World: Cambodia: Toward War by Proxy

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Elaborating on that point, President Nguyen Van Thieu told TIME Correspondent Dan Coggin: "We cannot stay too long over there. Yet in the long run, we may also have to help them to prepare to defend themselves." Moreover, said Thieu, "if we continue to discover caches, we must stay there to clean up. We cannot let them go back to the Viet Cong." When asked whether the Cambodian incursion would set back the enemy by as much as six months or even a year, Thieu replied: "Oh, more than that, more than that. They can still infiltrate from the North, but it will not be enough to sustain the momentum of the war."

Suggested Scenario. Actually, there is plenty of reason to believe that the last thing the U.S. wants is to pull ARVN back from Cambodia. The country would probably fall to the Communists in short order if it were left to fight the Communists on its own. One scenario suggested by observers: The U.S. formally asks South Viet Nam to withdraw its troops by June 30. Thieu refuses, thereby guaranteeing continued ARVN support for the Lon Nol regime, while dissociating the U.S. from any further violation of Cambodian "neutrality." The U.S. throws up its hands, noting that it cannot order its allies about−but also points out that such a feisty show of independence is heartening proof that Vietnamization is really working. As of last week, the U.S. had not even brought up the subject of withdrawal plans with the South Vietnamese. Saigon and Phnom-Penh, moreover, are close to an agreement on military aid. Under the terms, Saigon would at the very minimum help train Cambodian troops and provide ARVN forces to help secure the highway approaches to Phnom-Penh.

Other Asian countries are also expected to aid Cambodia. The Thais are extremely uneasy about the Communists who are seeking refuge in the Cardamom Mountains along their eastern border, and they are sending a 30-man delegation to Phnom-Penh this week to size up Cambodia's needs. Indonesia and South Korea may also lend a hand. As for the U.S., Administration spokesmen insist that Washington will stick to its pledge to avoid direct support of the Lon Nol regime. Still there were suspicions that the U.S. would provide air support beyond June 30.

Low-Key Celebration. In some quarters, including the U.S. State Department, there is deep concern that prolonged ARVN involvement in Cambodia could eventually upset Vietnamization. The Communists, meanwhile, have yet to substantiate a related criticism−that the Cambodian operation will directly imperil South Viet Nam. Across South Viet Nam last week, the enemy did try to mount a special one-day "high point" with rocket and mortar attacks on 64 towns and outposts. But even with nearly 60,000 U.S. and ARVN troops off in Cambodia, the sputtering high added up to a very low-key celebration of Ho Chi Minn's 80th birthday.