Come friendly bombs
Sir: Robert Beaumont neatly explains that Laos is a great place for buying suits and enjoying a pizza, but his comments about the American bombing of that country are ignorant and offensive (City life, 2 August).
The people of Laos were not the target of US bombing — the Vietcong were, because
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they were using Laos as a way of reaching South Vietnam and thought they could get there without punishment. The American bombing killed tens of thousands of Vietcong and injured tens of thousands more. By dropping delayed-action bombs and contact antipersonnel bombs, the Americans made every step of the way lethal for the Vietcong.
Of course the Laos people bear no resentment. The Americans were fighting the enemies of Laos, the same enemies that attacked South Vietnam. Laos is an occupied country with a political leadership that is imposed by Vietnam. Nothing happens in Vientiane without the permission of Hanoi, and the people of Laos only wish the Americans had dropped more bombs and defeated their oppressors. John Mustoe
Thurleigh, Bedford
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