I have heard that the General Vang Pao had previously raised money and sent Hmong individuals into Laos in the past few years in hopes of presumably overthrowing the Laos Communist government by spying etc. I have also heard that many of them have never been heard from again presumably captured and imprisoned, tortured and/or murdered.
If this is true, was this alleged plot just the inevitable next step by the General's group in trying to recapture Laos? The attempt to buy Stinger missiles definitely has the capacity of taking down a jetliner so it is understandable that the ATF and FBI were concerned with the plot.