J. Vinton Lawrence

Who is J. Vinton Lawrence?

J. Vinton "Vint" Lawrence is a former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary officer from their elite Special Activities Division. Under the name of "James Vinton", he was stationed in Laos from 1962 to 1966 and had a close relationship with the Hmong leader Vang Pao in the U.S. war in Southeast Asia. Lawrence's CIA colleague in Laos was the CIA paramilitary expert Anthony Poshepny.

Lawrence is married to National Public Radio reporter Anne Garrels. His letters to her during her time in Baghdad, Iraq, during the 2003 U.S. invasion of that country, are included in her book, Naked in Baghdad. He has toured with her and shared the podium with her during her book readings. He and his wife received an AudioFile Earphones Award for their narration. Currently an artist by profession, he occasionally writes about U.S. foreign policy issues.