Laos: Gathering the Pieces

For a fortnight the anti-Communist forces in Laos have been in chaos. First, the charismatic commander of the neutralist army, General Kong Le, flew off to Thailand in a huff when three of his colonels challenged his right to give the orders. He was already unpopular because of three "dragon's eggs" given him by a superstitious peasant. Draconic rage at their theft supposedly brought floods down upon the land (TIME, Oct. 21), so his rest cure in Bangkok for what he called a "sprained arm" was likely to be lengthy. Then came a rebellion of royalist air force officers...