Laird's statements indicated yesterday that he believed everything from attack aircraft carriers to helicopter gunships flying at tree-top level could be used in Cambodia under the umbrella of the Nixon Doctrine.

Laird was asked if his interpretation of the Nixon Doctrine conflicted with the President's statement of June 30 that under Saigon's plans for future Cambodian operations "there will be no U.S. air or logistics support."

Laird replied:

"The President said . . . that air support would not be used or not necessary during the termination of those sanctuary operations. This was a correct statement because the South Vietnamese air force at that time felt that they could perform the air support that was needed to finish up those sanctuary operations prior to the rainy season setting in . . ."

A widespread interpretation of the President's statement at the time was that it referred to Saigon's intentions after — not during — the allied raids against sanctuaries along South Vietnam's border.

Asked if the current U.S. air support of South Vietnamese operations in Cambodia meant that American involvement there would depend on how wide a war Saigon decided to fight, Laird replied: "I don't think that's a proper interpretation."

See LAIRD, A5, Col. 6

Laird opens new dimension of Nixon Doctrine. Page A5.

work slowdown starting
8 a.m. Saturday if a new
por contract has not been
ached by them.
phr

In Washington, seven
stal craft unions opened
contract talks with the new
S. Postal Corp. while
eral hundred members
two rival unions, denied
rticipation in the bargain-
g, picketed outside the
gotiations site, the De-
rtmental Auditorium.
ju
ful

In Ann Arbor, the Uni-
sity of Michigan was
king a temporary injunc-
ti on to end a strike begun
midnight Monday by
me 2,700 service and
intenance workers. An
cler petition by the uni-
rsity for a temporary
straining order was de-
H

acalester College

T. PAUL — Dr. Arthur
Flemming has offered to
sign as president of Mac-
ester College at a time
en a principal benefactor
the school, DeWitt Wal-
e, founder and owner,
ch his wife, of the Read-
s Digest, is re-examining
commitments to contrib-
e as much as $1.2 million
year.

Flemming said he was re-
esting retirement ... no
er than the end of the
ademic year this summer.
32,
lat
ho
we

Gravel, Pears
Broad Electi

Allied data on Cambodia questioned

New POW rescue failure probed

By William C. Selover

Staff correspondent of
The Christian Science Monitor

Washington

Another futile attempt to rescue Ameri-
can prisoners—this time held by Commu-
nists in Cambodia—again raises serious
questions about the quality of allied intelli-
gence.

It also is expected to call into question
the advisability of such rescue attempts in
view of the personal danger into which such
efforts place United States prisoners.

Both of these issues were raised privately
by some American officials here and pub-
licly by members of Congress following a
similar unsuccessful attempt on Nov. 21.

Unlike the earlier attempt, the latest res-
cue effort was conducted by South Vietnam-
ese soldiers, not Americans. Again, accord-
ing to sources in Saigon, the effort was
given heavy U.S. air support. It reportedly
took place on Jan. 17, at the start of a
massive 6,000-man South Vietnamese offen-
sive in Cambodia.

No prisoners were found, but 30 enemy soldiers were captured.

Laird claimed success

Following the November raid, Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird claimed that mission had been successful, that no Americans in the rescue party were lost. The only failure of that venture, he said, was that there were no prisoners in the prison camp at Son Tay, located 20 miles west of Hanoi.

A similar claim of success now has come
from South Vietnamese sources in Saigon,
regarding the latest raid. A South Viet-
namese officer was quoted as insisting that
the raid "worked perfectly." He said that
the rescue party "suffered no casualties."

The raid, reportedly led by Lt. Gen. Do
Cao Tri, took place west of Mimot, some
five miles inside the Cambodian border.

Apparently, allied intelligence placed 20
American prisoners in that camp.

Again, as earlier, the question of intelli-
gence leaks doubtless will be raised. It cer-

tainly is no easy task to mobilize for such
a raid without some word of preparation
spreading. In this case, about 300 South
Vietnamese paratroopers were used in the
mission, flown to the site by South Viet-
namese helicopters and supported by
American helicopter gunships.

Infiltration reported

Following the earlier attempt, word circu-
culated around Saigon and Washington that
the South Vietnamese Government was in-
filtrated by Communist spies and informers.
Both congressmen and officials here were
distressed by such a report.

But in the earlier case, apparently the
South Vietnamese were kept from any

knowledge of the preparations. Even Vice-
President Nguyen Cao Ky denied prior
knowledge of the effort.

But the latest raid, conducted by South Vietnamese forces, offers more immediate grounds for disquiet over the possibility of intelligence leaks.

Reporters earlier held prisoner by the
Communists in Cambodia and then re-
leased, including Miss Elizabeth Pond of
The Christian Science Monitor, have de-
scribed the mobility of their captivity and
the fluidity of the war situation in Cam-
bodia. Even if there were no leaks of intel-
ligence, information about the location of
prisoners even just a few hours old logically
could be seen as outdated by events.

This raises the question of judgment,
quite apart from the heroism of such ef-
forts. And certainly heroism is involved.
But there are some here, including some
families of prisoners, who believe that such
attempts gravely endanger the captives.

What if there were American prisoners
in the camps? some are asking.

Reaction questioned

Would the prison guards docilely turn over their charges to the rescue team? Or, on the other hand, would they attempt to injure or kill the prisoners before they could be rescued?

All these questions again will be on the
minds of officials here, as well as in the
hearts of loved ones at home who may be
cheered by the bravado of the raid, but
sobered by the implications of it.

It also doubtless will add fuel to those in
Congress, such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
(D) of Massachusetts, who are calling for
acceptance of the Communist demands for
release of prisoners—the setting of a firm
timetable for withdrawal of American
troops.

It may give added urgency, as well, to
demands by members of the National
League of Families of American Prisoners
and Missing in Southeast Asia who are call-
ing for the administration to require the
release of prisoners as a precondition for
further U.S. withdrawal.

AP Photo

Lt. Gen. Do Cao Tri

... led second search for U.S. prisoners

The back before Congress

and more voting officials and voting machines.

It looked chaotic and expensive. Some of them lost no time telling congressmen — theirs and those who were active in the fight last year — men like Democratic Sen. Birch S. Bayh, Edward Kennedy and Mike Mansfield. Several senators realized that perhaps Congress could act this year.

## 1970 coalition re-created

About 10 days ago they contacted the two people who were the chief coordinators and lobbyists last year in the 18-year-old vote drive—Ian Macgowan and Pat Keefer. They asked these two to undertake similar coordination effort this year, and they agreed. The effort to rebuild last year's coalition — and broaden it—was in full swing.

Two organizations active in last year's fight have joined this year's—the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the National Education Association. So has Common Cause, a vital new group with the money to support the effort for a few months, which it is doing. Labor groups are expected to join up again.

In Congress the old friends are back. But more importantly, a few former antagonists aren't opposing any longer. One of these is crucial — Rep. Emanuel Celler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which will have to consider any such bill.

## Costs should convince

Last year Mr. Celler opposed the 18-year-vote section of the voting rights bill on grounds that a constitutional amendment was required. This year he has indicated he will not oppose it; crucial to its passage,

however, is the speed with which he agrees to consider it in his very busy committee.

The crucial selling point to Mr. Celler and others will be the cost of maintaining separate election facilities for the under 21's. Figures gathered so far indicate that they will be high indeed. They should go a long way toward bringing some of the flintiest congressmen into at least grudging support of the constitutional amendment, he says.

No one now is even bothering to argue philosophically whether 18-year-olds should be allowed to vote in state or local elections. That was a heated part of last year's debate. Now 18-year-olds, thanks to Congress and the high court, can vote (in federal election). So this has become a dead issue within a few short months.

Sen. Jennings Randolph is expected to introduce the constitutional amendment bill the first day he can, Monday, Jan. 26.

Mr. Celler wants the Senate to take up the bill before the House does. The Senate will.

## Extensively debated in '70

Last year a subcommittee chaired by Senator Bayh conducted extensive hearings on this constitutional amendment. Sponsors of the measure will argue this year that it does not need hearings for the second consecutive year, and will try to have the Senate pass it by mid-February without committee hearings. What they're trying behind the scenes to do now is to get Republicans — ideally the GOP Senate leader, Hugh Scott—to back the bill publicly, frequently, and loudly.

One thing that could imperil the bill in the Senate is presidential politics. The amendment is favored by several Democrats who are or might be presidential candidates. If one should decide to push it extra hard, it might appear he was making a political issue of it—which would cause

Republicans to veer away from supporting it.

But the major tussel is expected to be in the House. Supporters of the bill hope that Mr. Celler will schedule prompt hearing sometime before the Easter recess, with a vote soon thereafter. Should all go according to their hopes, the bill would be passed by Congress by late April while many state legislatures still are in session—and could ratify it.

## Celler's cooperation needed

However, things may not move that quickly. For one thing, Mr. Celler may well decide other bills have precedence in his committee, which would be a delay of weeks to months.

And ultimate passage in the House may rest on whether President Nixon publicspeaks out in favor of this bill. (He spoke in favor of a constitutional amendment to the voting-age question last fall when he signed the voting-rights bill.) Strong Nixonpressure likely could assure passage.

Meanwhile some state secretaries in some states, and local election officials, are making their positions known to Mr. MacGowan and others. They want the amendments passed and ratified by the states as fast as possible.

The "chaos" argument won't cut much ice with congressmen, especially with those who went through the chaotic days of December in the 91st Congress.

But expense is another matter. And that's why the figures that Mr. MacGowan, Senator Bayh's subcommittee, and others are pulling together now are of paramount importance. If they are impressive — whether state and local governments are crying for more money—then many senators and congressmen will find it difficult to vote against this constitutional amendment.

The simmers

wages plus 12 to 16 hours of overtime each

SAIGON REPORTS
CAMBODIA LINK-UP

Allies Said to Join on Route 4
as Foe Still Holds 10 Miles
—Fighting Termed Heavy

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

Special to The New York Times

SAIGON, South Vietnam, Jan. 20 — With a 10-mile stretch of Cambodia's major supply route still mostly under Communist control, advance elements of two allied forces reportedly linked up today in their road-clearing drive.

The link-up was reported here by a South Vietnamese military spokesman, who said it took place as Cambodian troops were engaged in heavy fighting with enemy soldiers at the entrance to Pich Nil Pass, 60 miles southwest of Pnompenh.

[A spokesman for the Cambodian command said seven Cambodian soldiers, including two officers, had been killed in the fighting at the pass and three had been wounded, Reuters reported. He put the enemy dead at 51. The dispatch also said American helicopter gunships continued their attacks through the day in support of the Cambodians.]

As a relief force of South Vietnamese marines was ap-

Continued on Page 13, Column 3

proaching from the south, he
said, forward ranger and
armored cavalry elements of
the force reached Cambodian
positions.

Route 4, which runs through
the pass and connects Pnom-
penh with the sea, has been cut
since the end of November by
Communist soldiers entrenched
in mountain positions.

The allied forces — more
than 5,000 South Vietnamese
and more than 8,000 Cam-
bodians—have been trying for
more than a week to reopen
Route 4 to relieve a critical
shortage of gasoline, fuel oil
and other imported commodi-
ties in the Pnompenh area.

The Saigon spokesman also
reported a sharp enemy attack
on a night position of South
Vietnamese troops at Khet
Kandol in Cambodia near Route
7, not far from the South Viet-
namese border.

caning itself the Faneuil Hall Committee, read a statement to an F.B.I. official, then gave him a copy and asked 'that it be mailed to J. Edgar Hoover, the bureau's director.

35 West 45

35-07 Broadway

15 Jericho Tpk.,

New York Store Hours: 11

S

MARKET
SALE

of Hart Schaffner
achs own
now on sale at
savings. All are
stock. Come in
possible selection.

## Cambodians Pressed

PNOMPENH, Cambodia, Jan. 20 (AP)—Cambodian spokesmen said today that their troops were being hard pressed at Pich Nil Pass, but the field commander, Brig. Gen. Sosthene Fernandez, reiterated that the capture of the mountain pass was imminent.

Reports from the scene said, however, that the Cambodian effort to take the pass appeared blunted by the enemy's en-

trenchment in bunkers that defied aerial pounding.

General Fernandez told newsmen at the front that the estimated enemy battalion opposing him—some 600 men at full strength—had taken allied air and artillery barrages with relatively few losses and that its fighting capacity was largely undiminished.

Some of the Cambodian troops were boys of 14 years of age or so, and newsmen also noted some women soldiers in the forward elements.

The brunt of the fighting was reportedly borne by Cambodian flank security troops. The main force of Cambodians, it was

said, had not moved from overnight positions.

The Cambodians kept up steady mortar shelling of enemy positions, supported by cannon and machine-gun fire from tanks and armored cars.

draft files at the Selective Service office in Catonsville, Md.

The taped message, according to The Voice, was made by Daniel Berrigan three days before his arrest on Aug. 11 at the home of a friend on Block Island, R. I. He was also among seven persons named on Jan. 12 as co-conspirators in an alleged plot to kidnap Henry A. Kissinger, the President's adviser on national security affairs. Philip Berrigan was one of the six persons indicted in connection with the alleged plot; the Berrigans have denied the allegations.

In the message addressed to the "Dear Brothers and Sisters," Daniel Berrigan says that the Weatherman can "break this

There's scant danger that the Administration will escape criticism for its expanded use of American airpower in Cambodia; rather the danger is that the really sticking criticisms may be lost in the general static. So it may help to set out one view of precisely which set of questions is the most troublesome.

We are bothered some, but not des-
perately, by the questions involving
the inherent wisdom of using helicop-
ter gunships and B-52 bombers to help
the Cambodians and South Vietnamese
reopen the highway from Phnom Penh
to the sea. This could create a prece-
dent, encouraging the Cambodians to
expect U.S. help whenever they get in
trouble, and thus lead to deepening in-
volvement.

At the same time, it's obvious that
survival of the Phnom Penh govern-
ment facilitates withdrawal of Ameri-
can troops from South Vietnam, that
opening the road would be a big prop
to that government both materially
and psychologically, and that if it sur-
vives the current dry season further
training and supplies may mean less
need for U.S. aid next year.

Certainly we do not want the U.S. to
slide down a slope into deep involve-
ment in Cambodia. But our instinct
still is that the main thrust of Ameri-
can policy is toward less involvement
in Indochina, not more. Even with re-
gard to airpower, the sorties rate is
below a year ago.

Perhaps, indeed, the success of the
Administration's Vietnamization poli-
cies, and particularly of its Cambodian
excursions, have earned it at least a
brief respite from second-guessing on
how to speed withdrawal. We think
Secretary of Defense Laird had every
right to rib the press a bit Wednesday
by remarking that he had been reread-
ing some of the editorials that had pre-
judged the Cambodian actions.

Another set of questions involves
the Administration's respect for Con-
gress, and these bother us a good deal
less than they did before we took the
time to look closely at the actual limi-
tations Congress has passed. The Sen-
ate once approved restrictions on the
use of airpower in Cambodia, but the
House refused to accept them. After all
the compromising was done (and after
the press reported a victory for the
doves), all that remained was a prohi-
bition against using funds for "the in-
troduction of United States ground
combat troops into Cambodia, or to
provide United States advisers to or
for Cambodian military forces in Cam-
bodia."

So the Administration is clearly
within its Congressional mandate. In
fact, the letter of the law would seem
to permit even wider actions than have
been reported so far. It can be argued
that use of airpower violates the spirit
of the law, or some tacit bargain with
Congress.

But then the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee and the Congress are

two different bodies, bargains run both
ways, and there is a lot of truth in the
argument that Congress considered
and specifically rejected legislation to
prohibit what the Administration has
done.

The questions that do start to worry
us involve how the Administration rec-
onciles what it has done with its past
policies and declarations. To take but
one of several public and private ex-
planations, on June 30 the President
listed "guidelines" for future policy in
Cambodia. One said "the U.S. will con-
duct—with the approval of the Cambo-
dian government—air interdiction mis-
sions against the enemy efforts to
move supplies and personnel through
Cambodia toward South Vietnam and
to re-establish base areas relevant to
the war in Vietnam."

Now, if these words mean anything at all, they mean something quite different from sending planes to blast Communist troops out of a mountain pass the Cambodians are trying to open. In itself, even this change would not trouble us too much. Situations do change, Cambodia does not look like quite the hopeless case it did back in June, and a little freer use of airpower might by now be a better investment than it seemed then.

What does concern us deeply is the
Administration's insistence that policy
has in no way changed, that when the
President wrote "air interdiction" he
had in the back of his mind sending
gunships to pave the way for Cambo-
dian advances. Any intelligent eighth
grader could see the two are not the
same, and for the Administration to
argue that the distinction does not
exist is to argue that its own words are
meaningless.

If you wanted to give yourself credi-
bility problems, could you design a bet-
ter way? If the Administration denies
the clear meaning of its past words,
why believe its present words? And
here its critics have a breakthrough
for successive assaults on its public
statements, its Congressional rela-
tions, its current tactics and finally its
fundamental policies.

The same critics would of course
raise an outcry about creeping involve-
ment if the Administration candidly
admitted its policy has been modified
somewhat in the light of new circum-
stances. The Administration would
reply that the change is temporary,
that the thrust of the policy is still to-
ward disengagement, and that it
should be judged in the context of per-
formance so far. On the record, this
would seem to us a pretty good an-
swer.

Indeed, it is because we think the
Administration's basic policies have
been amazingly successful in Vietnam
that the new airpower incident bothers
us so much. We would hate to see fun-
damentally sound policy undermined
because it is explained and defended in
a short-sighted way.

Fuel Crisis Figured
In Cambodia Drive

By George C. Wilson

Washington Post Staff Writer

The prospect of a brownout in Phnom Penh and no fuel for Cambodia's air force helped trigger last week's offensive along Route 4, military sources said yesterday.

According to intelligence
from the field which figured
in U.S. support for the South

Vietnamese effort to reopen
Phnom Penh's access route to
the sea, the Lon Nol govern-
ment was down to a 2-week
supply of aviation gasoline.

The situation was little better for trucks and other military vehicles, with only about a month's supply on hand. Fuel for electricity-producing generators in Phnom Penh also was running low.

Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird, in his news conference Wednesday, defended U.S. involvement in the 13,000-man Route 4 sweep in terms of saving American lives in Vietnam. He did not mention Cambodia's impending fuel crisis.

Route 4 is the vital artery connecting the capital of Phnom Penh with Cambodia's only refinery, located at Kompong Som on the coast. The Communists were able to cut this route using relatively few troops.

Cambodia then tried to get
its fuel by inland waterway.
But the Communists also am-
bushed fuel-laden vessels on
the Mekong to squeeze down
on the supply line.

Course in Mandarin

VANCOUVER, B.C., Jan. 21 (AP)—The Vancouver school board has approved a pilot course in Mandarin Chinese for 9th grade students. “It’s ridiculous that we haven’t recognized the Chinese community earlier,” said trustee Fritz Bowers. “They have made great contributions to our community.”

## Entrance to Pass Freed

PNOMPENH, Friday, Jan. 22 (AP) — Cambodian soldiers reportedly captured the craggy northern entrance to Pich Nil Pass yesterday, ousting enemy troops who for two months have blocked fuel and other supplies from reaching Pnompenh.

A South Vietnamese force, advancing from the south, was said to be three miles away from closing the allied pincer on Route 4, which runs through the pass and connects Pnompenh with the port city of Kompong Som on the Gulf of Siam. Advance elements of this force were reported to have reached the Cambodians Wednesday.

Dispatches yesterday from the Pich Nil Pass area said 1,300 Cambodian infantrymen seized the heights after enemy forces had retreated, leaving behind the bodies of those killed in their bunkers. On the heights, the Cambodians raised their blue, red and white flag over the napalm-scarred chalet of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former Chief of State now living in exile in Peking.

The Cambodian infantrymen had been stalled for four days at the entrance to the pass by an estimated 2,000 enemy soldiers entrenched in the Elephant Mountains flanking Route 4. The pass is about 60 miles southwest of Pnompenh and about 55 miles from Kompong Som.

During those four days the enemy troops in their bunkers reportedly withstood heavy American air strikes. On retreating before the Cambodian advance, they were said to have left behind suicide squads to fight to the death from the entrenchments.

Once on the move, dispatch-

es from the front said, the Cambodians fired wildly at every bunker, and American helicopter gunships and South Vietnamese fighter-bombers strafed and-bombed the mountain jungles.

The enemy troops reportedly retreated toward the advancing South Vietnamese force, which was said to be in the southern part of the seven-mile-long pass.

The allied road-clearing operation, which began more than a week ago, has involved more than 5,000 South Vietnamese troops and more than 8,000 Cambodians.

The South Vietnamese regained control of the southern half of the 115-mile highway, capturing last Saturday one of the major enemy strongpoints at Stung Chhay Pass, 95 miles southwest of Pnompenh.

S
HOP

the
look
is you

ering army mail. He was a
cialist Ricardo Echeandia of 345
Berry Street, Brooklyn, the
Army said.

Military informants at the Pentagon said that an investigation was in progress but that it had not established the identity of the assailant or his possible motives. Several cartridge cases and a bullet found at the scene indicated that the weapon used might have been an AK-47 automatic or an SKS semiautomatic, both of Russian manufacture.

These weapons are used by
the rebels of the Eritrean Lib-
eration Front but, the infor-
mants said, they are also in the
hands of many other people.

Ethiopians Investigating
By EDWARD B. FISKE

Special to The New York Times

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia,
Jan. 21 — Ethiopian offi-
cials are continuing their
investigation into the kill-
ing of Socialist Echeandia,
and it still seems to be an open
question whether the killing
was an accident or intentional
harassment of American forces.
Specialist Echeandia, un-

U.S. Lists Week's Toll:
37 Killed, 211 Wounded

SAIGON, South Vietnam,
Jan. 21 (AP) — The United
States command reported to-
day that 37 Americans were
killed in action in Indochina
last week, 10 more than the
week before.

The number of wounded
increased much more sharp-
ly. The command put the
total at 211, compared with
83 the previous week.

The command said Amer-
ican casualties since Jan. 1,
1961, the date used for the
start of American involve-
ment, now stand at 44,305
killed in combat and 293,823
wounded.

South Vietnamese head-
quarters reported 232 of its
forces killed in action.

The two commands reported that allied troops killed 1,361 North Vietnamese and Vietcong last week, compared with 1,240 a week earlier. The allies now say they have killed 694,489 enemy soldiers since the start of 1961.

## CAMBODIA, From A1

The pass had been held by the Communist since November, and without it, Phnom Penh was cut off from its deepwater port at Kompong Som and the country's only oil refinery.

Judging from the eager rushing about of Cambodian troops today, there is no reason to believe morale has suffered. At the same time, there is no doubt the attack on the airfield came as a blow.

"It was very serious," said Lt. Col. Am Rong, the Cambodian government spokesman.

### City Cut Off

The attack cut off Phnom Penh from most regular access, at least by civilians, to the outside world. The three international airlines that fly here, Air Vietnam, Air France and Air Cambodge, have cut off service until further notice.

The airport runways appear in good condition, however, and the civilian control tower is intact except for some broken glass.

The American mission here, awaiting word from Washington, said officially only that it was still assessing the situation.

There was no word whether additional assistance, either for security or to help with airport repairs, would be offered. One source said unofficially he thought some increased U.S. help was likely.

### Flamboyant Gesture

The prevailing belief here appears to be that the airport attack was a flamboyant and diversionary gesture by the Communists and is not likely to mean the start of a major offensive directed at the capital.

In the aftermath of the first Communist attack on the capital city and its surroundings since the war began last spring, Phnom Penh was still filled with the same peculiar contrasts that have both puzzled Western observers and given them grounds for occasional optimism about Cambodia's future.

With the crump of an infrequent mortar still audible as the guerrillas retreated, the bustling central market was filled as usual with leisurely, conversational shoppers.

### Still Sunbathing

Around the pool at the Hotel Royal, by now a journalistic cliche for contrast, French and American women continued to sun themselves

in bikinis while whiteclad Cambodian waiters brought drinks.

But the contrast between the poolside life and the guerrilla war that grinds on in the countryside is sharper now.

Residents of the Royal were jolted from their beds at 2:45 this morning by a tremendous explosion, as sappers—commandos with satchel charges—detonated an ammunition dump at the airport.

While flames lit the sky to the southwest of the city, mortar and rocket shells rained in on the airfield, sending great roiling fireballs into the air as munitions and fuel exploded. Clouds of smoke obscured the waning quartermoon.

While an American "Spooky" C-47 dropped flares, Cambodian soldiers and military police fought at close quarters around the airfield with a Communist force of unknown size.

### Outskirts Strafed

After daybreak this morning, an American OV-10 Bronco, a light observation plane that carries some armament, broke out of its lazy circling over Phnom Penh to dive on the city's outskirts in a strafing run.

From the road outside the shattered ruins of Phnom Penh's Pochentong Airport, refugees fleeing the area paused to watch the little airplane's acrobatics with interest.

The U.S. military command today belatedly acknowledged that its air operations in Cambodia are tied with ground fighting by changing the phrasing of reports on air strikes.

The command in its daily communique dropped the word "interdiction" and said, "Yesterday, U.S. aircraft continued operations against enemy lines of supply and communications in Cambodia."

A U.S. spokesman, asked to explain the change, said this meant U.S. planes were flying air support for ground troops and "we are trying to adjust to the new situation and report more accurately what is happening."