Introduction

On 5 November 1991 Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Richard Cheney testified before
the Senate Select Committee on Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA)
Affairs concerning the possibility of live POWs in Southeast Asia (SEA). In his
testimony Secretary Cheney said:

The effort to account as fully as possible for
our POWs and MIAs is not an easy one. Our most
urgent requirement is to determine whether any
Americans remain captive in SEA and if so, to
return them to the United States. The issue of
live prisoners has been at the forefront of our
intelligence effort and in our negotiations with
the governments of Indochina. [1]  

On 18 November 1991 an independent study was commissioned by secretary Cheney

----------

1. Testimony of SecDef on 5 November 1991 to the Senate Select committee on
POW/MIA Affiars called: "The POW/MIA Effort: Our Fullest Support".