by Mary W Maxwell, LLB
I had the saddest Veterans Day, on November 11, 2019. Actually, “infuriating day” would better describe it. I went to visit an elderly prisoner, my friend Richard Taus, who has a spinal injury — as well as some Agent Orange “mementos” — from the Vietnam War. (Ah, the Vietnam conflict; it was labeled as such to avoid the need for Congress to declare a war.)
Having been told that Taus could not sit for long due to back pain, I brought a cushion for him to sit on. The guard at the gate said it couldn’t be allowed in, as “the state provides all linen.” During the visit I was shocked by the pain on Richard’s face, which I suspect was aggravated by the fact that it was Veteran’s Day and he — like all Vietnam era soldiers until recently — was not getting anything like thanks or recognition. Not even extra apple pie for dessert.
I am planning to send the cushion to Governor Cuomo and ask him to get it through the gate.
But wait, maybe even the governor of New York does not have authority to help a prisoner whose big, bad sin is that he dobbed the CIA in. (He also dobbed his post-war employer, the FBI, but that does not seem to be a problem.)
Below I will show Taus’s inadvertent investigation of the CIA proprietary Air America. And toss a few ideas as to how American guys felt about napalming. (Aussie airmen were on the scene, too.)
The following is an excerpt from Rodney Stich’s 2005 book, CIA, FBI, the Mob and Treachery. Kind of an all-encompassing title. Most of that book is about Taus’s life, but Stich also wrote a book called Drugging America. Stich told me he spoke on 200 radio shows over the years, but clue-ng the public in, to the CIA origin of the US’s drug problem, was not enough. Unlike my blue cushion, drugs are “allowed in.”
Excerpt — Taus’s Second Tour in Vietnam, 1970:
Rather than relying upon the U.S. Air Force for tactical support, the “Cav” used its own resources. An aerial napalm strike was accomplished by placing a large number of 55-gallon steel barrels containing aviation fuel or napalm on an aluminum pallet. A large net was placed under the pallet. That would allow the load to be picked up by the hook on the underbelly of the Chinook. Incendiary grenades were attached to the net webbing to ignite the load upon impact.
Flying at tree-top level, the Chinook would pass over a suspected enemy position and either pilot could “punch-off” the load, while either of the ship’s gunners would fire M60 machine gun rounds into the dropped load, just in case the grenades did not ignite it.
Taus received the order to assign an extra aircraft for the next day’s launch to carry the deadly napalm pallet. It would have to be his aircraft due to maintenance problems. It was five months after the Cambodian Incursion (April to June 1970). The fleet was still hurting from that exhaustive campaign. Chief Warrant Officer Bob Weir would pilot his aircraft, while Taus acted as co-pilot. The decision was based on Weir’s experience in performing such napalm strike missions.
By 0600 hours the next day. Chief Weir and Captain Taus were flying towards the objectives with the cargo pallet slung underneath, loaded with napalm drums. Weir gave Taus the briefing “There’s a Viet Cong village which Division wants annihilated. When I say so, Captain Taus, press your hook release trigger. If the hook fails to release, then use the emergency hook release to blast it open.”
It was not what the Army had taught Taus as a cadet, a subordinate officer was giving him orders. But Weir was competent. Combat does not allow much time for thoughtful insight.
Only a few nights ago, there was a heated discussion at the battalion officers’ club over the war effort. Some officers argued about the futility of the war, its destructiveness to the Vietnamese people, the wasted resources, and the ethical aspects to it all.
After listening to the inebriated beefing and complaining, Taus was approached by Chief Warrant Officer James T. Rodgers who solicited Taus’ opinion. Taus replied: “We have a job to do, that’s why I am here. And so do you! As military officers, we must carry out our assigned missions unless there is a real moral issue or unlawful order given to us. What more can I say?” Taus sought to curtail further engagement on the heated topic. His concern was his duty, to launch mission-ready aircraft for the next flights.
The village was only a few miles in the distance as the olive drab bird approached its target. Taus scanned the ground below. It was a typical Vietnamese village. There were people in it. Men, women and children all looked up as the large bird roared over their hamlet.
Because of the pallet underneath, the Chinook had to make a large circle before returning; otherwise the load would sway uncontrollably. Within a few minutes, the aircraft was again making its final pass over the village. Taus’ hand gripped the cyclic stick with one finger beginning to press the hook release trigger. There were some women and children below. There were no anti-aircraft fires coming from the seemingly peaceful village. Perhaps G2 (Intelligence) or G3 (Operations) made a mistake. It did not matter, Taus saw innocent people below and his finger relented on the trigger.
“Punch-off!” yelled Weir, as the Chinook swiftly approached the village center. Again, Taus saw women and children scurrying for cover. He deliberately hesitated. “The Colonel will court-martial you for not dropping the load, Captain!” screamed Weir. In an instant, Weir pressed his trigger. The pallet would land just beyond the village in the dense forest. No innocents would be killed.
Struggling to gain altitude to escape the explosion below. Weir said in disgust, “We’ll catch hell for missing the target.” Both aviators could now view a plume of red flames and black smoke engulfing the forest below. “Relax chief, I’ll inform the Colonel that it was my decision to delay the release. I’d rather answer to the ole man than to God later.”
As the Chinook returned to Phouc Vinh Airbase, Chief Weir spotted the Battalion Commander’s Jeep. “Looks like the ole man got the initial reports from Division on our mission. He looks mighty pissed-off the way he’s standing there!” Waldron was standing in the jeep’s passenger seat with his hands on his hips.
While both aviators were shutting down the aircraft engines, LTC Waldron entered the cockpit area and tapped Taus’s helmet, as he bellowed at the top of his lungs: “You missed the village. Congratulations! First reports say we have the highest body count in months. I got to hand it to you fellows for figuring that ‘Charlie’ would run into the woods for cover. You placed it right on top of him!”
Weir and Taus looked at each other with astonished expressions. They were dumbfounded, expecting to be severely reprimanded, not praised for missing the village.
Leadership Problems
Interference by the Battalion Commander and his staff lackeys aggravated the aviation problems. There was little time for Captain Taus to attend to all the problems. Disciplinary and drug problems intermingled. Either one being the cause or the result of the other. There were no holidays in Vietnam. The 1968 Tet Offensive had taught that lesson. Sundays were for work.
A Philippo Rock Band was hired by one of the companies to entertain the men. The aircraft hangar was used for the performance. An outdoor picnic was prepared with steaks and beers. The improvised rock concert attracted other units to the airbase. Some started partying earlier in the day. The event was a success.
The aircraft hangar was a mess for the next day’s missions. Few soldiers turned out for duty the next morning. Perhaps, the entertainment reinforced the fact that life could be enjoyed, so why put up with the suffering?
More probably, drugs were used to excess after the beer and alcohol ran out. Drugs were always present, brought into the airbase by Vietnamese laborers if not already air-delivered by the Air America planes that frequented the airfield. They obtained the drugs from other sources in the Golden Triangle region: Laos, Burma and Thailand.
Promotions, recognitions and rewards, such as Rest and Recreation trips, were sporadic. Mission requirements always had a priority. Without a consistent merit system, there was no reason to perform. The American Press added to the dilemma, stating it was an unjust war and that American troops should be withdrawn. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Waldron, the battalion commander, administered the kick-in-the-butt so often that it was expected no matter what efforts were made.
The soldiers had it worse. Cavalry Troopers struggled to line up for a combat assault mission. They looked haggard and fatigued before they boarded the helicopters for the battlefield. Aviation crews always felt sympathy for their brother troopers going into combat. Though part of the combat assault, the crews would “usually” return to home base that night, if they were lucky.
At the highest command levels, the generals knew the units were “standing down,” part of the troop forces being returned to the States. But company commanders and their troops were never informed, until the very last moments. The new American Policy called for the “Vietnamization of the War.”
Troopers who had borne the burden of battle were denied the courtesy of knowing the official policy, that a light existed at the end of the tunnel for the American efforts in Vietnam. The National Guard was a safe place to avoid the war, as the son of the future President George Bush discovered.
Drugs, Discipline and Another Duc Phong, 1971
“Where the hell are my mechanics, Sarge,” asked Taus. It was 8 a.m. and the temperature was already 85 degrees. Sergeant Ammons whispered his reply. “You said something, Sergeant?” Taus knew the answer without hearing it. Many of his men were strung out on drugs. The local Vietnamese labor force managed to bring opium and other hard drugs into the compound. Military police checked the local work force everyday for contra- band, but drugs came in at night through the tangle of protective barricades surrounding the base.
Besides the air war, Taus was engaged in a drug war, and losing the battle. Returning to the billeting area, Taus searched for his missing troops. He found some still asleep in their cots, looking more dead than alive. Taus spotted several syringe needles indicating that they had main-lined the drugs.
Division G-2 intelligence claimed the drugs came from Laos. There was a critical problem of personnel available for maintenance and missions, which Taus had to conduct, causing Taus later that day to again discuss the drug problems with the unit commander, Edward Waldron.
Recognizing the CIA’s Air America as the Drug Source
The Army was beginning its experiments with drug counseling. Taus informed Waldron about his conversations with Division G-2 and the Laotian drug connection. A crack appeared in Waldron’s tough armor as he agreed that the CIA-operated Air America, was involved in transporting the drugs into Vietnam.
Waldron noted: One of Bravo Company’s recovery ships was sent to the site of a downed Air America plane a few weeks ago. The company commander found the aircraft completely destroyed and none of its crew survived. However, there were remnants of cargo containing opium. “We reported this Information to G-2. Never heard anything back. I don’t even think higher headquarters looked into the matter.”
The crack in Waldron’s armor did not last long; he demanded that Taus improve his launching capabilities despite the lack of maintenance personnel due to the drug problems. Waldron promised Taus additional civilian maintenance crews who would be arriving from the United States. These crews were contracted by Department of the Army from civilian aviation companies such as Lear Jet. The cost to the government was astronomical compared to the Army maintenance crews.
Air America Plane Down: Taus to the Rescue
Several weeks later, while flying a routine repair parts run, Taus overheard a distress call from an Air America aircraft, that it would be making a forced landing in a rice-paddy. Taus decided to assist. His crew chief estimated the cargo to between 3000 to 4000 pounds of heroin and partly processed opium, explaining why the pilots did not welcome an Army rescue.
Upon his return to base, Taus made a written report through his battalion commander to division headquarters concerning the drugs on the Air America flight. He also sent a copy of that report to his Congressman in New York, Herbert Tenzer, along with a report describing the effects drugs were having upon his combat troops and the criminal involvement of the CIA.
A Congressional “Investigation” Followed
Congressmen arrived in Vietnam within a few weeks to, ostensibly, conduct an in-depth examination. Their junket was meant to secure votes in upcoming elections. In their congressional report, the Congressmen noted that the drugs found in the Air America flight were for the pilot’s personal use.
4,000 pounds of opium for personal use?
— end of excerpt from Rodney Stich’s CIA, FBI, the Mob and Treachery.
A previous article about Taus is here:
https://gumshoenews.com/2018/04/02/some-accused-of-pedophiia-are-really-only-guilty-of-whistle-blowing-richard-taus-for-example/
Good on you, looking out for your friends. Passive aggressive Nana/Nona strategy, love it, very Onslow. Wink if needed.
Whilst under the Onslow rules.
The recent Thailand soccer kids, underwater with coach, complete with golden triangle nationality kids. So strange with Elon Musk calling in too. Same dynamics, nebulous for sure, can’t shake a connection of some type.
Zat you, Simon — second drummer from the left?
Uh-oh. Failure to attach…
Lol, u been served West Point.
Pretty tight group, I’ll watch from 400 yards.
Always been a problem to get the damn men to engage. Military Police came from shooting comrades in the back should they fail a whistles order.
Army found a perverted troop could pull the trigger like the committed response they faced.
Heroin is the product of a complicated industrial process, requiring lots of infrastructure for any final product. Ask Nuganhand Bank, got to spend money to make money mate.
And the final pipeline into the U.S. was via the body cavities of dead soldiers.
A sensitive subject for Americans, I offer no opinion, but I thought it was a real report that stated: paraphrase.
When some graves where exhumed at Arlington Cemetery America’s most sacred ground, DNA did not match the families common markers. Vietnam was featured but the other wars deceased also lacked the expected DNA.
We all wore ‘dog tags’ that were made of stainless steel. One tag was taken by the unit and the other was left in the mouth of the deceased. Usually, wedged between the teeth (a stiff kick to the jaw would wedge it).
If that wasn’t enough to identify the body, there were the dental records. Every soldier went through a dental examination when entering country where complete dental records were taken.
If a body was sent back to the U.S. that was not properly identified, it may have been a ‘drug mule’ for the heroin. Many soldiers, like pilots that were dismembered/burned in a crash, wouldn’t have a body to hide drugs in, so there may have been a substituted whole body for the transport. A disfigured and partially decomposed Vietnamese would have been adequate.
I’m on watch and act. So a bit of table time for me.
The smashing of teeth would seem very convenient should pesky(lost/classified) detail be inquired.
The volume of drugs did not arrive that way. (my opinion now, excuse me). Just a group able to exploit a loophole, but waged war quite effectively, impressing the superiors, leading to 20th century strategic doctrines.
Why so obtuse Simon? “I’m on watch and act. So a bit of table time for me.” – What does that mean?
Are we suppose to imagine what is going through your mind? How many variations of human cognition are we suppose to conjecture to determine the content of your post?
If you want to add something to the thread, then do it, but don’t waffle on with nonsense. You don’t do yourself any credit to your credibility or whatever you think you are expressing.
Sorry, lol live in the hinterland of Byron Bay. Not obtuse, live on the boundary of Goonengerry National and State park. Current bushfire, quite local here. Sorry, it is a bit dispatches from the front, so far no problems for me but I can see plenty of activities.
Before they cooked up the charge of child sex offense, they tried “embezzlement.” I quote Stich again:
“Taus used his personal vehicle in official government work to carry out an investigation. [In 1983] he purchased $9 of gasoline, with the government credit card—as he was authorized to do. The government car assigned to Taus was damaged several days earlier when Taus rammed the escaping vehicle of a drug trafficker.
“This happened while Taus was assigned to the Criminal Division that was then investigating the Bonano Mafia family.
“In November 1988, FBI agents arrested Taus, and Justice Department prosecutors charged him with a federal crime, based upon the $9 credit card charge [which occurred in 1983, see?] They had known about the credit card charge throughout this entire period!
“Justice Department prosecutors now charged Taus with embezzlement under Title 18 U.S.C. § 641, for that $9 gasoline purchase. FBI agents made the initial arrest (November 5, 1988), the same agents with whom Taus had worked for years. [Is that pukey or what.]
They kept Taus for eight hours at the FBI’s New York office, and then at 3 a.m., in handcuffs, as if he were a criminal took him to the MCC [Think Epstein]. After Taus was incarcerated for 20 days in the Metropolitan Detention Center, and having gone through a bail appeal, U.S. District Judge Leo Glasser granted bail in the amount of $1 million [for which his rellies pledged their houses]. ”
One million for nine bucks. It’s good work if you can get it.
Someone has sent me this interview of a soldier, Allen Clark, with Larry King:
KING: Joining us now from Dallas, Texas, an extraordinary American, Allen B. Clark, author of “Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior: A Personal Story of a Vietnam Veteran Who Lost His Legs But Found His Soul.”
His military commendations include Silver Star for gallantry in action, Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, appointed to high level position in Department of Veterans’ Affairs in George Bush No. 41, and currently operates a lay ministry helping veterans recover emotionally and spiritually from adverse wartime experiences.
What was the hardest thing to get over, to accept losing what you lost and going on?
ALLEN B. CLARK: Well, Larry, it was not just my legs, which was obviously the physical aspect, but eight months into my hospitalization in 1968 I went without sleep for four days.
I had really started getting really scared about what I was going to do with my life as a double-leg amputee and the horror of my amputation, and I was in a closed psychiatric ward for 14 weeks. So I had what you would call external precipitating stress for severe post- traumatic stress disorder.
KING: How did you get through it?
CLARK: Well, No. 1, I was in the closed ward, and I had psychiatric care, I had counseling and I had antidepressants for the 14 weeks, and I had to see a psychiatrist for six years.
I was always ashamed that I had, quote, “broken,” and I wasn’t strong enough. I was a West Point graduate, regular Army officer assigned Army Special Forces. How could I – how could this happen to me, you know?
But it was by my faith walk and my faith in the Lord. So after six years of psychiatrists and antidepressants, in 1973, from then on, because of my faith I have been able to break away from it and go on to a functional life.
[Also mentioned was that Ross Perot helped this man and many other vets, behind the scenes.]
Mary, the letter you wrote for him was amazing. Hope the authorities take notice.
Dee, as you would know from your court work this year, it is now considered NORMAL for “government” to inflict any amount of frustration and humiliation on citizens.
Citizens need to see through this racket, and pronto.
Come to think of it, at another prison I made a stink about something, after which the guard said to me (in a whisper) “Thank you.”
Goes to show you, you don’t know what anyone is really thinking whilst groupthink is in force.
How right you are. The typical “we have directed your complaint —“, or “we have already reviewed…”, or “we are unable…”, or “it is before the courts.
Nothing is working. Nothing. An awakening is required.
These articles affirm the only reason any drug is ever promoted, prohibited or decriminalised:
https://reason.com/2007/07/31/the-politics-of-prohibition/
https://fee.org/articles/politics-and-prohibition/
The Brits evidently didn’t have any qualms about going to ruthless ends either:
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-first-and-second-opium-wars-195276
The history of the opium wars would not be complete without mentioning the Sassoon dynasty
… from David Sassoon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sassoon
… through to the “British” real estate mogul Sir Victor Sassoon
https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-jews-once-ran-shanghai-the-wicked-old-paris-of-the-east/
From a related source:
“[David] Sassoon [1792-1864] established a triangle of trade, bringing Indian opium and cotton to China, where he received silver, tea and silk in exchange. He then carried these products to England for sale. Finished products from Britain, as well as cash, were then brought back to India where they were used to buy more opium. By the 1870s, David Sassoon had come to dominate the trade of opium to China, having pushed the British firm Jardine Matheson and the “Parsi” traders of Bombay out of the business.”
Related material for the Gumshoe treasured archives:
“Dope, Inc. Britain Opium War against the US (1978).pdf Version 2” by LaRouche
https://archive.org/details/DopeInc.BritainOpiumWarAgainstTheUs1978.pdfVersion2/page/n1
From the wiki article under the heading Legacy
“Although David Sassoon did not speak English, he became a naturalised British citizen in 1853. He kept the dress and manners of the Baghdadi Jews, but allowed his sons to adopt English manners. His son, Abdullah changed his name to Albert, moved to England, became a Baronet and married into the Rothschild family.”
Very interesting. Ta.
Like many hypothesis, the Dope Inc. paper is a mixture of fact and fallacy, the latter being summed up by the caption under the cover-picture.
The nitty-gritty truth about such “victim-hood” is that it’s a personal choice, as encapsulated by the “poor me, poor me, pour me a drink” adage. But the control system of the Age is, of course, based on telling everyone the reverse; the last thing any government wants is people taking authority over their lives
A couple more topical references for general interest …
Chinese Communism and Chinese Jews (1969) by Itsvan Bakony (from Library of Political Secrets #4)
https://archive.org/details/LibraryOfPoliticalSecrets4-ChineseCommunismAndChineseJews1969
“Since 1840 China has experienced further migrations of Jews from different countries, mainly European. According to the Castilian Jewish Encyclopedia the opening of the so-called "Ports of the Treaty" in 1840, brought a number of English Jews to China from Hong Kong and India. In 1850, Elias David Sassoon, a rich Jewish trader settled in Bombay, India, established a branch of his firm in Shanghai. Born in Baghdad, his father had been Treasurer and banker to the Turkish Governor in that city.Referring to Elias David Sassoon, the Castilian Jewish Encyclopedia says that "he specialized in the trade of opium, among other things …”
War! War! War! By Cincinnatus, with Foreword by Eustace Mullins
https://archive.org/details/WarWarWarByCincinnatusForewordByEustaceMullins
Chapter 4 is on the Opium Wars.
“The famous Sassoon family, probably the most influential Jewish family in England today and one of the few intimate with the last three generations of the Royal Family, established their wealth and power in the Opium Wars.
“The Sassoon pedigree goes back to King David,” and “Sir Victor was the white boss of Shanghai”
[…
“Sir Victor [Sassoon] … the wealthiest white man in the Far East”
(notice how they were white in those days)
Chapter 6 goes on to join the dots to the South African Boer Wars
“As the Sassoons had attained wealth and power by English war gainst unoffending Chinese to compel them to buy opium, so the Joels, Barnatos, Oppenheimers, Rothschilds and other English Jews, induced Christian England to rob, starve in concentration camps, and murder the unoffending Boer farmers, men, women, and children, so that the English Jews could amass great fortunes in gold and diamonds and acquire English titles.”
Wow, Berry. That’s quite a photograph (in the second linked article). Here’s the opening paragraph
“The First Opium War was fought from March 18, 1839, to August 29, 1842, and was also known as the First Anglo-Chinese War. 69 British troops and approximately 18,000 Chinese soldiers perished. As a result of the war, Britain won trade rights, access to five treaty ports, and Hong Kong.”
Re your first article, at the moment Massachusetts is allowing marijuana even at the same time as the federal law prohibits it. Watch this space….
Good news. The Innocence Project has been working on the case of a wrongly convicted man in Texas, Rodney Reed.
At one point recently, despite 2 MILLION signatures requesting clemency, the state was going to go ahead with the execution on Nov 22, 2019.
It was announced today that the Parole Board has (I think) removed hm from Death Row.
Clemency cannot happen to Martin Bryant or Jahar Tsarnaev, I ween, as freedom for them would lead to open communication by them — and “we can’t have that.”
The French have a wonderful saying: the more things change the more they remain the same. That was never truer than in the various wars and invasions wrought by western powers to maintain control of the drug trade. The British in China and Afghanistan in the 19th and early 20th centuries; the Americans in Vietnam, Thailand, Colombia, Mexico and Afghanistan in the 20th and 21st centuries.
In recent decades Australia has played its supporting role, most obviously in this context in the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan for the past 18 years. It is now well documented that the invasion of Afghanistan was decided upon months prior to “9/11” yet the media here still persist in repeating the big lie.
Just look at the heroin production figure in 2001 (prior to the invasion) and post the invasion. Growth of the poppy plant, processing into heroin (requiring imported chemicals) and worldwide distribution. Thank you USA!
Yet our media still insist on publishing the same old tired and discredited BS about why the US (and Australia) are in Afghanistan.
That is one of the major reasons I expect no real changes (at least voluntarily) in western policy in Asia and elsewhere: They have gotten away with their BS for centuries and no change has ever come about voluntarily.
In 1900 1 in 7 Chinese adults was addicted to heroin thanks to the British. Things are radically different now, despite rather than because of UK and US policies in the region.
Do you note any change in the way the US and UK are presented in our media? Of course not. It is a major reason why Australia will become the poor white trash of Asia, just as Lee predicted.