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 under General Thao Ma; they bombed Vientiane and then fled with half the nation's air force—eleven American-built T-28 fighter-bombers—to Thailand.

With the confusion nearly total, the Communist Pathet Lao seized the opportunity to strike. Last week some 200 of the Red troops thrust into the strategic Mekong River town of Ban Lat Hane only 20 miles north of the royal capital of Luangprabang, routing the government forces defending it. Whether it was the opening of a fresh Pathet Lao offensive or merely a hunger strike, no one could say, but hunger undoubtedly played a part. With the rice crops off 35% because of the floods, the Communists will be forced this fall to probe deeper than usual into government territory in their annual harvesting by bayonet.

Whatever the reason for the incursion, it was enough to galvanize the anti-Communists into action. They got their eleven fighter-bombers back from Thailand, though the rebellious pilots, Laos' best, stayed behind in Korat. Stiffened, the air force began airlifting soldiers up to Ban Lat Hane to drive out the invaders. And Prince Souvanna Phouma, who had returned from Europe at the news of the air force revolt, appeared at a news conference immaculately dressed in a double-breasted blue suit and white tie to give Kong Le a long-distance pat on the back, announcing that the fiery little general "is still head of the neutralist army." The prince apologetically explained that he would have spoken out sooner, but it had taken him all week long to figure out what was happening.