A tableau at Vientiane airport last week demonstrated a classic example of the U.S. quandary in dealing with neutrals (see box). U.S. Assistant Secretary of State J. Graham Parsons flew into the Laotian capital and was met by a single protocol officer and a handful of U.S. newsmen. Next day, Soviet Ambassador Aleksandr Abramov stepped from his plane to be greeted by a U.S.-trained honor guard and a line of kneeling girls in sarongs who offered him silver bowls heaped with flowers. Also amiably on hand to greet the Russian: slim Captain...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
