Word: pathetically
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...Laos, Communist Pathet Lao troops had driven U.S.-endorsed neutralist forces off the strategic Plain of Jars and threatened to carry clear to the Thai border. In Cambodia, while Prince Sihanouk was howling about U.S. and South Vietnamese border violations, Communist Viet Cong guerrillas were enjoying sanctuary and transit rights to facilitate their war against the U.S.-backed government in Saigon. And in South Viet Nam, in the war into which the U.S. has poured both blood and billions, the struggle against the Reds was steadily deteriorating...
Heavy fighting suddenly erupted on the Plain of Jars, and, as usual, the Communist Pathet Lao severely punished the neutralist army commanded by plucky little General Kong Le. Once again, it seemed like the end of what ever remained of Laotian neutrality, supposedly guaranteed by the Geneva agreement, which in 1962 had been solemnly signed by 14 nations, including Soviet Russia. And, once again, the Laotian government of neutralist Prince Souvanna Phouma seemed on the verge of toppling...
Leader of the Revolutionary Committee was Rightist General Kouprasith Abhay, 38, a fervent anti-Communist and pillar of the local Rotary Club who won 1960's Battle of Vientiane; he thus blocked the neutralists and pro-Communist Pathet Lao, only to have his victory stalemated by the 1962 Geneva agreement that established Laos's neutralist regime. The coup leaders were a pair of strange birds, even for the wild aviary of Southeast Asia: Kouprasith is a nervous strongman with a pet baby elephant, an incipient ulcer and a reliance on sedatives; Siho plays the dandy, wears three gold...
...were delighted by the prospect of a right-wing regime in Laos; but the U.S. argues that such a government simply could not maintain itself in power. The Reds, who were at least theoretically members of Souvanna's coalition, would go back on the warpath. And since the Pathet Lao already control nearly two-thirds of the country, further fighting might only lead to total Communist control...
Souvanna was persuaded to accept the terms. Still to be heard from, however, was Souvanna's halfbrother, Prince Souphanouvong, leader of the Pathet Lao. One of his spokesmen accused the junta of "sabotage" and indicated that the Pathet Lao was ready to make plenty of trouble. Souphanouvong could still refuse to stay in the modified government. If so, the demon under the Thai Dam temple may yet come forth...