Universe Unraveling

Seth Jacobs

Description

During the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, Laos was positioned to become a major front in the Cold War. Yet American policymakers ultimately chose to resist communism in neighboring South Vietnam instead. Two generations of historians have explained this decision by citing logistical considerations. According to the accepted account, Laos's landlocked, mountainous terrain made the kingdom an unpropitious place to fight, while South Vietnam-possessing a long coastline, navigable rivers, and all-weather roads-better accommodated America's military forces. The Universe Unraveling is a provocative reinterpretation of U.S.-Lao relations in the years leading up to the Vietnam War. Seth Jacobs argues that Laos boasted several advantages over South Vietnam as a battlefield, notably its thousand-mile border with Thailand and the fact that the Thai premier was willing to allow Washington to use his nation as a base from which to attack the communist Pathet Lao. More significant in determining U.S. policy in Southeast Asia than strategic appraisals of the Lao landscape were cultural perceptions of the Lao people. Jacobs contends that U.S. policy toward Laos under Eisenhower and Kennedy cannot be understood apart from the traits Americans ascribed to their Lao allies. Drawing on diplomatic correspondence, contemporary press coverage, and the work of iconic figures like "celebrity saint" Tom Dooley, Jacobs finds that the characteristics American statesmen and the American media attributed to the Lao-laziness, immaturity, ignorance, imbecility, and cowardice-differed from traits assigned the South Vietnamese and made Lao chances of withstanding communist aggression appear dubious. The Universe Unraveling provides a new perspective on how prejudice can shape policy decisions and even the course of history.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• United States of America
• Diplomacy
• International relations
• Southeast Asia
• History of the Americas
• History of Asia
• États-Unis
• Diplomatie (homonymie)
• Laos

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801464041
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

THE UNIVERSE UNRAVELING

A volume in the series

The United States in the World

Edited by Mark Philip Bradley, David C. Engerman, and Paul A. Kramer

A list of titles in this series is available at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

THE UNIVERSE UNRAVELING

American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos

Seth Jacobs

Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

Publication of this book was made possible, in part, by a grant from Boston College.

Copyright © 2012 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2012 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jacobs, Seth, 1964–  The universe unraveling : American foreign policy in Cold War Laos / Seth Jacobs.  p. cm. — (The United States in the world)  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801445477 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. United States—Foreign relations—Laos. 2. Laos— Foreign relations—United States. 3. United States—Foreign relations—1953–1961. 4. United States—Foreign relations— 1961–1963. I. Title. II. Series: United States in the world. E183.8.L3J33 2012 327.730594090'04—dc23 2011045122

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my father and mother

If you want to get a sense of the universe unraveling, come to Laos.

Norman Cousins, Saturday Review , 1961

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction 1. “A Long Country Inhabited by Lotus Eaters”: Washington Encounters Laos 2. “A Soft Buffer”: Laos in the Eisenhower Administration’s Grand Strategy 3. “Help the Seemingly Unhelpable”: “Little America” and the U.S. Aid Program in Laos 4. “Foreigners Who Want to Enslave the Country”: American Neocolonialism, Lao Defiance 5. “Doctor Tom” and “Mister Pop”: American Icons in Laos 6. “Retarded Children”: Laos in the American Popular Imagination 7. “No Place to Fight a War”: Washington Backs Away from Laos Epilogue

ix

1

21

50

82

129 171

209 235 271

viii

Notes Index

Contents

275 303

Acknowledgments

There is always a tension in this part of a book’s front matter between the need to be brief and the desire to thank everyone. I choose to err on the side of brevity. Apologies to those friends and mentors unacknowledged by name. You know who you are. My colleagues at Boston College were supportive and empathetic through out the five years it took to complete this project. Lynn Lyerly in particular furnished extensive feedback and lent her talents to the thankless task of editing my adjectiveladen, oftdigressive prose. Courteous professionals staffed all the archives I visited, with Stephen Plotkin and John Waide de serving special mention. Michael McGandy, Ange RomeoHall, and Sarah Grossman of Cornell University Press were essential in getting the manu script into publishable form. Mark Bradley and Andrew Rotter helped me expand and clarify my argument and saved me from numerous errors. I am indebted to Howard Buell, who allowed me to peruse his father’s correspondence and who, along with his wife, Bonnie, hosted me during my stay in Hamilton, Indiana. Jeff Buell was a priceless source of information and anecdote. Charles Stevenson, who wrote his dissertation on U.S.Lao relations over forty years ago and interviewed dozens of policymakers for that work, kindly supplied me with transcripts and other relevant materials.