LAOS BECKONING THE UNDERTAKER " THE CLOUDS ARE STILL HANGING IN THE 
AIR AND THE WEATHER LOOKS BAD, " SAID A DIPLOMAT IN 
VIENTIANE LAST WEEK . HIS GLOOMY FORECAST WAS PROMPTED NOT BY 
THE UPCOMING RAINY SEASON, BUT BY THE FESTERING, COMMUNIST-INDUCED POLITICAL CRISIS 
THAT IS SLOWLY TURNING " NEUTRAL " LAOS INTO A RED 
SATELLITE . FOR MONTHS ON THE PLAINE DES JARRES, HEADQUARTERS OF 
BOTH THE NEUTRALIST AND COMMUNIST PATHET LAO ARMIES, THE REDS HAVE 
BEEN SLOWLY SQUEEZING THEIR FORMER NEUTRALIST ALLIES IN AN EFFORT TO 
DRIVE THEM OFF THE GRASSY PLATEAU . DEFYING LAST SUMMER'S 14-NATION 
GENEVA ACCORDS GUARANTEEING LAOTIAN NEUTRALITY, THE PATHET LAO IS STILL REINFORCED 
BY COMMUNIST VIET MINH CADRES FROM NORTH VIET NAM ; TO 
THE NORTH OF THE PLAINE DES JARRES, RED CHINESE TROOPS ARE 
BUILDING ROADS LINKING CHINA WITH RED-CONTROLLED LAOS ITSELF . SLOWLY THE 
COMMUNISTS HAVE BEEN PINCHING OFF SUPPLIES TO NEUTRALIST ARMY LEADER GENERAL 
KONG LE AND BRIBING HIS OFFICERS TO DEFECT . LAST WEEK, 
WITH KONG LE'S FOOD AND AMMUNITION RATIONS DOWN TO THE TWO-DAY 
LEVEL, THE REDS, IN A BLAZE OF GUNFIRE, SLICED OFF ANOTHER 
CHUNK OF NEUTRALIST TERRITORY AT XIENGKHOUANG, JUST SOUTH OF THE PLATEAU 
. " FOREIGN LACKEYS . " TROUBLE BEGAN WHEN THE PATHET 
LAO, SUPPORTED BY THE VIET MINH, OPENED FIRE ON A GROUP 
OF KONG LE'S SOLDIERS FISHING IN THEIR OFF-DUTY HOURS NEAR THE 
TOWN OF KHANG KHAY . THEN THE REDS ADVANCED ON THE 
NEUTRALIST STRONGHOLD AT XIENGKHOUANG, AND LAUNCHED A MORTAR BARRAGE THAT FORCED 
KONG LE'S FORCES OUT OF THE TOWN . WITH FULL-SCALE CIVIL 
WAR THREATENING TO BREAK OUT ON THE PLAINE DES JARRES, KONG 
LE EVACUATED THE WIVES AND CHILDREN OF HIS MEN TO THE 
LAOTIAN CAPITAL OF VIENTIANE, 120 MILES AWAY . AS THE BEDRAGGLED 
NEUTRALIST FORCES TRIED TO FIGHT THEIR WAY BACK TO THE PLATEAU 
FROM XIENGKHOUANG, THE REDS ATTACKED ONCE MORE WITH ARTILLERY AND BAZOOKAS, 
INFLICTING HEAVY LOSSES ON KONG LE'S TROOPS . THE TREACHEROUS RED 
ATTACKS COMPLETED THE POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION OF KONG LE, WHO ONCE WAS 
THE DARLING OF MOSCOW AND PEKING . TWO AND A HALF 
YEARS AGO, KONG LE HAD JOINED FORCES WITH THE PATHET LAO 
ON THE PLAINE DES JARRES AND WITH THEM DEMANDED THE WITHDRAWAL 
OF ALL THE WESTERN TROOPS IN LAOS . BUT CONSISTENTLY NEUTRALIST, 
KONG LE TODAY IS AS BITTERLY OPPOSED TO VIET MINH INTERVENTION 
IN LAOS AS HE HAD BEEN TO THE PRESENCE OF U.S 
. MILITARY ADVISERS LAST OCTOBER . FORTNIGHT AGO HE RAGED THAT 
THE VIET MINH WERE " FOREIGN LACKEYS " WHO HOPED TO 
MAKE LAOS THEIR BASE TO SPREAD THEIR EVIL POLICIES THOUGHOUT SOUTHEAST 
ASIA . HEART IN FRANCE . LAST WEEK KONG LE WAS 
DESPERATELY URGING HIS OLD RIGHT-WING FOES TO SEND TROOPS TO HIS 
AID ON THE PLAINE DES JARRES . BUT INEFFECTUAL NEUTRALIST PREMIER 
SOUVANNA PHOUMA FEARED THAT ANY SUCH DETERMINED ACTION MIGHT UNGLUE HIS 
TOTTERING LEFT-RIGHT-CENTER COALITION . SOUVANNA COULD NOT EVEN KEEP ORDER IN 
VIENTIANE, WHERE LAST WEEK ANOTHER TOP NEUTRALIST THE SECOND IN A 
FORTNIGHT WAS GUNNED DOWN IN HIS OWN HOUSE . " I 
DON'T KNOW WHICH FOOT TO DANCE ON, " SAID SOUVANNA PLAINTIVELY 
. " I WISH I WAS ON THE SEASHORE IN FRANCE 
WITH MY FAMILY . " AT WEEK'S END, AFTER THE REDS 
HAD CONSOLIDATED THEIR HOLD ON XIENGKHOUANG, THE INTERNATIONAL CONTROL COMMISSION OF 
CANADA, POLAND AND INDIA, WHICH HAD BEEN SET UP BY THE 
GENEVA CONFERENCE TO POLICE LAOTIAN NEUTRALITY, FINALLY GOT APPROVAL FROM THE 
PATHET LAO TO FLY INTO THE PLAINE DES JARRES ON A 
PEACEMAKING MISSION . MEANWHILE THE U.S., SHUDDERING AT THE PROSPECT OF 
ANOTHER MASSIVE MILITARY COMMITMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, WAS HOPEFUL THAT THE 
ONSET OF THE RAINY SEASON WOULD STALL OFF MAJOR HOSTILITIES . 
THE MOST THAT OPTIMISTIC U.S . OFFICIALS COULD HOPE FOR IN 
LAOS WAS A CONTINUED STALEMATE ; REALISTS FELT, HOWEVER, THAT AN 
EVENTUAL COMMUNIST TAKEOVER WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME . " 
ASKING WHAT YOU CAN DO SENSIBLY ABOUT LAOS IS LIKE ASKING 
A PATIENT CLOSE TO DEATH TO COME IN EVERY TWO MONTHS 
TO SEE WHAT HIS DOCTOR CAN DO FOR HIM, " SAID 
ONE RANKING U.S . INSIDER . " AFTER A WHILE, THERE 
IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO BUT CALL THE UNDERTAKER . / 
