CIA Tibetan program: Difference between revisions
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== Objectives == |
== Objectives == |
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In the fields of political action and propaganda, the CIA's Tibetan program was aimed toward lessening the influence and capabilities of the Chinese [[regime]].<ref name="officiehis"/> |
In the fields of political action and propaganda, the CIA's Tibetan program was aimed toward lessening the influence and capabilities of the Chinese [[regime]].<ref name="officiehis"/> |
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The program was approved by the [[303 Committee]], which was part of the [[United States National Security Council]]. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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Revision as of 13:27, 3 November 2013
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Tibetan program was a covert operation consisting of political plots, propaganda distribution, as well as paramilitary and intelligence gathering based on U.S. commitments made to the Dalai Lama in 1951 and 1956.[2]
Although the operation was formally assigned to the CIA alone, it was nevertheless cloosely coordinated with several other U.S. government agencies such as the Department of State and the Department of Defense.[3]
Previous operations had aimed to strengthen a number of isolated Tibetan resistance groups, which eventually led to the creation of a paramilitary force on the Nepalese border with approximately 2,000 men. By February 1964, the projected annual cost for all CIA Tibetan operations had exceeded US$1.7 million.[3]
Objectives
In the fields of political action and propaganda, the CIA's Tibetan program was aimed toward lessening the influence and capabilities of the Chinese regime.[2]
The program was approved by the 303 Committee, which was part of the United States National Security Council.
History
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Agents of Western governments had infiltrated Tibet by the mid-1950s, a few years after Tibet was annexed by the People's Republic of China. British climber Sydney Wignall, in his recent autobiography,[4] reveals that he agreed to act as a spy for Indian Military Intelligence when he travelled to Tibet with John Harrop in 1955 as part of the Welsh Himalayan Expedition of that year. Captured by the Chinese authority, Wignell recalled that he was surprised to find two CIA agents were already under Chinese detention.
Clandestine military involvement by the U.S. began following the series of uprisings in the eastern Tibetan region of Kham in 1956. Several small groups of Khampa fighters were trained by the CIA camp and then airdropped back into Tibet with supplies. In 1958, with the rebellion in Kham ongoing, two of these fighters, Athar and Lhotse, attempted to meet with the Dalai Lama to determine whether he would cooperate with their activities. However, their request for an audience was refused by the Lord Chamberlain, Phala Thubten Wonden, who believed such a meeting would be impolitic. According to Tsering Shakya, "Phala never told the Dalai Lama or the Kashag of the arrival of Athar and Lhotse. Nor did he inform the Dalai Lama of American willingness to provide aid".[5]
Following a mass uprising in Lhasa in 1959 during the celebration of the Tibetan New Year and the ensuing Chinese military response, the Dalai Lama went into exile in India. Some sources state that the Dalai Lama's escape was assisted by the CIA. After 1959, the CIA trained Tibetan guerrillas and provided funds and weapons for the fight against China. However, assistance was reduced during the course of the 1960s and finally ended when Richard Nixon decided to seek rapprochement with China in the early 1970s. Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, in The CIA's Secret War in Tibet,[6] reveal how the CIA encouraged Tibetan revolt against China — and eventually came to control its fledgling resistance movement.[7][8]
International lobbying
The 14th Dalai Lama was financially backed by the CIA from the late 1950s until 1974, receiving US$180,000 each year. The funds were paid to him personally, although he used most of them for Tibetan government-in-exile activities funding foreign offices to lobby for international support.[9]
Although the Dalai Lama's pleas proved to be less effective with the passing of time, his office in New York did not cease to lobby several U.N. delegations for the Tibetan cause. In addition, the Dalai Lama was also aided by a former U.S. delegate to the U.N.[3]
Costs
The following table provides an example of the costs of the CIA's Tibetan program in 1968:
| Activity | Cost |
|---|---|
| Training cost of junior officers | US$45,000[2] |
| Advocacy groups in New York and Geneva | US$75,000[2] |
| Miscellaneous | US$125,000[2] |
| Subsidy to the Dalai Lama | US$180,000[2] |
| Operational costs | US$225,000[2] |
| Covert training site in Colorado | US$400,000[2] |
| Support of 2100 Tibetan guerrillas | US$500,000[2] |
Criticism
In his 1991 autobiography Freedom in Exile, the 14th Dalai Lama criticized the CIA for supporting the Tibetan independence movement "not because they (the CIA) cared about Tibetan independence, but as part of their worldwide efforts to destabilize all communist governments".[10] In 1999, the Dalai Lama admitted that the CIA Tibetan program had been harmful for Tibet because it was primarily aimed at serving American interests, and "once the American policy toward China changed, they stopped their help".[11]
See also
References
- ^ Sautman, Barry (1 March 2010). "Tibet's Putative Statehood and International Law". Chinese Journal of International Law. 9 (1). Oxford University Press: 127–142.
Indeed, after the 1962 war, B.N. Mullik, India's Intelligence Bureau Chief, told Gyalo Thondup, the Dalai Lama's brother and a top CIA asset, that India supported Tibet's "eventual liberation".
{{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i "Status Report on Tibetan Operations". Office of the Historian. January 26, 1968.
- ^ a b c "Status Report on Tibetan Operations". Office of the Historian. January 9, 1968.
- ^ Wignall, Sydney. Spy on the roof of the world. New York, NY : Lyons & Burford, 1996. ISBN 1-55821-558-1
- ^ Shakya, Tsering, The dragon in the land of snows : a history of modern Tibet since 1947, London : Pimlico, 1999. ISBN 0-7126-6533-1. Cf. pg. 177
- ^ Conboy, Kenneth; Morrison, James, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, Lawrence : University Press of Kansas, 2002. ISBN 0-7006-1159-2
- ^ Dalai Lama Group Says It Got Money From C.I.A., The New York Times, October 2, 1998. Retrieved on March 29, 2008
- ^ Grunfeld, A. Tom, "Reassessing Tibet Policy" (Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, October 12, 2005)
- ^ Michael Backman. "Behind Dalai Lama's holy cloak". The Age.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "CIA Gave Aid to Tibetan Exiles in '60s, Files Show". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
In his 1990 autobiography, "Freedom in Exile," the Dalai Lama explained that his two brothers made contact with the CIA during a trip to India in 1956. The CIA agreed to help, "not because they cared about Tibetan independence, but as part of their worldwide efforts to destabilize all Communist governments," the Dalai Lama wrote.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jonathan Mirsky. "Tibet: The CIA's Cancelled War". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)