Before The Quagmire: American Intervention In Laos 1954-1961

by William J. Rust

In the decade preceding the first U.S. combat operations in Vietnam, the Eisenhower administration sought to defeat a communist-led insurgency in neighboring Laos. Although U.S. foreign policy in the 1950s focused primarily on threats posed by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, the American engagement in Laos evolved from a small cold war skirmish into a superpower confrontation near the end of President Eisenhower's second term. Ultimately, the American experience in Laos foreshadowed many of the mistakes made by the United States in Vietnam in the 1960s.

In Before the Quagmire: American Intervention in Laos, 1954–1961 , William J. Rust delves into key policy decisions made in Washington and their implementation in Laos, which became first steps on the path to the wider war in Southeast Asia. Drawing on previously untapped archival sources, Before the Quagmire documents how ineffective and sometimes self-defeating assistance to Laotian anticommunist elites reflected fundamental misunderstandings about the country's politics, history, and culture. The American goal of preventing a communist takeover in Laos was further hindered by divisions among Western allies and U.S. officials themselves, who at one point provided aid to both the Royal Lao Government and to a Laotian general who plotted to overthrow it. Before the Quagmire is a vivid analysis of a critical period of cold war history, filling a gap in our understanding of U.S. policy toward Southeast Asia and America's entry into the Vietnam War.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting review of the Eisenhower Administration's dealing with Laos and the attempt to ward off the Communists. This is not the best written book and dealt with research from other books. There are not a ton of books about Laos, so the pickings are slim.

[Shu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is quite a good book to know what happened in Lao during that 7 years from the politics' perspectives. Readers won't feel bored when they read the smooth,logical description.

Dilemma, Betraying, Being misinterpreted by the wrongly selected people, Cold War Background,Cultural differences, Lack of communication all combined together, leading to the failure of US Indo-china policy (Lao and Vietnam ultimately fell into communism). Nowadays, President Obama is proposing "the strategy of returing to Asia" in a big way. The story of this book can be a very meaningful reference for this strategy.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

America's intervention in Laos (and Indochina in general) is a complete fiasco. The communists won exactly because of their meddling. You can see the exact formula, that there was so many bickering in it. The US Ambassador locked horns with CIA, the anti-communist Laotian bickering among themselves, I wonder could communists won if the anti-communists were more united, and without America's interference?

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding the how the USA militarily came to be involved in Vietnam almost requires understanding the strategic importance of Laos. Both the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations believed that losing Laos would result in losing Vietnam as well, and they were correct. "Before The Quagmire" describes in detail how Laos was lost to Western influence. Readers familiar with the dawn and prosecution of The Cold War may sympathize with the diplomats involved, particularly J. Graham Parsons whose career was tarnished by his service in Laos. There were no good choices, only bad choices and worse choices, and every choice leavened with the potential of hot war erupting with either China, or Russia, or both, and the potential nuclear consequences.

Readers familiar with characters involved in The Secret War will be delighted with the short but highly complimentary reference to Bill Lair.