Word: phoumi
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...months each side has had a man in Laos. The Russians back Captain Kong Le, an ebullient paratrooper who captured Vientiane back in August with a battalion-sized coup. The U.S.'s man was General Phoumi Nosavan, a cautious soldier who four weeks ago chased Captain Kong Le out of Vientiane and installed the government of Premier Boun Oum, an easygoing prince from southern Laos...
After taking the capital city of Vientiane by storm, Laos' General Phoumi Nosavan moved to town with his new Premier, easygoing Prince Boun Oum, and a clutch of U.S. "advisers." A majority of the National Assembly had already voted Boun Oum into power, and King Savang Vatthana even bestirred himself to leave the pagodas of his home town, Luangprabang, and visit the capital to give the new government his blessing. But the civil war in Laos was in fact no nearer to an end than ever-and at week's end the Communists were moving ominously to intensify...
...Deputy. The Russians insisted their aid was perfectly legal, having been requested by the government of neutralist Premier Souvanna Phouma before he was ousted by Phoumi. But the blatant Russian airdrops were plainly designed to alarm the U.S.'s allies, and they succeeded. Both British and French were frankly appalled at the spectacle of the U.S. and Russia shaping up toward another "war by deputy" on the Korean model. The British argued for a cease-fire and a neutralist Laos with a coalition government that would include the pro-Communist Pathet Lao. They even sent a note to Nikita...
...jungle, Russian Ilyushin planes flying from North Viet Nam dropped supplies to his troops; his route of march would take him straight to the royal capital of Luang-prabang, where torpid King Savang Vatthana has sat for five months treating the whole civil war with lofty disdain. But General Phoumi made no attempt to pursue, airily declared that his jungle garrisons would take care of Kong Le along the way. General Phoumi's only announced policy is to "transform all Laotians into Laotians" (i.e., non-Communists). To which Prince Boun Oum added this sage advice: "One can get medicine...
Over stout objections from the British and French that the only feasible course for apathetic Laos was Kong Le-style neutralism, the U.S. had pushed for and helped secure the victory for General Phoumi. But once ensconced in Vientiane, Phoumi (who is a second cousin and staunch admirer of pro-Western Strongman Sarit Thanarat in neighboring Thailand) showed no more zeal than any of his predecessors for running the Communists to ground. Though he is described as a "strongman," was he strong enough, or determined enough, to battle the Pathet Lao into submission and enforce peace? It seemed doubtful. Perhaps...