The Outsourcing of State Security: A Case Study of US Intervention in Laos, 1962–1975

Gabrielle Nugent-Stephens; Rachel Monaghan

doi:10.13169/statecrime.13.1.0081

The Outsourcing of State Security: A Case Study of US Intervention in Laos, 1962–1975

Gabrielle Nugent-Stephens
, Rachel Monaghan

Coventry University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

100 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The United States (US) involvement in covert action abroad has received significant scholarly attention, including the outsourcing of force to third parties, such as foreign death squads, private paramilitaries, and more recently private military and security companies. However, less attention has been paid to the routine and everyday mechanisms the US state uses to administer outsourced force, and the impacts this has both on the combatants and civilians. Through a historical examination of the covert conflict in Laos from 1962–1975, this article documents the routine administrative mechanisms the US state employed to prosecute an illegal war. This article’s principal contribution to the state crime literature is the documentation of the hidden harms this generated both for the combatants used and the civilians affected by the violence. This contribution is grounded in interviews conducted with ex-service people from the conflict period and archival research, including recently declassified materials.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	81-107
Number of pages	27
Journal	State Crime Journal
Volume	13
Issue number	1
Early online date	11 Jun 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.13169/statecrime.13.1.0081
Publication status	Published online - 11 Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2024, Gabrielle Nugent-Stephens and Rachel Monaghan.

Funding

It was noted in the introduction that US diplomatic intervention in Laos began as early as 1950 due to the country\u2019s geographical location (bordered by Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and China) and fears surrounding the spread of Communism from North Vietnam and China (Dwyer 2013). Initially this intervention was financial including funds for military aid, policy training, civic action programs, tactical training, and field operations (Leary 2001: 3). The US government were under international pressure to de-escalate its military presence in Laos (Czyzak and Salans 1966), especially as a civil war in Laos escalated. The civil war pitted the US-backed Royal Lao Government (RLG) against the Pathet Lao (PL), supported by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC). Air America (AAM) personnel played a vital role in the conflict, undertaking a range of state-sanctioned activities including transporting personnel (Hmong and US government), search and rescue, conducting reconnaissance and testing equipment (Rosen 2005: 113). The US also relied on the Hmong in Laos, using this indigenous community as state supporting irregular forces due to their knowledge of the terrain and cultural value system (Vang 2016: 140). The decision to intervene in Laos came from the success of the NVA and supporting forces in annexing large sections of the country which became of great strategic importance to the wider conflict in Vietnam (Pholsena 2013: 163).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

Covert conflict
non-state actors
security governance
social harm
state crime
state security

Access to Document

10.13169/statecrime.13.1.0081Licence: CC BY

SCJ_13_1_Nugent-Stephens and MonaghanFinal published version, 625 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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The Outsourcing of State Security: A Case Study of US Intervention in Laos, 1962–1975

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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