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Mincing Machine. To be sure, Johnson did muster some significant support during the week. In London, Prime Minister Harold Wilson told the House of Commons that while he was opposed to proposals for intensifying the war, such as an invasion of North Viet Nam, he was 100% convinced of Washington's genuine desire for peace. In Washington, Laotian Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma declared during a White House luncheon that he, for one, was "grateful that you came to Indo-China to help us survive," for "if tomorrow South Viet Nam became Communist, all that would be left for us to do would be simply to pack up and go." Added the neutralist leader: "We are grateful that you came, as you came to France in 1917-18, as you came to Europe in 1944. If it were not for your presence, Laos, and indeed all of Southeast Asia, would fall under Communist influence."
Another visiting Asian statesman, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, called for U.S. "patience, perseverance and prudence" in an effort that is designed, "in a world full of bears and dragons," to help the nations of Southeast Asia maintain their independence. If the U.S. were to withdraw too hastily from Viet Nam, he warned, internal subversion with outside support would quickly run Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore through the Communist "mincing machine." The President assured Lee that the U.S. "has the resolution and the restraint to see the struggle through." He added: "You have a phrase in your part of the world that puts our determination well. You call it 'riding the tiger.' You rode the tiger. We shall."