190. Editorial Note
At the 374th meeting of the National Security Council on July 31, Allen Dulles began the meeting with the briefing on “Significant World Developments Affecting U.S. Security,” which touched on efforts in Laos to form a new government. The relevant portion of the briefing and discussion reads as follows:
“Turning to the Far East, Mr. Dulles reported that efforts were being made to form a new government in Laos. A new and dynamic group, the Committee for the Defense of National Interests, was trying to get more support, but would probably receive a maximum of five seats in the Cabinet. The Committee was anti-Communist and was [Page 472] being quietly supported by the United States. Most of the Cabinet members would probably be the same old political hacks, whose continued rule will probably result in an eventual Communist take-over.
“The recognition of Communist China by Cambodia was no surprise, said Mr. Dulles. Prime Minister Sihanouk of Cambodia was an extraordinary person, who acted on impulse rather than reason. He had long felt the need for accommodation with Communist China, and had been influenced by the conflict between Cambodia and South Vietnam resulting from South Vietnam intrusions into Cambodian territory along the border. The Cambodian Prime Minister had a strong antipathy to South Vietnam.
“The President asked whether there were marked ethnic and language differences between Cambodia and South Vietnam. Mr. Dulles said there were marked differences between the two countries, although the Thai language spread through both. The President noted that Laos was one of the few landlocked countries in the world, and wondered why it was not a part of some other country—for example, Thailand. Mr. Dulles said it would be difficult to make Laos a part of Thailand because the Thais were not strong enough to absorb Laos. The President said he had not meant that we should attempt to unite the two countries; he merely wondered why, historically, the countries in the area were not united. Mr. Dulles replied that one reason lay in the fact that the French, when they ruled the area, wished to have a number of separate countries.” (Memorandum of discussion by Boggs, August 1; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)