On March 16th, 2026, the ISCAP released this declassified document from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. This document is a memorandum of a discussion with the president over the issue of Laos; the president warns that the loss of Laos to communism would mean the severing of Western influence in the Southeast Asian region. The ISCAP decided to declassify this Secret document in its entirety.
Laos gained its independence from France in 1953, but the monarchy lacked a sense of unity with the people, only having deep ties in the northern regions. Tensions rose as different factions vied for control. One of these factions was the communist Pathet Lao, which was backed by North Vietnam. In 1959, North Vietnam created Group 959 to supply the Pathet Lao with weapons and supplies, quickly becoming a threat to the US-backed Royal Lao Government. The Laos Civil War became a proxy war for the Vietnam War, which was already a proxy war for the US-Soviet Union Cold War. Countries involved in this conflict were North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the United States, and Thailand. The war is often referred to as the Secret War, as it was largely kept hidden by the foreign powers, even as it waged on simultaneously as the Vietnam War.