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KR almost certainly would not have come to power Whatever one thinks of the Viet Nam war, and there are many valid criticisms of the conduct of the wester
by mafribe 10y ago
KR almost certainly would
not have come to power
Whatever one thinks of the Viet Nam war, and there are many valid criticisms of the conduct of the western armies and their leadership, it is worthwhile to bear in mind that the West fought there to prevent communist organisations like the KR to come to power.
The KR would certainly not have come to power if not
1. The French communist party had radicalised Pol Pot.
2. The Soviet and Yugoslav communist parties had further schooled Pol
Pot in how to overthrow a regime.
3. The Soviet, Chinese and North Vietnamese communist parties had
supported the KR with weapons and other forms of logistics with the
explicit aim of instituting a communist regime in Cambodia.
- vkou 10y ago4. The near-century of French and American imperialism that preceded 1, 2, and 3. There's direct causes, and there's indirect causes. Kissinger directly created the circumstances that let 1, 2, and 3 create the KR.
- mafribe 10y agoI disagree. While it is true that the Vietnamese and Cambodians didn't want to be colonies, the KR were vastly worse than being colonised. KR were following the classic communist script that we have seen played out in many developing countries. The KR were created by communists, lead from Moscow and Beijing.
- vkou 10y agoHindsight is 20/20. While it's true that the Confederacy didn't want to give up slavery, the civil war and reconstruction were vastly worse for slaveowners then giving it up peacefully would have been. The classic communist script hasn't always resulted in genocide. Much like how the classic imperialist script hasn't always resulted in genocide. Besides, Moscow hardly had a monopoly on sponsoring and/or training political death squads.
- mafribe 10y agoNo hindsight. Communist takeover plans were very well-know and public for a long time. Moscow hardly had a monopoly Nobody claims this. The fact of the matter remains: the KR and Pol Pot were created following the standard communist script for "liberation movements" in the developing world (i.e. thinly veilded preparations for communist takeover). All the ideological training was provided by the Soviets and their allies, as were all the many weapons and other logistics. The US was in East Asia primarily to counter the communist threat, not to prop up French colonies. All responsibility for the KR and their actions is with the communists leadership in Moscow (and Beijing and Paris and Belgrade and Hanoi).