U.S. “direction” in Laos

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32522, 4 February 1971, Page 11

U.S. “direction” in Laos

(By TAMMY ARBUCKLE, of the "Washington Star," through N.ZP.A.) VIENTIANE (Laos), February 3. Laotian military sources said yesterday that Americans in Thailand were directing the operations of Laotian guerrilla units in the most exposed places of the war, -from Long Chien in the north to the Bolovens Plateau in the south.

“Americans pick up the radio, and tell the units what to do. It is nothing to do with us,” a member of the General Staff of the Royal Laotian Army said. This was the first time that Laotian military men had ad mitted that Americans had a command role in the fighting They said that the Americans operated from Udom, a base in north-east Thailand. The admission came on the heels of the disclosure by Right-wing Laotian generals that an agreement existed foi South Vietnamese interven tion in southern Laos. The generals were also said to have made similar agreements with Thailand.

The generals had earlier said that if either Long Chien or the Bolovens Plateau fell, they would reject the neutrality of the Prime Minister (Prince Souvanna Phouma) and form an official alliance with Saigon, Bangkok and Phnom Penh against Hanoi. American officials in Vientiane asserted that the Rightwing generals were making these statements to embarrass Prince Souvanna. American ambassadors in Vientiane for years have pledged support for the Prince while supplying the Right-wing generals with money, arms and encouragement, and allowing the Neutralist Army to dwindle.

The result has been that the Prince has become a figurehead.