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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-08005 to 363-08008.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-08005 to 363-08008
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Title
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Article about the military situation in Laos
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Description
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Article draft about the miitary situation in Laos, for Newsweek Magazine
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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The Laos crisis is seen by most western observers as an attempt
BV
by the Communists, acting trough the dissident neutralist groups, to
HARRASS
split and
the Kong Le forces,
to push Kong Le off the Plaine des
Jarres without having to blast him off through fullscale civil war.
The Kong Le forces are poorly equipped, badly supplied and
wanting in money. So far as is known they are not being paid at all.
A French military adviser said of the situation "The Western
nations have, since the signing of the Geneva accords, been ling
Bong
Supplying
Leng Le's forces with an abundance of educational films, cultural officers
and advice. The Pathet Lao, on the other hand, have been kept y
richly supplied with food, ammunition and general supplies.
"I expect to be present at the disappearance of the Neutralist
Army as an independent force within the next few days," the officer said.
The Kong Le troops, badly supplied and low in morale because of
MAKE
this, made an appealing target for the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao are
giving supplies, food and ammunition from their own stocks to the
dissident neutralists, and have been stepping up a campaign to seduce
more Kong Le soldiers into either their own ranks or the ranks of the
dissidents either suits their purpose equally well. Now, with their
military push, they can cut off sections of tho Kong Le forces, and
bring pressure to bear on them to join the dissident or PL ranks.
Kong Le, although a tough, inspiring and pragmatic battalion
commander, is not trained to the duties of a commander-in-chief. His
staff officers are very weak, and the combination of these factors and
the area over which the neutralist forces are scattered makes his troops
a very loose-knit formation,
east to cut and scatter.
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- Page 2
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If the PL can succeed in this planto break Kong Le's power, Souvanna
Phouma's position will be weakened to such an extent that it is certain
he will resign. With no middle force, and the U.S. decision to
break off deep involvement in Laos already made, an extreme left-wing
form of neutralism, something of the order of that which might be
(Viet Cong 7
presented by the Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, will be
Nationa
the policy of the realting Laotian government
RightwingEADER NOSAUR
t
It is unlikely that Phoumi (would decide to fight, in view of the
Actively Rid
extreme doubt that the u. s. would
him, so that the present de facto partition would continue in Laos, except that
the amount of real estate held by the Communists would be increased by
their takeover of the neutralist positions. Time is on their side, as the
recruitment pattern in South Vietnam makes abundantly clear.
The basic pattern of Laos now is that there are a number of
divided and muddled factions-rightists, neutrausts, the old families eto-
and the communists. the various other factions do not know what they want
but the communists know exactly what they want, and intend to have it.
It is difficult to see how Kong Le, the only effective force
between the Communists and their goal, can continue to stand while he is
basically unaided by the west.
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- Page 3
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The big question over this latest development is why the
Communists have taken this action-despite its obvious advantages-
when with time on their side, it was obvious they would eventually
get what they wanted anyway.
the answers are regarded as having a positive and a negative
aspect.
P/Aint
There is evidence that a number of platen Des Jarres villages
formerly regarded as pro-PL have now changed their allegiance to the
neutralists. The PL must see latent danger here.
danger
The reaction to this dager has obviously been the
campaign to divide Kong Le's forces, and the fighting has followed
Kong Le's spirited reaction to this.
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- Page 4
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Some observers see the Communist sponsorship of Colonel Deuane,
Replacing Quinim Pholsena,
the dissident leader as being the start of a sustained campaign to
have Deuane finally made neutralist army commander, although the
forces he would command would not be the neutralists as they are
now known.
NEUTRALIST PREMIER
If Deuane did make this progress, Souvanna would have the
choice of either accepting him which would
Suct
mean he would
be reliant on sponsoring schemes as would have deuane's
support or resigning. Prince souvanna has a house on the cote d'azur,
where he intends to retire. If the choice comes, the cote d'azur
will have a strong appeal.
Phoumi will not fight because he has turned much of the
south of laos into an armed camp, and it is the southern provinces
homeland of his troops, for which he feels, and which hopes to
extend his lines
retain. Any move in against the communists would
and bring the full communist fury-including the vietminh who seem
about 12 feet tall to all Lao- down on him.
He is unlikely to risk this.
Copies
of a recent North Vietnamese magazine
lauded
Deuane and made much of him with an abundance of
photographs when he appeared as the Laotian representative
at a communist-type conference. Such treatment is reserved for
those likely to appear in more august roles than that of an
obscure delegate to an insignificant conference.
coup,
time
Deuane, who was with Kong Le at thee of the 1960
was known to western correspondents then as a "bully-boy" and
is known for his arrogance. He is also
well-known for his
ambition, which suits the Communists very well at this stage.
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Date
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1963
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Campaigns--Laos; Strategy
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B2, F4
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Format
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dispatches
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Collector
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
