1976 Invasion of Laos

This is an alternate history montage
(11 Feb 1976)
And for tonight's last story, we continue our coverage of the developing crisis in Southeast Asia. Today, tensions boiled over as the armies of South Vietnam and the Khmer Republic launched an invasion of Laos at 11:00 this morning. Since we started covering this crisis in December of last year, the world has watched as the newly appointed Prime Minister of Laos, General Vang Pao, has sought to form an alliance with the anti-communist governments of South Vietnam and the Khmer Republic. Well, it looks like today the General’s wishes were fulfilled. After a secret meeting in Saigon between Vang Pao, Khmer President Lon Nol, and South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Chánh Thi, the three nations announced the beginning of a triple alliance against North Vietnamese proxy forces in Laos. After a fiery speech to his supporters in Saigon this morning, South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Chánh Thi announced the deployment of military forces to Laos in tandem with the Khmer Republic and Thailand. Early reports indicate that the communists have already suffered heavy losses, but only time will tell what will come of this invasion.

And that’s the way it is. Wednesday, February 11th, 1976. This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News, goodnight.