Former general cleared of plan to oust Lao govt

       A federal grand jury in California investigating an alleged plot to overthrow the government of Laos has dropped charges against a leading figure in the Southeast Asian nation's Hmong community, the US attorney's office in Sacramento said on Friday.
       The grand jury's decision absolves 79-year-old Vang Pao, a former majorgeneral in the Lao army who is revered by the Hmong refugees he helped resettle in the US. He has been hailed as a hero by Vietnam War veterans.
       Charges remain against 10 others, including a retired US army lieutenantcolonel, and were added against two new defendants.
       While Gen Pao expressed relief that charges against him were dropped, his attorney said he's frustrated that his former co-defendants remain under indictment on charges the defence insists were exaggerated.
       "We're glad the government has finally paid attention and recognised that General Vang Pao is innocent," said his attorney, John Keker.
       "We're disappointed that the case, a very unfair sting operation, is continuing against some good people," he added.
       US Attorney Lawrence G. Brown declined to comment other than in a written statement.
       "Today's charging decisions are the culmination of a comprehensive investigation of the charged plot and review of all evidence that has been gathered,"Mr Brown's statement said.
       Hundreds of supporters have rallied outside the federal courthouse in Sacramento during each of Gen Pao's court appearances since charges were brought in 2007.
       The defendants have argued that they were entrapped and believed they were being recruited by the US government to fight communists, as they had been during the Vietnam War.
       "Oh, thank God the charges were dropped," said the Reverend Sharon Stanley of Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries, who works with the Hmong community."I feel strongly that given the long history of the United States and our CIA's recruitment of General Pao and the Hmong communities, that his decision is an appropriate one."
       Former CIA chief William Colby once called Gen Pao "the biggest hero of the Vietnam War", for the 15 years he spent leading a CIA-sponsored guerrilla army.
       Charges against Gen Pao were dropped, Mr Brown's statement said,after investigators completed the timeconsuming process of translating more than 30,000 pages of documents.
       The government arrested the defendants before understanding all of the evidence because they felt a threat was imminent, he said.
       "General Pao was shocked that the United States, which he reveres and has fought and bled for, would treat him this way," said Mr Keker, a high-profile San Francisco attorney who handled the case for free.
       All those being charged live in California's Central Valley, stretching from the Sacramento area to Fresno,where a large Hmong population settled after the war.
       The indictment says the 12 defendants plotted to buy nearly $10 million in weapons from an undercover agent from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearms and Explosives. These included automatic weapons, grenades, shoulderfired missiles, anti-tank rockets, antiaircraft missiles, night vision goggles,medical kits and other arms to equip a mercenary force intent on overthrowing the communist government of Laos.
       All are charged with violating the Neutrality Act, which prohibits Americans from interfering with foreign governments. They also are charged with conspiring to export the machineguns and other weapons without a licence from the US State Department, and conspiring to kill and maim people and damage property in a foreign country.
       The highest profile defendant remaining in the case is former US army colonel Harrison Jack. He is charged with acting as a middleman between the Hmong and the federal agent.