Why bomb cambodia

He hoped that bombing supply routes in Cambodia would weaken the United States' enemies. The bombing of Cambodia lasted until August While the exact number of Cambodian casualties remains unknown, most experts estimate that , Cambodians lost their lives, with an additional two million people becoming homeless.

Nixon claimed that the soldiers were protecting the United States' withdrawal from South Vietnam. Sihanouk's support boosted the Khmer Rouge's popularity among rural Cambodians. But some observers have argued that the devastating American bombing also helped fuel the Khmer Rouge's growth. And it became a recruiting tool until they grew to a fierce, indefatigable guerrilla army.

As he argued in his memoir, "It was Hanoi-animated by an insatiable drive to dominate Indochina- that organized the Khmer Rouge long before any American bombs fell on Cambodian soil. All Rights Reserved. On March 18, , American Bs began carpet-bombing eastern Cambodia. It was because of their dissatisfaction with the bombing that they kept on cooperating with the Khmer Rouge, joining up with the Khmer Rouge, sending their children off to go with them. Chhit Do: Yes, that's right On the same day, Bs struck nearby Plei Blah village; 50 died.

A report to the US Army in July stated that "the civilian population fears US air attacks far more than they do Communist rocket attacks or scorched earth tactics" US Army a Up to , civilian deaths resulted from the US bombing campaigns in Cambodia.

Henry Kissinger claims, sarcastically, that "We destabilized Cambodia the way Britain destabilized Poland in " Page He states in his memoirs that "It was Hanoi - animated by an insatiable drive to dominate Indochina - that organized the Khmer Rouge long before any American bombs fell on Cambodian soil" Page Kissinger's view at the time was more perceptive. In a cable, he pointed out that in areas such as southwestern Cambodia the Vietnamese were in conflict with Khmer communists, who "not only had little training abroad but probably resent and compete with the better-trained men from North Vietnam.

In , Kissinger was unsure if the Cambodian insurgency was "regional" and "factionalized" with only "a veneer of central control," or whether "the real power" lay with Pol Pot's central presidium.

The tragedy is that the former had been largely true in , the latter was largely true in , and Kissinger and Nixon were largely responsible for the change. CPK cadres told young peasant victims that "the killing birds" had come "from Phnom Penh" not Guam , and that Phnom Penh must pay for its assault on rural Cambodia Staffan Hidlebrand, personal communication.

On the day the bombing ended, CPK propaganda leaflets found in bomb craters attacked the "Phnom Penh warriors" who were, they vowed, soon to be defeated US Army b Barnett and J.

Pilger, eds. Aftermath: The Struggle of Cambodia and Vietnam. London: New Statesman. Research study, Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Our website houses close to five decades of content and publishing. Any content older than 10 years is archival and Cultural Survival does not necessarily agree with the content and word choice today. Learn about Cultural Survival's response to Covid Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine.

Bombings Drive People to Khmer Rouge In the early years of the Cambodian war, Sihanoukists, moderates, and pro-Vietnamese communists predominated in a factionalized insurgency. Political Repercussions Abound The political effect of the US bombardment can be observed both at the highest level in the Southwest Zone, its ruling Party Committee, and at the local level.

The CIA's directorate of operations, after investigations in the Southwest Zone, reported that the CPK had launched a new recruiting drive: They are using damage caused by B strikes as the main theme of their propaganda. Every time after there had been bombing, they would take the people to see the craters, to see how big and deep the craters were, to see how the earth had been gouged out and scorched… The ordinary people Who Had "Real" Power?

Kiernan, B. London: Verso. Boua, eds. London: Zed Press. Page, B. Schmidt, D. Shawcross, W. Declassified 7 April Article copyright Cultural Survival, Inc.