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Admin moved page How did the Kennedy Administration respond to the Laos Crisis between 1960-1963? to How did the Kennedy Administration respond to the Laos Crisis between 1960-1963
Kennedy appointed W. Averell Harriman as Ambassador at Large in the first days of his administration, and then formalized Harriman’s policy role in appointing him Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs the following November. Harriman took the lead in orchestrating American policy toward Laos as an international conference on Laos convened in Geneva on May 16. The fourteen nations involved included the U.S.S.R., Laos, People’s Republic of China, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Poland, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, India, Burma, Cambodia, Canada, and Thailand.
Meanwhile, the three Laotian factions conducted negotiations on the composition of a coalition government. By the following March Harriman had become disenchanted with Phoumi, and decisively shifted American policy toward a coalition government led by Souvanna Phouma. The Laotian groups reached an agreement on the composition of the coalition government on June 12, 1962, and the Geneva conference reached an agreement on the Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos on July 23. <div class="portal" style='float:right; width:35%'> ====Related Articles===={{#dpl:category=Cold War History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=6}}</div>
====Agreement created brokedown quickly====
These agreements provided for a coalition government in Laos under Souvanna Phouma, with cabinet positions distributed among the three factions. The Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and its associated protocols called for the withdrawal of all “foreign regular and irregular troops, foreign para-military formations and foreign military personnel” under the supervision of the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Laos (ICC), comprised of representatives of India, Poland, and Canada.
The ICC would operate on the principle of unanimity, a change from its practice from 1954 to 1958, when it operated under majority rules. Integration and demobilization of the three Laotian armies would be conducted by the coalition government, with neither the ICC nor other international parties overseeing or enforcing these critical activities.
These agreements broke down quickly, with lasting consequences for Laos and its neighbors.
====Conclusion====
The NVA conducted a symbolic withdrawal of 15 troops on August 27, and on October 9 North Vietnam notified the Laotian foreign ministry that their troops had been withdrawn in accordance with the Geneva agreement. However, North Vietnam continued its advisory, logistics, and combat in support of the Pathet Lao in violation of the accords. North Vietnam also continued to extend its territorial control in southern Laos to secure its logistics lines to the battle areas in South Vietnam. The United States withdrew its military advisory teams in compliance with the Geneva agreement, but in its aftermath responded to the North Vietnamese violation by supporting Meo and Thai forces, and by providing economic and military support to the Phouma government and its army.
* Republished from [https://history.state.gov/| Office of the Historian, United States Department of State]
* Article: [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/laos-crisis| The Laos Crisis, 1960–1963]
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[[Category:US State Department]] [[Category:Wikis]][[Category:United States History]] [[Category: Cold War History]] [[Category:20th Century History]] [[Category:Political History]] [[Category:Diplomatic History]] [[Category:Asian History]]
