PRESSED FOR COMMENT BY GONOFFICIALS, I BELIEVE WE CAN FURTHER DEFUSE THE ISSUE OF THISMISSION'S ROLE BY STATEMENTS OF SYMPATHY AND SUPPORT FOR GONEFFORTS TO EFFECT LEGITIMATE CONTROL OVER A POTENTIALLY



TROUBLESOME ELEMENT OF THE REFUGEE POPULATION. IF THERE ARESPECIFIC ALLEGATIONS OF FORMER CIA INVOLVEMENT WITH THE KHAMPAS,THIS MISSION SHOULD DECLINE ANY COMMENT. IF COMMENT SHOULD BENEEDED, WE SUGGEST THIS BE MADE BY APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTSPOKESMAN. IN DEVELOPING DEPARTMENT GUIDANCE, WE SHOULD

CONSIDER MAKING THE POINT TO THE EXTENT THE USG HAS EVER BEEN IN APOSITION TO INFLUENCE THE TIBETAN LEADERSHIP, OUR LONGTIME ADVICEAND EFFORTS HAVE BEEN TO ASSIST ENSURE THAT TIBETAN REFUGEESHONOR THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE LAWS OF HOST GOVERNMENTS INWHOSE COUNTRIES THEY ARE GENEROUSLY AFFORDED REFUGE AND THATTHEY ENGAGE ONLY IN PEACEFUL AND NON-MILITARY OCCUPATIONS…”

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Secret War in Tibet