AdvertisementHow The U.S. War In Laos Was Key To The 'Birth Of A Military CIA'January 30, 2017Nishant DahiyafacebookEmailLaotian Gen. Vang Pao, seen here calling in air strikes against suspected Communist positions from the Long Cheng Command Post in January 1972, led an army of Hmong tribesmen to fight against Communist insurgents backed by the North Vietnamese. A CIA-led effort that started in 1961 tried to help him in that fight. (Bettmann Archive)