WASHINGTON, D.C. (LNS)—Laos hit the front pages of the nation’s dailies recently with a story about how “U.S.-backed” troops took over liberated areas in new counter-offensives.
The very phrase “U.S.-backed” could not help but remind readers of the early years of the conflict in Vietnam.
“In a very real sense,” a diplomatic source told The New York Times, “the war in Vietnam is now being fought in Laos.”
The new reports of the conflict in Laos revealed that U.S. money, arms and personnel are already deeply implicated. A CIA agent was killed by gunfire recently at an “advanced post,” while other agents, Army officers and thousands of so-called technicians are in the middle of the action.
There are as many as 500 bombing missions by B-52s flown daily, The Times reported.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate adopted legislation designed to prevent U.S. troops from being committed to Laos or Thailand.
Some Senators indicated that the vote might be meaningless. And so it seemed. There are already 45,000 U.S. troops in Thailand.
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See Fifth Estate’s Vietnam Resource Page.