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When the US invaded Cambodia in 1970, Prince Sihanouk was ousted and Lon Nol took charge. Sihanouk then allied with the independent Cambodian communists, and
by feedforward 2y ago
When the US invaded Cambodia in 1970, Prince Sihanouk was ousted and Lon Nol took charge. Sihanouk then allied with the independent Cambodian communists, and after a war in which the US bombed Cambodia more than Europe was bombed in WWII, the coalition of Sihanouk and the communists took over in 1975.
In 1979 the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia and took over much of the country with the help of Vietnamese aligned communists.
The US then began arming the coalition of Sihanouk and the communists not aligned with Vietnam. It also fought for their seat at the UN.
So the US began arming and supporting Pol Pot in 1979, as did China. This was covered to one extent or another in the New York Times, Nightline etc.
Don't really get people tut tutting Chomsky being a Vietnam and Cambodia dove when the US was arming Pol Pot starting in 1979.
- Aloisius 2y ago> when the US was arming Pol Pot starting in 1979. There is no concrete evidence the US armed the Khmer Rouge. At best, there is some evidence that some of the non-lethal aid provided to rival groups might have made it to the Khmer Rouge, but that's a far cry from arming them.
- feedforward 2y agoWhen Sihanouk and the communists are in alliance in 1975, and the head of state is Sihanouk - everything is blamed on the "Khmer Rouge", whatever that means. When the US begins arming the coalition of Sihanouk and the communists in 1979, then all the arms are going to "rival groups" in the Sihanouk/communist coalition. It's ridiculous.
- Aloisius 2y agoEven if you can't tell the KPNLF from the Khmer Rouge, the US didn't arm the KPNLF either. It provided non-lethal aid.
- feedforward 2y agoThe KPNLF were in a coalition government from 1982 on with Sihanouk and the communists, whom you call the "Khmer Rouge". In fact the coalition with the communists happened as soon as the US began funding them - it was probably ordered by the US. Any how, the US fairly openly armed what you call the Khmer Rouge, I guess a sliver of plausible deniability is enough for the minority of people like you who want to deny it. Nightline even did a whole segment on it.
- Aloisius 2y agoConflating the KPNLF with the Khmer Rouge, a group they were literally formed to fight - whose members suffered during Pol Pot's reign of terror, because they joined a coalition government in exile for expedience is just nonsense. The Red Khmer were Communists. The KPNLF were essentially strong armed into a coalition government by the Thai - who threatened to cut them off from aid and boot them from the country - and to gain international recognition and aid. They waited until the last possible moment to join and remained hostile towards the Khmer Rouge. If you have a link to this Nightline episode, I'd love to see it. I couldn't find it.
- feedforward 2y agoIt was called "From the Killing Fields".
- racional 2y agoThe US began arming and supporting Pol Pot in 1979 This allegation floats up from time to time, but lacks veracity. Of course Kissinger would have loved for the US to have done so -- but that doesn't mean it actually happened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_United_States_support_for_the_Khmer_Rouge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_United_States_s...
- feedforward 2y agoThe Wikipedia article you linked to mostly goes against what you said. I urge people to read the link which you yourself posted - people can learn about the US arming the so-called "Khmer Rouge".