ABSTRACT
By 1954 the Kingdom of Laos had regained its independence and was able to participate in the Geneva Conference as a fully sovereign nation. The weak points in the final agreement on Laos reached at Geneva were revealed almost immediately. The Geneva Conference had established an International Commission for Supervision and Control (ICSC), composed of delegations from India, Canada, and Poland. The ICSC, although ineffective in enforcing the military clauses of the Geneva agreements, at least provided a forum of first appeal in cases of armed clashes, and thus exerted a moderating influence on both sides. The United States also responded by furnishing the hard-pressed royal army with military equipment and training teams in civilian dress, including 107 Special Forces troops. The strategic initiative lay with the North Vietnamese leaders, whose military command knew how to make the best use of well-disciplined veteran combat troops in attacks alongside the Pathet Lao at places and times of their own choosing.
