This archive treats the political affairs of Laos in the 1960s, when the United States supported the government of Souvanna Phouma in the face of North Vietnamese aggression. The collection is an essential resource for the study of Southeast Asian history and the U.S. role in the war in Vietnam. It offers a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats including special reports on political and military affairs; studies and statistics on socioeconomic matters; interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials; conference proceedings and international legal documents; full texts of instructions and cables sent and received by U.S. diplomatic personnel; reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers; translations of high-level foreign government documents, such as speeches; and memoranda, official reports, and transcripts of political meetings and assemblies.