191. Editorial Note
On May 10, 1962, Ambassador to Laos Winthrop Brown informed the Department of State in telegram 1534 from Vientiane that the military situation in Laos continued to deteriorate. The seizure of the provincial [Page 435] capital city of Nam Tha and its subsequent rapid exploitation by Pathet Lao/Viet Minh forces “has transformed what just prior to May 5 had begun to be a somewhat encouraging situation, into a dangerous and ugly one. The collapse of the FAR [Royal Armed Forces] on their retreat from Nam Tha has left the whole of northwest Laos open toPL/Vietminh seizure at their option.” Brown added that the refusal by the Soviets thus far to help rectify the situation was entirely consistent with the theory “that the Soviet desire for a peaceful settlement here has, to say the least, substantially diminished.” Brown argued that he did not see “how we can let this breach of cease-fire agreement and personal undertakings go without some form of positive reaction if the Russians remain indifferent to our protests.” For text, see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume XXIV, pages 735–739.