Laos

There are many reasons (political/diplomatic/financial) why Laos was taken over by the Pathet Lao in 1975. Perhaps the overriding reason was the state of its military. The Royal Lao Army was one of the most ineffective forces of modern times. Despite being funded by a near inexhaustible American bankroll, it was a very poor shadow of its model, the ARVN.

Sergio Miller offers and important and interesting look at armed nation building in Vietnam and Afghanistan; a look that does not leave one with much optimism.