US Involvement
How Did the United States Contribute to the Genocide?
“In 1970, came the U.S support for a coup against Prince Sihanouk, whom the US saw as a dangerous socialist and neutralists. He was replaced by Lon Nol, Sihanouk’s former right-hand man and head of the armed forces...Lon Nol quickly repaid his benefactors by inviting the U.S and South Vietnam to launch the invasion of Cambodian territory which lasted for three months,”
-Adam Jones
There is speculation about the connection between the involvement of the United States in Cambodian government and the rise of extremist communist group, the Khmer Rouge. Although, on many occasions, Henry Kissinger, the American vice president between 1969-1977, denied that the US knew of Lon Nol’s intent to overthrow Prince Sihanouk, there is suspicion that the United States supported the coup; including claims from Prince Sihanouk himself accusing the US of supporting Lon Nol.
Although Kissinger claimed that the White House would have preferred Sihanouk remain the leader of Cambodia, once in office, the United States was an avid supporter of Lon Nol’s pro American military policies. Which included the continuation of bombings from the United States on Cambodian land in order to continue fighting suspected communist terrorists. From the time Lon Nol was in power to the time the Khmer Rouge acquired power (1975-1979), approximately 500,000 tons of bombs had been dropped on Cambodia’s country sides by the US military. This estimation is significantly more than all the bombs dropped on Japan in World War II. As a result of the actions of the American Airforce, nearly 500,000 to 700,000 civilians were decimated and much of the country’s agrarian communities were destroyed. The bombings left much of Cambodia’s country sides in ruins and angered the people of Cambodia. Not to mention, under Nol’s reign, American and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodian under the same pretenses as the bombings. They were not protected or represented by their own government, and as a result, joined the Khmer Rouge, who had gained the support of former leader Prince Sihanouk after his coup.
-Adam Jones
There is speculation about the connection between the involvement of the United States in Cambodian government and the rise of extremist communist group, the Khmer Rouge. Although, on many occasions, Henry Kissinger, the American vice president between 1969-1977, denied that the US knew of Lon Nol’s intent to overthrow Prince Sihanouk, there is suspicion that the United States supported the coup; including claims from Prince Sihanouk himself accusing the US of supporting Lon Nol.
Although Kissinger claimed that the White House would have preferred Sihanouk remain the leader of Cambodia, once in office, the United States was an avid supporter of Lon Nol’s pro American military policies. Which included the continuation of bombings from the United States on Cambodian land in order to continue fighting suspected communist terrorists. From the time Lon Nol was in power to the time the Khmer Rouge acquired power (1975-1979), approximately 500,000 tons of bombs had been dropped on Cambodia’s country sides by the US military. This estimation is significantly more than all the bombs dropped on Japan in World War II. As a result of the actions of the American Airforce, nearly 500,000 to 700,000 civilians were decimated and much of the country’s agrarian communities were destroyed. The bombings left much of Cambodia’s country sides in ruins and angered the people of Cambodia. Not to mention, under Nol’s reign, American and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodian under the same pretenses as the bombings. They were not protected or represented by their own government, and as a result, joined the Khmer Rouge, who had gained the support of former leader Prince Sihanouk after his coup.