Under the 1962 Geneva Agreement, Laos was to be officially neutral and foreign powers were required to desist from any military activities on its soil. Although these provisions had been violated for years by North Vietnam and the United States, a fig-leaf of “neutrality” was still in place. This had enabled Phouma to remain in power by imposing some restraints on his domestic and international adversaries. If thousands of South Vietnamese soldiers came pouring over the border, State Department officials feared it would be the death-knell for the regime.
