Word: monsoon
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LIKE some cosmic drum roll, the rumble of thunder accompanied the wild winds and torrential rains that swept across most of Indochina last week, heralding the advent of the southwesterly monsoon. From the air, thousands of acres of paddyland glistened in the infrequent sunshine like a vast mirror. By the time the storms abate in October they will have dumped up to 150 inches of rain on the region, turning the ground into a muddy sponge and swelling the majestic Mekong River to flood stage as it courses through Laos, Cambodia and South Viet...
With roads washed out, bogging down allied and Communist troops alike, and with low ceilings grounding helicopters and jets much of the time, the monsoon has traditionally brought a welcome respite to Indochina's battlefields. On the U.S. side, a slowdown in activity was already evident at the beginning of the month as the withdrawal proceeded; in the week ending June 5, American fatalities fell to 19, the lowest seven-day toll since October 1965. Yet U.S. officials in Saigon are particularly concerned as the monsoon season begins this year. In selected areas, Communist troops are not only maintaining...
SUMMER nights in Vientianc before the monsoon comes are hot and muggy and seem to drag on forever. After 8 p.m. bored Westerners and occasional wealthy Laotians congregate in one of the city's small bars, the most notable of which is White Rose's. With only about ten small tables, White Rose plays host to male refugees from America's involvement in Laos-USAID workers, Air America pilots, correspondents from the American press, eleventh-hour French and U.S. businessmen...
...monsoon came while I was in Luang Prabang. One rainy night I went with a young USAID agricultural worker to try out the area's traditional specialty, opium. Laos's opium, which is legal, is reputed to be the best in the world...
...journey to Dacca, I found astonishing unanimity on the Bengali desire for independence and a determination to resist the Pakistan army with whatever means available. "We will not be slaves," said one resistance officer, "so there is no choice but to fight until we win." The oncoming monsoon rains and the Islamabad government's financial problems will also work in favor of Bangla Desh. As the months pass and such hardships increase, Islamabad may have to face the fact that unity by force of arms is not exactly the Pakistan that Jinnah had in mind...