Word: laotians
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...fighting crackles on for days. The jittery Laotian government starts negotiations with the Communists and withdraws the 1963 "request" that permits the U.S. to bomb the North Vietnamese infiltration routes in Laos. In the U.S., public opinion is electrified by a series of shocking South Vietnamese defeats. The doves of the Senate take wing once again. Half a dozen Democratic presidential aspirants declare Vietnamization a farce, demand an immediate US. pullout, and gleefully await the President's humiliation in the primaries...
...Laotian situation has already turned ominous; last week, as enemy forces cut the road between Vientiane and Luang Prabang, the royal capital, Premier Souvanna Phouma was reported to be wondering gloomily whether "we'll have to give up." But when would the predicted offensive begin in South Viet Nam, which remains Hanoi's main objective? There is some speculation that the Communist troops poised along the country's borders may not move for months, preferring to psych Saigon with what the military calls a "credible threat" rather than risk heavy casualties in an open fight. But most...
...some time, Hanoi has been making meticulous preparations to do just that. Four North Vietnamese divisions are stationed along South Viet Nam's northern borders within easy reach of newly built roads running into the country across the Laotian border and through the Demilitarized Zone. Hanoi's crack 320th Division has been spotted moving south, along with some 50 tanks, toward South Viet Nam's weak Military Region II (the Central Highlands), where the main Communist thrust is expected. Already, three North Vietnamese regiments are grouped in Binh Dinh province, which is rated as the least secure...
When the monsoon skies cleared a month or so ago, the infiltration and the Laotian air war started up again with dry-season intensity. This time, however, the Communists were ready with a vastly improved air-defense setup. The Ho Chi Minh Trail, once a relatively safe run for U.S. pilots, has become a gauntlet of fire that bristles with a variety of antiaircraft weapons. Overlooking the trail from the North Vietnamese border are 22 SAM-2 battalions with more than 130 launchers; their 30-mile-range missiles pose a serious threat to nimble fighters as well as lumbering...
Even so, it is still true that aircraft alone cannot save a weak fighting force. The Communists proved that again last week when despite fierce U.S. air attacks, they easily brushed Thai and Laotian troops from the strategic Plain of Jars, as they do every year when the monsoon rains subside and the skies clear...