I thank the Senator. I think -he has expressed very well the concerns that I have in terms of the authority of the administration to conduct the other warthe one in northern Laos. Not having been on either the Armed Services Committee or the Foreign Relations Committee. but being chairman of the Refugee Subcommittee and interested in the various programs that affect the refugees in Laos. we had former Ambassador Sullivan testify before the subcommittee. In his oral testimony he made a comment about the creation of refugees. the numbers of which increased in almost direct proportion to the escalation of the bombing in Laos. I read now from Ambassador Sullivans formal testimony. He remarked: CXVII1158Part 14 Almost all of these original residents have long since left the area and it is today. for all practical purposes. unpopulated except by the North Vietnamese military forcesHe is talking about the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Ambassador SULLIVAN Their engineering and logistics auxiliaries. and the porters whom they use in the operation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Therefore the area of Laos which is subjected to the most intense military activity is not an area which is of direct concern to use in examining the question of refugees. The refugees in Laos are those whose lives have been disrupted by the other wax in Laos. which has nothing to do with military operations in South Vietnam or Cambodia. This other war Is a wax which represents the ambitions of the North Vietnamese to extend their control over their peaceful Laos neighbors. Then his testimony continues in elaborating about the war. At the end of his testimony. I questioned Ambassador Sullivanwho. of course. as Senator SYMINGTON has pointed out. was the Ambassador to Laos. I have visited out there and so have members of my staff on the Refugee Subcommittee. I questioned Ambassador Sullivan. What is the Presidents authority for waging the war there if it has nothing to do with operations in Vietnam and Cambodia?
Keywords matched
Refugee refugees