US embassy cable - 04RANGOON1443

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001443 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2014 
TAGS: SNAR, EAID, EAGR, PREL, MOPS, BM, NGO, Ethnics 
SUBJECT: A VISIT TO PROJECT OLD SOLDIER 101 
 
Classified By: CDA, a.i RONALD K. MCMULLEN FOR REASONS 1.5 (b,d) 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  INL-funded Project Old Soldier 101, a 
crop-substitution program founded by WWII veterans of OSS 
Detachment 101, appears to be doing an excellent job 
providing farmers profitable alternatives to raising opium 
poppies in the rugged hills of northeastern Burma. 
Approximately 4,000 farmers, many of whom previously planted 
opium poppies, participate in Project 101 agricultural 
training and/or farmers cooperatives.  Emboff traveled to 
this isolated region in early November, the first USG 
official to visit the project site in over five years.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) World War Two Vets Giving Back: 
 
Veterans of OSS Detachment 101, after fighting alongside 
thousands of Kachin Rangers during WWII, initiated an 
agriculture program to assist their former brothers-in-arms 
and their families in escaping the downward spiral of opium 
poppy production and drug addiction.  Since 1996 this 
projected has been funded by an INL grant to the veterans 
group and has evolved into a highly successful crop 
substitution program and agriculture extension service 
reaching thousands of hill-tribe families in northeastern 
Burma. 
 
3. (C) Stealthy Program: 
 
Project 101 formerly had an American director and a number of 
temporary American volunteer extension agents, all of whom 
were ordered out of the country by the GOB in the late 1990s. 
 Since then the program has managed to continue, even thrive, 
thanks to the stealthy organizational skills and technical 
expertise of its local director, Ms. Nang Ja.  The GOB feigns 
not to be aware of the ongoing existence of Project 101, 
although we know that a few mid-level GOB officials have 
relatives who live in the region and participate in the 
program.  Many of the Project 101 co-ops are formed by Kachin 
Baptist and Catholic congregations that provide 
organizational cover for the project,s activities. 
 
 
4. (C) Kachin Dynamo: 
 
The project,s energetic director, Nang Ja, is the daughter 
of a WWII Kachin Ranger.  She and her dedicated staff of 38 
field agents provide training and develop farmers co-ops in 
northern and northeastern Burma.  Project 101 imports 
high-yield seed corn, fertilizer, insecticide, and herbicide; 
it then provides these relatively expensive inputs to its 
trainees and sells them on a cost-recovery basis to former 
trainees who organize themselves into 20-member farmer 
cooperatives.  The project extends a revolving credit fund to 
the co-ops that allows members to purchase agricultural 
inputs in bulk, repaying the loans when the crop is harvested 
and sold. 
 
5. (U) Poppy Free Pledge: 
 
Emboff talked to many farmers who as recently as 2001 were 
raising opium poppies.  Project 101 requires a &poppy free8 
pledge from trainees and co-op members and has been a major 
factor in virtually eliminating opium poppy production from 
the project region.  Farmers claimed they could turn a 100% 
profit on the high-cost, high-yield hybrid corn imported from 
Thailand.  This bright orange corn variety is commonly 
referred to as &101 corn8 in northern Shan State and 
fetches nearly six dollars a bushel in this grain-deficient 
border region. 
 
6. (C) Post-MI, Good Timing for Visit: 
 
Post was very careful not to jeopardize the project by 
raising its profile with the GOB; Emboff requested and 
received GOB permission to travel to this sensitive border 
region to, inter alia, inspect UN-supported projects in the 
area.  Local staff members said that the timing of the 
embassy visit was fortuitous, given the (temporary?) demise 
of Military Intelligence (MI) - &we are so happy the 
informants are gone,8 said one 101 staffer.  In fact, the 
dismantling of MI structures along the Chinese border yielded 
a surprisingly relaxed border-crossing atmosphere.  In two 
different locations Emboff sauntered over to the Chinese side 
of the border, chatted with PLA officers, and returned to 
Burma without any Burmese immigration official saying a word 
or even looking at Emboff.  Burmese Customs authorities, on 
the other hand, were completely unloading scores of heavy 
cargo trucks, creating six-day backlogs at some locations. 
 
7.  (C) Comment:  Project 101 is thriving amid very difficult 
circumstances and keeping former poppy farmers from returning 
to their illegal activities.  It is doing good while doing 
well.  Besides accomplishing its counter-narcotics goals, the 
project is also helping thousands of poor farmers provide a 
better life for their families; many have a father or 
grandfather who risked life and limb to serve alongside U.S. 
troops in World War Two.  The warmth with which these old 
veterans, their children, and grandchildren greeted visiting 
Emboff was striking.  Project 101 might serve as a model for 
other programs fostering U.S. objectives in Burma - despite 
operating without official GOB sanction.  End Comment. 
 
MCMULLEN