The Phoenix Program: America's Use of Terror in Vietnam“This shocking expose of the CIA operation aimed at destroying the Vietcong infrastructure thoroughly conveys the hideousness of the Vietnam War” (Publishers Weekly). In the darkest days of the Vietnam War, America’s Central Intelligence Agency secretly initiated a sweeping program of kidnap, torture, and assassination devised to destabilize the infrastructure of the National Liberation Front (NLF) of South Vietnam, commonly known as the “Viet Cong.” The victims of the Phoenix Program were Vietnamese civilians, male and female, suspected of harboring information about the enemy—though many on the blacklist were targeted by corrupt South Vietnamese security personnel looking to extort money or remove a rival. Between 1965 and 1972, more than eighty thousand noncombatants were “neutralized,” as men and women alike were subjected to extended imprisonment without trial, horrific torture, brutal rape, and in many cases execution, all under the watchful eyes of US government agencies. Based on extensive research and in-depth interviews with former participants and observers, Douglas Valentine’s startling exposé blows the lid off of what was possibly the bloodiest and most inhumane covert operation in the CIA’s history. The ebook edition includes “The Phoenix Has Landed,” a new introduction that addresses the “Phoenix-style network” that constitutes America’s internal security apparatus today. Residents on American soil are routinely targeted under the guise of protecting us from terrorism—which is why, more than ever, people need to understand what Phoenix is all about. |
Contents
Internal Security | |
Covert Action | |
Revolutionary Development | |
PICs | |
Psyops | |
Reforms | |
Decay | |
Hearings | |
Dissension | |
Transgressions | |
Da Nang | |
Revisions | |
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Common terms and phrases
agency agents American arrested ARVN assassination assigned attack began Binh Brickham cadre captured Census Grievance Chieu Hoi CIA officer CIA's civilian commander Communist CORDS Corps COSVN counterterror Da Nang defectors deputy Dillard Dinh DIOCC district Donohue enemy Evan Parker explained Field Police Fulcher guerrilla hamlet headquarters ICEX III Corps infrastructure Interrogation Center interview Johnson Khiem killed Komer Lansdale liaison MACV managed Milberg Minh Muldoon Nang National Police Nguyen organization pacification paramilitary Phoenix advisers Phoenix coordinator Phoenix Directorate Phoenix operations Phoenix program Phung Hoang PIOCC political prisoners problem province chiefs province officer PRU adviser Quang region reports Robert Saigon Scotton Security Committee South Vietnam Special Branch Special Forces staff targets teams terror Thieu things told U.S. Army U.S. military units VCI suspects Vietcong Vietminh Vietnamese village Vung Tau wanted Wilbur William Colby