Geneva Agreement on Laos
Geneva Agreement on Laos (1962).In Southeast Asia, Laos had descended by 1961 into a threeway civil war that was becoming internationalized as part of the Cold War. Struggling to control the country were Pathet Lao Communists, backed by North Vietnam and the Soviet Union; Souvanna Phouma's neutralist Laotian government, which at times enjoyed the favor of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and the United States; and a revolutionary committee headed by Gen. Phoumi Nosavan, which received covert support from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The administration of President John F. Kennedy believed that geography made Laos a poor place to use military force to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. Pathet Lao advances, however, suggested that covert U.S. support would be insufficient to save...
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