Air War Rising in Cambodia, Laos; U. S. Raid Fails to Find Prisoners

Belying President Nixon's assertion that we are reducing our activities in Southeast Asia, the U. S. has drastically raised the level of the air war in Cambodia and Laos.

On Sunday, U. S. helicopter gunships dropped South Vietnamese paratroops into Cambodia in a raid intended to free U. S. prisoners. When they arrived near Mimot, a town 75 miles northwest of Saigon, they found the suspected prisoner of war camp empty. Instead, the party captured 30 North Vietnamese soldiers who were in the area.

The raid was the latest in a succession of U. S. moves toward escalation. The U. S. has "started flying AH1 Cobra gunships, F-4 Phantoms and B-52 strategic bombers in support of South Vietnamese operations on Cambodia's Highway 4, put helicopter-carrying ships off the coast of Cambodia, and started a daily airlift of arms and ammunition to Phnom Penh," according to the Boston Globe.

The U. S. has also agreed to pay all of the costs of any South Vietnamese operations on Cambodia soil.

The U. S. command said that such assistance was "within the guidelines laid down for the use of U. S. air power to prevent the reestablishment of sanctuaries in Cambodia."

An announcement of increased U. S. helicopter activity in Laos followed the disclosure of the stepped-up air war in Cambodia.

"The United States is using rocket-firing helicopter gunships in Laos in direct support of Laotian ground fighting North Vietnamese and Pathet Laos sources," the Globe revealed.

The campaign is attempting to halt North Vietnamese troops and supplies from crossing into Cambodia, South Vietnam and Laos.

The U. S. is using its full array of air weapons, including tactical fighter-bombers, B-52 strategic bombers, gunships and reconnaissance with "special top secret" equipment, according to the Associated Press.

Despite all this equipment, the drive to capture Highway 4 from the North Vietnamese has not been very successful. Cambodia President Lon Nol will go to Saigon today to discuss the deteriorating situation in his country with allied officials.