American Notes CHEMICAL WEAPONS

In 1981 the Reagan Administration accused the Soviet Union of engaging in biochemical warfare against rebel groups in Laos and Kampuchea. Citing eyewitness reports and physical evidence, the State Department said that Soviet-backed forces had dropped a "yellow rain" of fungal poisons from the skies in Southeast Asia, killing and injuring thousands of civilians and insurgent troops. The charge was vehemently denied by the Soviets, and now an article in the autumn issue of Foreign Policy accuses the Administration of ignoring evidence that refuted its stunning claim.

Using declassified documents filed by a U.S. team sent to Southeast Asia to investigate the allegations, the article says that experts were unable to find proof of biochemical warfare. Alleged witnesses recanted reports of the yellow rain, and the team found that the supposed symptoms caused by the toxin -- vomiting, skin irritation and dizziness -- were more likely the effects of smoke inhalation and battle fatigue. Moreover, the authors say, private examination of the yellowish substance on leaf samples determined the "poison" was composed almost entirely of pollen. The suspected source of the yellow rain: swarms of honeybees that dropped the pollen from overhead.

The Reagan Administration, the authors dryly conclude, "chose to pursue a strategy of maximum public impact" by rushing to judgment without sound scientific analysis. Despite the damning article, the Administration still stands by the accusation.