A Price Too High

Peace of a sort settled upon the Asian kingdom of Laos. An uneasy cessation of actual shooting, it stirred in Washington an audible whew of relief. But it was relief without joy--for the cease-fire in Laos came as a cold war defeat for the U.S. A 14-nation peace conference, scheduled to convene in Geneva in mid-May, will doubtless declare Laos "neutral." But Western experts, with discouraging unanimity, agree that such a Laos--with a Communist sympathizer at the head of the government, with Communists in posts of governmental power, and with Communist troops already holding half the nation--will quickly go behind the Iron Curtain. Yet it was only seven weeks ago that President Kennedy said in a televised press conference: "The security of all Southeast Asia will be endangered if Laos loses its neutral independence. Its own safety runs with the safety of us all."

Behind the Doors. Before the shooting stopped, the Administration held five National Security Council meetings in ten days. Newspaper headlines suggested that behind those closed doors last week the men of the New Frontier were debating about whether to send U.S. troops to Laos to halt the advancing Pathet Lao guerrillas. Said the Washington Post: KENNEDY, ADVISERS WEIGH INTERVENTION IN LAOS. In fact, nothing of the sort was happening: the NSC did not even consider U.S. military intervention in Laos as a serious alternative. In his inaugural address. President Kennedy had declared that the U.S. would "pay any price" to "assure the survival and success of liberty." But to the Kennedy Administration, the price in Laos seemed too high--and it felt uncertain of the results.

Thailand and the Philippines, U.S. allies in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, were ready and willing to send troops into Laos if the U.S. would also commit forces. But Britain and France threw their weight against intervention, and U.S. Army generals counseled that jungly, mountainous Laos, with few roads, only two usable airstrips and no coastline, was an awkward place for the U.S. to fight. Democratic leaders in Congress also opposed intervention. "I don't think the terrain and conditions are right for sending in our troops," said Arkansas' William Fulbright, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Even apart from the nay-saying counsels from London, Paris, the Pentagon and Capitol Hill, the White House was wary enough on its own. After the damage done to prestige by the bungled invasion of Cuba, the Administration felt that it could not afford to take any risks in Laos. And so, far from debating whether to go into Laos, the NSC discussed how to get out of the embattled kingdom with the least possible embarrassment. The decision to withdraw dismayed Laos' pro-Western neighbors, Thailand and South Viet Nam. "If Laos goes to the Communists," warned the Bangkok World, "there will be a readjustment of thinking in Southeast Asia, and it won't be to the advantage of the West."

On the Sea. With Laos all but written off, the Administration is confronted with deciding whether or not to take a stand in Communism's next Southeast Asia target: South Viet Nam, already infested with Communist guerrillas and terrorists (see THE WORLD). The geography and politics are more favorable than in Laos: South Viet Nam faces on the sea, and the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem is intensely committed to the task of fighting Communism.

The Administration indicated that it means to stand firm in South Viet Nam, and it announced a $41 million increase in funds for military aid. But a boost in aid funds cannot alone preserve the freedom of South Viet Nam. The U.S. poured some $310 million into little Laos during the past six years, yet that was not enough. If the U.S. is to save South Viet Nam, it must be willing to get far more deeply involved--to the point of fighting, if necessary. Secretary of State Dean Rusk told a press conference last week that "questions of defense, in a situation such as Viet Nam, cannot be dealt with solely in military terms." Perhaps not. But neither is Southeast Asia going to be saved by words.

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