Vietnam War: Cambodia
... the invasion of Cambodia by American and South Vietnamese troops to destroy the Communists bases in Cambodia. This forced the Communists deeper into the Cambodian jungle. This bombing increased support for the Khmer Rouge (a label Sihanouk used for the communists in the jungle) Support was especially high among the peasants who were increasingly disturbed by US bombings and the actions of the South Vietnamese Army. And Civil war developed between the Khmer Rouge and the US supporting, anti-Communist Cambodians. The Khmer Rouge with North Vietnamese support occupied over half the county. Survival of Lon Nol’s government relied heavily on US bombing; however bombing was stopped by Congress in August 1973. Lon Nol had virtually no understanding of international affairs, and as the war intensified and his country’s economy crumbled, he seemed oblivious to Cambodia’s predicament. His government was corrupt and inefficient and largely because of his reliance on the United States, hated by his people. By 1975 more than a third of the Cambodian people were as refugees. During the US bombing raids which lasted only 7 months over 257 465tons of bombs on Cambodia. The intense bombings carried devastating consequences for the Cambodian peasants. The bombing and fighting destroyed all agriculture, pro...