The Secret Army: Chiang Kai-Shek And The Drug Warlords Of The Golden Triangle

Based on recently declassified government documents, this book reveals the shocking true story of what happened after the Chinese Nationalists lost the revolution. Supported by Taiwan, the CIA, and the Thai government, the Koumintang reinvented itself as an anti-communist mercenary army fighting into the 1980s, before eventually becoming the drug lords who would make the Golden Triangle a household name.

Richard M. Gibson earned a BS in 1965 and in 1966 an MA in history at San Jose State College, San Jose, California. As a Naval officer from 1966-71, he served aboard ships in the Gulf of Tonkin and taught history at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.
In 1971, Gibson joined the US Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer. His postings included Martinique, French West Indies, Burma and Japan. He speaks French, Thai, and Japanese fluently, and received the Department of States meritorious and superior honor awards.

Wen-hua Chen earned a BA in Chinese literature from Tunghai University, Taiwan and an MA in oriental history at Hiroshima University, Japan. Chen also studied at Taiwan’s prestigious Academia Sinica. In 1975, he began a career with the United Nations as a Chinese translator, working in both Bangkok, Thailand, and at UN Headquarters in New York. He retired in 2000 and has been pursuing various writing projects, publishing several works in Chinese language periodicals in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom.

Chapter 2: Refuge in Burma’s Shan State A Troubled Union of Burma (17), Kengtung State –Backwater Flashpoint (20)

Chapter 3: Sorting Things Out at Tachilek Battle of Tachilek (26), The Americans Reluctantly Get Involved (30)

Chapter 4: Lieutenant General Li Mi Initiates His Enterprise (39), Seeking American Help (43), Li Mi Wins Command and Moves to Bangkok (44), Thai Friends (47), Finding Troops and Weapons (49)

Chapter 5: Building a KMT Stronghold in Burma Möng Hsat (55), Some Perspective in Retrospect (57)

Chapter 6: American Cold Warriors Civil Air Transport, the CIA’s Airline (62), The CIA in Thailand (64)

Chapter 7: Li Mi Builds the Yunnan National Salvation Army Thai and American Help (69), Initial Weapons Deliveries (74) Rallying Troops at Möng Hsat (75), Li Mi’s Army of Questionable Allies (77)

Chapter 8: Preparing to Invade Yunnan The Operations Plan (81), Moving to the Frontier (83), Mustering Newcomers (84), An Open Secret (86), Washington Rebuffs Rangoon (88)

Chapter 9: Debacle in Yunnan, May-July 1951 Americans Deliver the Goods (90), Action on the Flanks (91), The Airfield at Mengsa (93), The PLA Counterattacks (96), The Southern Column (99), Back in Burma (100)
 
Chapter 10: Washington Opts Out London Gets the Goods on Washington (105), Washington Decides to Cut its Losses (108), UK-US Joint Démarche Fiasco (110), More Failed Diplomacy (113)

Chapter 11: Li Mi’s Army Takes Root in Burma Yunnan Anticommunist University (116), Taiwan to Möng Hsat Air Bridge (118), Allying With Burma’s Karens (121), Li Mi’s International Press (123), Stirrings at the United Nations (126)

Chapter 12: Opium: Mother’s Milk for the KMT Governments as Opium Traders (132), The KMT’s Opium Business (134), Thai Opium Laws and Practices (137), Opium, KMT, and the Thai Police (139) Chapter 13: Washington Decides to Remove the KMT Backing Away from Li Mi (144), Li Mi and the US Defense Department (147), Pressuring Chiang Kai-shek (148)

Chapter 14: Southern Strategy and Karen Allies KMT - KNDO Cooperation (153), Increased KMT Aggressiveness (155), The SS Haitien Debacle (157), What Went Wrong? (159)

Chapter 15: The Road to United Nations Action Operation Maha and the Battle of W?n Hsa-la (163), Washington Pressures Taipei (165), Rangoon Goes to the United Nations (168)

Chapter 16: The United Nations vs. KMT Duplicity An Intransigent Li Mi (173), Operation Heaven (174), The Joint Military Committee Stalls (177), Burma Quits the Joint Military Committee (180)

Chapter 17: First Evacuation from Burma Evacuation Phase I (186), Evacuation Phase II (189), Burmese Offensive of 1954 (193), Evacuation Phase III (194), Ending the Evacuation (195)

Chapter 18: Liu Yuan-lin and the Yunnan Anticommunist Volunteer Army Reconsidering Thai Support for the KMT (200), Burma’s Yangyiaung Offensive (202), Liu Yuan-lin and Taiwan’s Intelligence Services (203), Liu Yuan-lin Organizes His Army (206) A KMT-Burma Army Truce (208), Tang-or Headquarters (211), Changes in Bangkok Affect the KMT (214)

Chapter 19: A Resurgent KMT Invites PRC Intervention Strengthening Liu Yuan-lin’s Army (221), An Ineffectual KMT Party 2nd Section (223), KMT-Lao Cooperation (224), Settling the Yunnan-Burma Border (228)

Chapter 20: Operation Mekong: Sino-Burmese Forces Route the KMT Sino-Burmese Planning (230), Initial PLA Operations (232), Liu Yuan-lin Regroups (234), Laos and KMT Aerial Supply Lines (235), Burmese Operations (238), The PLA Re-enter the Fight (240)

Chapter 21: Air Battle Over Burma and American Weapons The KMT’s American Weapons (246), Rangoon Protests –Washington Whitewashes (248)

Chapter 22: The Second KMT Evacuation Taipei-Vientiane Cooperation in Laos (252), Chiang Kai-shek Backs Down (254), Withdrawing Taipei’s Troops (257)

Chapter 23: Getting YAVA’s Remnants Out of Laos Vientiane Recruits the KMT (264), Stranded KMT Remnants in Laos (269), The KMT Finally Leave Laos (270)

Chapter 24: Nationalist Chinese Armies in Thailand Li Wen-huan’s Third Army (274), Tuan Hsi-wen’s Fifth Army (276), An Early Resettlement Effort (278), The KMT Fend for Themselves (281), Taipei’s Intelligence Units (283)

Chapter 25: Thailand’s Troublesome Guests Moving the KMT off the Lao Border (290), Thailand’s Troubled Borders (291), The 1967 Opium War ( 292), What to Do With the KMT in Thailand (297)

Chapter 26: Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense Ma Chün-kuo’s Interim IBMND Presence (303), IBMND Zone 1920 Takes Shape (305), A More Aggressive Zone 1920 (309)

Chapter 27: Taipei’s IBMND and Narcotics Trafficking IBMND Zone 1920 Trafficking (315), Shuttering the KMT Party 2nd Section (317), Disbanding IBMND Zone 1920 (318)

Chapter 28: Resettlement in Thailand Negotiating Resettlement (323), Securing New Settlements (327), Opium for Resettlement (330) 

Chapter 29: Soldiering on for Thailand Guarding the Roads (339), A Last Hurrah at Khao Ya (340)

Chapter 30: Post Script

Bibliography