Air America / Former airline - Economy-point.org

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Air America was an US-American airline, which was controlled of the CIA and covered operations in Southeast Asia during the Viet Nam war accomplished. Outward it appeared with it as civilian airline.

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From 1959 to 1962 air America granted direct and indirect support for the operations Ambidextrous, Hotfoot and White star (training for the Lao armed forces).

From 1962 to 1975 use air America US-American personnel, in order to ensure logistic support for the Secret Army, transported refugees and made even clearing-up flights. The moreover one SAR missions for fallen combat pilots were accomplished in Indochina. The pilots of the air America were the first civilians, who participated in fighting.

In the summer 1970 24 twin-engine transport aircrafts and 24 further short take off and landing aircraft as well as 30 helicopters were used for operations in Burma, Kambodscha, Thailand and Laos. During this time worked over 300 pilots, copilots, flight mechanics specialists and load masters, who were all together in Laos and/or stationed in Thailand. In the year 1970 transported air America 20,000 t food to Laos. When 1975 nordvietnamesische armed forces took south Viet Nam, the personnel of the US embassy in Saigon, its members and coworkers in last minute by helicopters of the air America in security were brought to the government of south Viet Nam.

Air America was as can be prove on a large scale into the drug trade complicated, particularly by the smuggling of Opium and heroin. Allied one, usually informal armies were financed, as by them manufactured heroin was brought with the help of the CIA on the market. American historical professor Alfred W. McCoy has these procedures in detail in its book "The Politics OF heroin. CIA Complicity into the global Drug trade" described (German: The CIA and heroin, publishing house two thousand-unity, 2003). The CIA tried 1972 in vain to censor the book "for reasons of national security". The publication entailed a set of commissions of inquiry in the USA, with which also McCoy stated as a witness.