Why did the U.S. turn on Hmong resistance Gen. Vang Pao? By Jeffrey Brody, JEFFREY BRODY is a professor of communications at Cal State Fullerton. June 18, 2007, From the Los Angeles Times, Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times I FIRST MET Gen. Vang Pao about 20 years ago, when he was traveling across the United States raising money for Hmong resistance fighters in Laos. Apparently not any more.