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Old February 28th 04, 04:41 PM
Howard Berkowitz
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Yhere certainly were covert military flights in Southeast Asia, but the
were not necessarily controlled by CIA. For the cases we know that were
controlled by CIA, such as Air America, there's no indication that the
crews were reduced.

Black aircraft aren't implausible for agent dropping and such, but these
would be most likely to be under the operational control of MACSOG.
Transports, of course, would be the likely aircraft in this role.

There were covert operations such as the bombing of Laos, or the weather
modification flights of Operation Popeye, but, while classified (perhaps
improperly), they were performed by the regular military chain of
command.

My reading of the Pentagon Papers suggests no combat aircraft were under
direct CIA control, although CIA operational people could certainly ask
for, and get support. Sedgwick Tourson's book on agent infiltration in
the north clearly speaks of the aircraft being military.