"This study examines the CIA's "third force" strategy--providing support for a third-party alternative over two primary on-the-ground options--in East Asia during the first decade of the Cold War. The author argues that the strategy failed due to a lack of understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the region"-- Provided by publisher.

Introduction : the CIA and the Chinese Third Force during the early 1950s -- The collapse of the anticommunist resistance in China and the CIA's launch of a Third Force, 1949-1950 -- Quest for a Third Force during the Korean War, 1950-1953 -- The creation of a Third Force committee in Hong Kong, 1950-1952 -- The political wing of the Third Force : the fighting league for Chinese freedom and democracy -- The creation of a Third Force "army" in Japan, Okinawa, and Saipan -- CIA debacle : the Downey-Fecteau Third Force mission to Manchuria -- Chinese nationalist and communist reactions to the Third Force -- The demise of the Third Forces, 1953-1954 -- Conclusion : why did the CIA's Chinese Third Force project fail? -- Epilogue : "The great American dream" : the CIA and the Vietnamese Third Force in the early 1950s.