"We Will Not Fail You"

His Boeing 707 had barely rolled to a stop at Bangkok's Don Muang Airport last week when the tall, tanned Texan set to work. Looking straight across the welcoming red carpet at Thailand's tough little Premier Sarit Thanarat, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson declared: "We will honor our commitments for the cause of freedom. We will stand by our friends. We will not falter, Mr. Prime Minister. We will not fail you."

So began the sternest test for Lyndon Johnson on his six-nation tour of Asia as the personal emissary of President John F. Kennedy. Earlier in the week, Johnson had had his problems in the Philippines, where President Carlos Garcia made no secret of his dismay at the soft stand of the U.S. in Laos. In Taipei, Johnson reassured Chiang Kai-shek that the U.S. has no intention of recognizing Red China, intends to stand faithfully behind its commitment to defend Formosa.

"Johnson is a good man," the 73-year-old Gimo told an aide. "I trust him." Thus, in each country, Johnson met the public, talking and pawing his way through the populace and the politicians--to the delight of most, the confusion of many, and the dismay of some.

Brass Tacks & Corn Pone. Thailand posed especially delicate problems for Johnson. One of the strongest anti-Communist nations in Southeast Asia, Thailand was fast losing its faith in the U.S. after the debacle in neighboring Laos. Johnson set the mood for his reassuring talks with Sarit by stopping off at Bangkok's SEATO headquarters building to deliver a blunt statement. "It is sometimes difficult to understand how a man--or a nation--can treasure liberty for himself," said Johnson, his voice sharpening as he spoke, "and be totally unconcerned for it when it involves other people in his own backyard." The Thais were delighted by Johnson's pointed criticism of the go-gently approach of SEATO partners France and Britain to opposing Communism in Southeast Asia--a criticism that directly reflected the views of President Kennedy.

In three sessions together, Johnson and Sarit got down to brass tacks. At one point, the Vice President bemused the Premier by making a solid point with some corn-pone rhetoric: "My daddy taught me back in Texas what to do when you see a snake. We take a hoe off the wall and get him: Now, there are lots of snakes around here. We have our hands on the hoe handle. Are you going to grab the handle with us so we can get those snakes together?"

When the Premier and the Vice President finally emerged from their ornate conference room, Sarit put his hands on the hoe by agreeing to send his Foreign Minister that night to the 14-nation conference on Laos in Geneva. The Thais had been disgustedly boycotting the meeting, because they felt--justifiably--that it was bound to give Laos to the Communists. Said a relieved U.S. State Department aide: "It's a lot more effective to have the Thais there spelling out the hopes and fears of the Asian nations than to have the U.S. trying to do it."

Go It Alone. Contrary to many press reports, Johnson did not offer U.S. troops to Thailand--and Sarit did not ask for any. But though the official communique was vaguely worded, the U.S. is considering bankrolling an increase in the well-trained Thai army, from 100,000 to 150,000 men, and increasing economic aid, particularly in Sarit's native northeast territory, which is especially vulnerable to guerrilla attack since it is both underdeveloped and adjacent to Laos. Most important of all, Lyndon Johnson gave Sarit strong reason to assume that the U.S. would intervene in Thailand in case of Communist attack, even if the SEATO machinery collapsed completely and the U.S. had to go it alone. "The U.S. gave us full guarantees," said Sarit. "We are a virgin. No one is to touch us."

With Thailand reassured about U.S. support, Johnson flew on to India, where he hit it off in informal talks with Prime Minister Nehru, startled a grizzled farmer by hopping out of his air-conditioned car to haul a bucket of water out of a 40-ft. well. But not until Johnson hit the Taj Mahal did he really cut loose. Standing outside in the 112DEG heat, he singled out travel pals Steve and Jean Smith (as it happened, Jean Smith is President Kennedy's sister). Declared Lyndon: "This is the fifth wedding anniversary of the Stephen Smiths. Now, the Taj Mahal was built out of the love of a man for his woman. Everybody knows the world loves a lover, and all the world loves the Steve Smiths. Now, I hope Mrs. Smith will build a Taj Mahal for Steve some day so the men will have equality." Said Smith, laughing a little embarrassedly with the crowd: "I must say he's a combination of Groucho Marx, Bob Hope and Cecil B. DeMille."

After warmly kissing Lady Bird for the photographers, Johnson entered the Taj Mahal to hear a guide explain that sounds echo for 15 seconds around the domed mausoleum before dying out. Johnson promptly smashed the solemn silence with a rousing cowboy whoop that seemed to clatter forever around the dome while Indian officials stared at one another. And so--on to Pakistan.

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