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> Our "defense" of Vietnam. And most people only think of Vietnam itself regarding that conflict, yet Cambodia and Laos were absolutely decimated too. The US d
by 3131s 10y ago
> Our "defense" of Vietnam.
And most people only think of Vietnam itself regarding that conflict, yet Cambodia and Laos were absolutely decimated too. The US dropped more tons of bombs on Laos and Cambodia individually than the combined amount dropped by the allied forces in WWII. There are still 80 million unexploded bombs in the Laos countryside. Landmines sold by the US and China to the Lon Nol government and the Khmer Rouge respectively were up until recently killing 1000+ Cambodians a year. If you've seen these places and met the people there, it's hard to imagine.
- jahnu 10y agoWhat's even sadder is with a few billion much of that uxo could be cleaned up but they struggle for basic funding to clear some each year. In my mind that displays there is little remorse for past actions.
- DanBC 10y agoHere' an example of landmine clearance in Cambodia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWfNZoXr6rQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWfNZoXr6rQ (From CmdrFred's comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12187512#12190918 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12187512#12190918)
- TeMPOraL 10y agoHoly hell. Filming that takes guts. Doing the disarming is the next level of courage. I just wonder how much deaths did it cost them to get the knowledge and proficiency in clearing those mines.
- brianwawok 10y agoI suspect by hand land-mine disarming has a very strong survivor bias... I.e. you don't make it to week 2 of your job if you are clumsy
- ouid 10y agoThere are some situations when the mine could be in either of 2 locations, though.
- saganus 10y agoWOW.... that's some brass courage right there. And to think there are so many of them buried around. It's just heart-breaking.
- wallace_f 10y agoThat's awful. I thought I knew of a lot of the "unreported war crimes" we've done, but I did not know of this.
- tim333 10y agoI knew it had happened but didn't know the scale. Apparently Laos was 'the biggest bombing in history', but they kept it secret at the time. 580,344 bombing missions. Guess that's what you get for being a non violent Buddhist country. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37286520 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37286520
- wallace_f 10y agoI had never seen that before, and I read news for a few hours every day.
- cyberferret 10y agoYep, I have a friend who worked for a couple of years as a teacher in Laos. He said that there are still many children killed or maimed by unexploded ordinance there each year. Two full generations away from the actual war, and they still pay for it with their blood.
- jacobush 10y agoHence the songs Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys and Cambodia by Kim Wilde.
- JackFr 10y agoI don't think you understand the lyrics to 'Holiday in Cambodia' 'The song is an attack on a stereotypical, moralizing, privileged American college student. ' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_in_Cambodia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_in_Cambodia
- jacobush 10y agoMaybe it was a bit of a stretch.
- e12e 10y agoSee also: "Washington Bullets", "Charlie don't Surf" by "The Clash".
- mistermann 10y agoAny suggestions on where might be the best place to read more about this online?