The largest paramilitary operations ever undertaken by the CIA took place in the small Southeast Asian Kingdom of Laos. For more than 13 years, the Agency directed native forces that fought major North Vietnamese units to a standstill. Although the country eventually fell to the Communists, the CIA remained proud of its accomplishments in Laos. As Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Richard Helms later observed: "This was a major operation for the Agency. . . . It took manpower; it took specially qualified manpower; it was dangerous; it was difficult." The CIA, he contended, did "a superb job." This is the first comprehensive history of the CIA's largest paramilitary operation of the Cold War. It took 10 years to write and involved interviews with 650 CIA case officers, U.S. military officials, and senior Lao, Thai and North Vietnamese officers. Includes outstanding photos and maps and never-before-reported details on the secret war in Laos. Illustrated throughout