Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXVIII, Laos

78. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Laos¹

Washington, June 6, 1964, 6:09 p.m.

1144. Our exchanges with you today have of course related to PDJ missions. We have held off in authorizing any further Tchepone missions until we have decided on policy about escort.

Defense Dept. view is that Tchepone operations should not continue without escort. However, we recognize that such escort would involve possible firing on targets in eastern Laos in areas where Souvanna has never appealed for our reconnaissance and where Hanoi has made no complaint nor have we ourselves acknowledged them. International defense these flights can be made on grounds infiltration violates Geneva Accords, but case clearly more difficult in absence Souvanna request.

We can take more time on this decision than over questions of continuing and escorting PDJ flights. However, we need your judgment by Monday whether you believe Souvanna is in fact aware that we are conducting the Tchepone area flights and how he would feel about escort for them.² Experience to date is that these flights have encountered very little reaction and that only one out of nearly fifty has in fact been fired upon. We have impression Communists and perhaps Souvanna treating this area as almost a no-man’s land where rules need not be quite so strict as elsewhere.

In accordance with your 1537 we have authorized escorted missions in PDJ for June 7.³ Press release contained septel.⁴ As you will see, we simply did not think we could plausibly claim RLAF doing protection. We hope our exact measures will not become known except to Communist side for at least a few days but of course cannot guarantee against leaks here. In any case we will review future frequency PDJ operations tomorrow having in mind all factors including allied reaction.

Rusk

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret; Immediate; Limdis. Drafted by William Bundy, cleared in substance with McNamara and U. Alexis Johnson, and approved by William Bundy. Repeated to CINCPAC, Bangkok, and Saigon.
2. In telegram 1548 from Vientiane, June 7, Unger stated that there was no mandate from Souvanna to reconnoiter the Laos corridor. Unger believed that Souvanna would not agree to it, nor to armed escorts. Unger recommended “quietly continuing corridor flights to extent this is considered necessary but not put on escort.” (Ibid.)
3. See footnote 2, Document 76.
4. Telegram 1148 to Vientiane, June 6. (Department of State, Central Files, INT 6 PHOTO LAOS) The text of the statement indicated that these flights were at the request of the Lao Government of National Union and would continue at its request. The statement concluded with the information that the Royal Lao and U.S. Governments were consulting about measures required for protection of these flights. (Department of State Bulletin, June 29, 1964, p. 994)