376. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State1
8346. 1. Together with AIRA, ARMA, and CAS Station Chief, I paid brief visit August 7 to General Vang Pao in his mountain headquarters at Long Thien. Purpose of visit was to award posthumous legion of merit to widow of Captain Moua Chong who, as “tall man,” had acted as highly successful controller for USAF strike activity until his death in 1966.
2. It was my first chance to see Vang Pao at his headquarters since my return to Laos July 1, although I have seen him twice in the past few weeks in Vientiane and Luang Prabang. (His visits to these cities and his far easier relations with general staff represent considerable improvement in Lao-Meo relations over past couple of years.)
3. I found Vang Pao energetic and active as usual, with great deal of his time devoted to problems of resettled Meo who have become his charges. He now has nearly 50,000 of them in the hills and valleys near his headquarters. However, these cares do not deter him from military [Page 738] plans on the frontiers of his region, especially in Sam Neua and Xieng Khouang.
4. He regards Sam Neua as fairly well lost, and although he will continue to mount operations there, these will be largely intelligence, psychological, and harassing raids. He hopes to rebuild a few selected areas of guerilla strength, but indicated no plans for major holding operations in that northeasternmost province.
5. His attention, as usual, is concentrated primarily on Xieng Khouang Province, and specifically on the Plaine des Jarres. He outlined plans to re-establish positions and to mount campaigns which would effectively encircle the plain. While he gave no time frame for these operations, he is starting two or three of them in this rainy season.
6. In general, he feels the quality of North Vietnamese troops he is facing has deteriorated. He assumes that many of the more experienced have been sent to South Viet Nam and notes the presence of greater number of ethnic minorities (especially Thai Dam) among his adversaries. He feels these are liable to psychological persuasion and is intensifying his efforts in this field.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 6–6 Laos. Secret; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon, and CINCPAC.↩