CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 10: Roger McCarthy
August 24, 2010In the final video of this series, I'd like to introduce Roger McCarthy ("Mac" to the Tibetan trainees), considered by many in the CIA's operation, both Tibetan and American, to be the godfather of the Tibetan Task Force. He co-created the operation, code-named STCIRCUS, with Frank Holober early in 1957, and began training the first team in Saipan by March, later taking the reins as Project Manager in '58. McCarthy left the Tibetan operation in 1961, but his personal passion for the Tibetan fight for freedom kept him active in their cause until his death in October 2007. His book, "Tears of the Lotus", was published in 1997, after a trip to Tibet that year to see what had become of Lhasa. That was followed by a trip to India and Nepal in 1999 to finally meet the Dalai Lama, and reunite with the former Tibetan resistance fighters he counted as friends.
In the video, I'm taking excerpts from his 1998 presentation at Toronto University, and a panel discussion for Stanford University in 2006 called "CIA and the Secret War in Tibet", where he was among other panelists Bruce Walker, Ken Knaus, Mikel Dunham and Tenzin Tethong. Many thanks to his son Kevin McCarthy, and his friend Mikel Dunham, for sharing the photos used here.
4/4/11 I recently found out some background on the photo used in this video of Roger posing with Kalsang Gyatotsang. It was shot by photographer Pete Patterson, in conjunction with a Canadian documentary, "The Golden Throne" (not yet released). Many thanks to Diane Cartwright, the film's producer, for providing info as well as setting up the talk Roger gave at Toronto University, also used in this video. --LC
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 9: Tsering Shakya
August 18, 2010Born in Lhasa, Tsering Shakya is a noted scholar and author of many articles and books on Tibet, including "The Dragon in the Land of Snows", and the recently published "The Struggle for Tibet", co-authored by Wang Lixiong. Currently a Professor of Tibetan history and literature at University of British Columbia, he organized the 2010 International Association for Tibetan Studies conference, underway this week at UBC's Institute for Asian Research, with 400 scholars from 21 countries attending.
From his interview last May, he talks about the CIA's impact on the Tibetan resistance to China.
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 8: Ken Knaus and John Greaney
August 11, 2010Ken Knaus and John Greaney were both CIA Officers on the Tibetan Task Force. Greaney, the Deputy Chief from 1957-1961, was in charge of US communications with the Tibetan radio team inside the Dalai Lama's escape party in 1959. Knaus began in 1958 as a Case Officer and Instructor at Camp Hale, Colorado, then became the operation's Project Manager from 1961-1965. Knaus is the author of "Orphans of the Cold War: America and the Tibetan Struggle for Survival". From separate interviews in 2008, here's their take on the CIA's impact.
Also a note on current events: For some time, Knaus has been lobbying the powers that be in Washington DC to have a sign posted at Camp Hale, pronouncing its use as a secret CIA training site for Tibetan resistance fighters from 1959 to 1965. Recently, Colorado Senator Mark Udall has agreed to support this, and a ceremony will take place there soon. More on that in future updates.
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 7: Mikel Dunham
August 4, 2010Mikel Dunham, author of "Buddha's Warriors: The Story of the CIA-Backed Tibetan Freedom Fighters, the Chinese Communist Invasion, and the Ultimate Fall of Tibet", shares his thoughts on the CIA's impact.
As part of his answer, he brings up a major intelligence find for the US, when approximately 2,000 Chinese government documents were captured by Tibetan guerrillas in 1961. Showing classified information on the PLA's activities inside Tibet and China, the documents were published in 1966 as "The Politics of the Chinese Red Army", by Stanford's Hoover Institution. I'll eventually have a blog video going into more detail on this part of the story.
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 6: Donyo Jagortsang
July 28, 2010AKA the Prince of Derge, Donyo Jagortsang was a Commander in the Chushi Gangdruk (the Tibetan resistance army) and CIA-trained in the US at Camp Hale, Colorado. After being air-dropped into Pembar late in 1959, he and his teammates unexpectedly encountered a massive air and ground attack by the Chinese PLA, which eventually killed tens of thousands of Tibetan fighters and families gathered there. Out of his Camp Hale class of 18, only 5 survived it. Jagortsang fought his way out of Tibet, and left the CIA operation after making it to India in 1960.
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 5: Bruce Walker
July 21, 2010Bruce Walker was a CIA Case Officer and Training Instructor with the Tibetan Task Force from 1960 to 1968. Dedicated to preserving the memory of STCIRCUS, the operation's code name, Walker has donated archival material to the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and recently commissioned a painting for the CIA Museum's Intelligence Art Gallery, entitled “The Secret PLA Pouch Heads to CIA's K Building”.
In this video, he shares his viewpoint on the CIA's impact to the Tibetan resistance to China. While it essentially covers his feelings on the failure of the CIA-backed resistance, his opinion on more positive results from this history is reflected below in a statement written for our talk on March 21, 2008, soon after Tibetan protests and riots inside Tibet gained worldwide attention.
"In spite of its tragic ending, the resistance demonstrated to the world that the Chinese were committing genocide against the Tibetans and that the Tibetans were passionate about trying to preserve their God-King, their religion, and the integrity of their country. In attempting this, they were not afraid to die for the cause and did not hesitate to kill Chinese in the process. They did not go down supinely before the enemy. As events in Tibet this month show the world, generations of Tibetan patriots inside and outside Tibet still maintain this passion and spirit of resistance to the Chinese, 58 years after the Chinese invaded Tibet."
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 4: Doma Norbu
July 14, 2010Doma Norbu is the daughter of Athar, one of six in the first team trained by CIA in 1957. Athar, along with his team partner Lhotse, were the two radio agents that caught up to the Dalai Lama's escape party in March 1959, kept the CIA informed of that perilous journey, and helped secure asylum for the Dalai Lama in India. From 1960 to 1962, they both served as instructors at Camp Hale, a secret CIA training base in Colorado. After that, Athar was involved with intelligence gathering within Tibet until the base in Mustang, Nepal was closed in 1974.
I met Doma in June 2008 when she was organizing the 50th anniversary of the Chushi Gangdruk, the CIA-backed Tibetan resistance army. At that time, she was President of the New York Chapter of the current Chushi Gangdruk, an organization that keeps the legacy of their fight for freedom alive through non-violent means.
As one who is dedicated to continuing her father's struggle for Tibetan independence, Doma shares her opinion about the CIA's impact on Tibet in part 4 of this ongoing series.
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 3: George Patterson
July 7, 2010Scottish author George Patterson has a long history with Tibet. After a year in China as a missionary, he arrived in Tibet in 1947 and lived there until the Chinese invasion in 1950. Following that, he briefly served as a translator for US State Dept and the CIA, and began reporting on the Tibetan resistance throughout the 50s. In 1964, he collaborated on the BBC documentary "Raid Into Tibet", a documentary that nearly ended the CIA's operation after filming a secret raid by Tibetan guerrillas --the only known film ever taken of them actually fighting. Mr. Patterson has written "Gods and Guerillas", his account of the making of that film, among other books on Tibet.
In part 3 of an ongoing summer series, he gives his opinion on the CIA's impact on Tibet's resistance to China.
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 2: Lhasang Tsering
June 30, 2010Arriving after the CIA had pulled their support, Lhasang Tsering was a member of the armed resistance force in the Mustang, Nepal operation from 1973 to 1974, its final year. Later in Dharamsala, India, he was the Principal of the Tibetan Children's Village, briefly served in the Tibetan Government in Exile, was President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, and one of the co-founders of the Amnye Machen Institute. Currently, he is a Poet/Writer, and owns a bookshop.
A passionate and outspoken voice in the Tibetan community, here he shares his viewpoint in a continuing series of answers to the question: "What impact do you think the CIA had on Tibet's resistance against China?".
CIA Impact on Tibet? Part 1: Clay Cathey
June 23, 2010"What impact do you think the CIA had on Tibet's resistance against China?" This is a question I ask everyone I talk to, and get an equal amount of interesting answers.
To begin a series of opinions on this question, I'll start off with my dad, Clay Cathey, who was the first one I asked. I'll post a different person's response every week or so over the next couple months.
