| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"johac" |
| Date: |
28 Aug 2007 02:06:15 AM |
| Object: |
History lesson for Dubya |
Dubya wrong as usual.
---
Bush Gets Away with Lies, Lies and More Lies in History-Illiterate
America
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
Posted on August 27, 2007, Printed on August 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/60764/
George Bush -- and other Iraq War supporters -- have argued that if we
withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the slaughters -- the killing
fields -- in Cambodia.
Here are the facts:
* The killing fields were real. The genocide against their own
people was committed by the Khmer Rouge.
* The Vietnamese -- the Communist Vietnamese -- were the people who
went in and put a stop to it.
* The United States then supported the Khmer Rouge.
Here's how that came to happen.
The United States got involved in the war in Vietnam in an attempt to
keep South Vietnam from going communist. Which it would have if
nationwide elections had been held as promised.
Cambodia is next to Vietnam. It was ruled by Prince Sihanouk. He
attempted to be neutral. Both sides abused that neutrality.
The North Vietnamese send arms, support and men through Cambodia on the
"Ho Chi Minh Trail" to go around South Vietnamese and American forces.
They also used Cambodian ports.
The United States, which was not at war with Cambodia, officially or
unofficially, secretly sent armed forces into Cambodia to interrupt
North Vietnamese use of that route. In 1969, Nixon began a campaign of
carpet bombing sections of Cambodia. Ultimately about 750,000 Cambodians
were killed by the bombings (though the numbers are hard to verify.)
In 1970, while Sihanouk was out of the country, visiting Europe, the
USSR and China, Lon Nol took over the country in a right wing coup.
There are two stories about American involvement. The first is that we
supported the coup, the second (in Tom Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, The
History of the CIA) is that it took the CIA and the United States by
surprise. Recently declassified documents support Weiner's view.
In either case, once Lon Nol took power, the US supported him. In
return, Lon Nol ended the neutrality, closed the ports to the communists
and demanded that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leave the country,
and let US forces openly, though secretly, operate in Cambodia.
There was resistance to Lon Nol. Some of it was certainly a spontaneous
matter of national sentiment. Some of it was certainly fomented by
various communist interests.
Sihanouk, in China, then allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia
communists, which conferred new legitimacy on them.
Civil War broke out. Lon Nol was both corrupt and inept. In spite of
American financial and military support, he lost.
America left Vietnam in 1973.
The Khmer Rouge took the capital of Cambodia in 1975. They were one of
the most horrendous regimes in history. They practiced a kind of class
genocide, "re-educating" and murdering anyone who educated or
Westernized, as well as minority groups.
In 1978, Vietnam, by then fully Communist, invaded Cambodia to put a
stop to the Khmer Rouge and drive them out. They installed a more
moderate and sane regime.
The United States, the UK, and China then supported the remnants of the
Khmer Rouge. With their help the conflict continued for another ten
years.
When George Bush, or anyone else, uses the Cambodian holocaust as a
warning of what might happen if America withdraws from Iraq, remember
the facts.
1. Part of the holocaust in Cambodia is directly attributable to
American bombing. The 750,000 dead. (Comparable to the number of Iraqis
killed by American forces in this war.)
2. The civil war that led to the victory of the Khmer Rouge came about,
at least in part, because of America's support of Lon Nol.
3. The "enemy," the Vietnamese Communists, were the ones who put a stop
to the Khmer Rouge.
4. The United States supported the Khmer Rouge -- after their murders,
after the genocide. That support helped a civil war continue for another
decade. More death, more destruction.
Larry Beinhart is the author of Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the
Land of Spin. His novels include Wag the Dog, on which the film was
based, and The Librarian which Rolling Stone described as "John Grisham
meets Jon Stewart."
---
http://www.alternet.org/audits/60764/
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
|
|
| User: "Michelle Malkin" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
28 Aug 2007 03:29:40 AM |
|
|
"johac" <jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:jhachmann-8C2EEE.00061528082007@news.giganews.com...
Dubya wrong as usual.
---
Bush Gets Away with Lies, Lies and More Lies in History-Illiterate
America
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
Posted on August 27, 2007, Printed on August 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/60764/
George Bush -- and other Iraq War supporters -- have argued that if we
withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the slaughters -- the killing
fields -- in Cambodia.
Here are the facts:
* The killing fields were real. The genocide against their own
people was committed by the Khmer Rouge.
* The Vietnamese -- the Communist Vietnamese -- were the people who
went in and put a stop to it.
* The United States then supported the Khmer Rouge.
Here's how that came to happen.
The United States got involved in the war in Vietnam in an attempt to
keep South Vietnam from going communist. Which it would have if
nationwide elections had been held as promised.
Cambodia is next to Vietnam. It was ruled by Prince Sihanouk. He
attempted to be neutral. Both sides abused that neutrality.
The North Vietnamese send arms, support and men through Cambodia on the
"Ho Chi Minh Trail" to go around South Vietnamese and American forces.
They also used Cambodian ports.
The United States, which was not at war with Cambodia, officially or
unofficially, secretly sent armed forces into Cambodia to interrupt
North Vietnamese use of that route. In 1969, Nixon began a campaign of
carpet bombing sections of Cambodia. Ultimately about 750,000 Cambodians
were killed by the bombings (though the numbers are hard to verify.)
In 1970, while Sihanouk was out of the country, visiting Europe, the
USSR and China, Lon Nol took over the country in a right wing coup.
There are two stories about American involvement. The first is that we
supported the coup, the second (in Tom Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, The
History of the CIA) is that it took the CIA and the United States by
surprise. Recently declassified documents support Weiner's view.
In either case, once Lon Nol took power, the US supported him. In
return, Lon Nol ended the neutrality, closed the ports to the communists
and demanded that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leave the country,
and let US forces openly, though secretly, operate in Cambodia.
There was resistance to Lon Nol. Some of it was certainly a spontaneous
matter of national sentiment. Some of it was certainly fomented by
various communist interests.
Sihanouk, in China, then allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia
communists, which conferred new legitimacy on them.
Civil War broke out. Lon Nol was both corrupt and inept. In spite of
American financial and military support, he lost.
America left Vietnam in 1973.
The Khmer Rouge took the capital of Cambodia in 1975. They were one of
the most horrendous regimes in history. They practiced a kind of class
genocide, "re-educating" and murdering anyone who educated or
Westernized, as well as minority groups.
In 1978, Vietnam, by then fully Communist, invaded Cambodia to put a
stop to the Khmer Rouge and drive them out. They installed a more
moderate and sane regime.
The United States, the UK, and China then supported the remnants of the
Khmer Rouge. With their help the conflict continued for another ten
years.
When George Bush, or anyone else, uses the Cambodian holocaust as a
warning of what might happen if America withdraws from Iraq, remember
the facts.
1. Part of the holocaust in Cambodia is directly attributable to
American bombing. The 750,000 dead. (Comparable to the number of Iraqis
killed by American forces in this war.)
2. The civil war that led to the victory of the Khmer Rouge came about,
at least in part, because of America's support of Lon Nol.
3. The "enemy," the Vietnamese Communists, were the ones who put a stop
to the Khmer Rouge.
4. The United States supported the Khmer Rouge -- after their murders,
after the genocide. That support helped a civil war continue for another
decade. More death, more destruction.
What is it with the US government replacing good
leaders in other countries with murderous dictators?
This has been known to backfire on the idiots.
Larry Beinhart is the author of Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the
Land of Spin. His novels include Wag the Dog, on which the film was
based, and The Librarian which Rolling Stone described as "John Grisham
meets Jon Stewart."
---
http://www.alternet.org/audits/60764/
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
|
|
|
| User: "Sanitys Little Helper" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
28 Aug 2007 06:38:48 AM |
|
|
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote in
news:UOSdnZ3wqrJyQU7bnZ2dnUVZ_uiknZ2d@comcast.com to alt.atheism:
"johac" <jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:jhachmann-8C2EEE.00061528082007@news.giganews.com...
Dubya wrong as usual.
---
Bush Gets Away with Lies, Lies and More Lies in History-Illiterate
America
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
Posted on August 27, 2007, Printed on August 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/60764/
George Bush -- and other Iraq War supporters -- have argued that if we
withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the slaughters -- the
killing
fields -- in Cambodia.
Here are the facts:
* The killing fields were real. The genocide against their own
people was committed by the Khmer Rouge.
* The Vietnamese -- the Communist Vietnamese -- were the people who
went in and put a stop to it.
* The United States then supported the Khmer Rouge.
Here's how that came to happen.
The United States got involved in the war in Vietnam in an attempt to
keep South Vietnam from going communist. Which it would have if
nationwide elections had been held as promised.
Cambodia is next to Vietnam. It was ruled by Prince Sihanouk. He
attempted to be neutral. Both sides abused that neutrality.
The North Vietnamese send arms, support and men through Cambodia on
the
"Ho Chi Minh Trail" to go around South Vietnamese and American forces.
They also used Cambodian ports.
The United States, which was not at war with Cambodia, officially or
unofficially, secretly sent armed forces into Cambodia to interrupt
North Vietnamese use of that route. In 1969, Nixon began a campaign of
carpet bombing sections of Cambodia. Ultimately about 750,000
Cambodians
were killed by the bombings (though the numbers are hard to verify.)
In 1970, while Sihanouk was out of the country, visiting Europe, the
USSR and China, Lon Nol took over the country in a right wing coup.
There are two stories about American involvement. The first is that we
supported the coup, the second (in Tom Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, The
History of the CIA) is that it took the CIA and the United States by
surprise. Recently declassified documents support Weiner's view.
In either case, once Lon Nol took power, the US supported him. In
return, Lon Nol ended the neutrality, closed the ports to the
communists
and demanded that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leave the
country,
and let US forces openly, though secretly, operate in Cambodia.
There was resistance to Lon Nol. Some of it was certainly a
spontaneous
matter of national sentiment. Some of it was certainly fomented by
various communist interests.
Sihanouk, in China, then allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia
communists, which conferred new legitimacy on them.
Civil War broke out. Lon Nol was both corrupt and inept. In spite of
American financial and military support, he lost.
America left Vietnam in 1973.
The Khmer Rouge took the capital of Cambodia in 1975. They were one of
the most horrendous regimes in history. They practiced a kind of class
genocide, "re-educating" and murdering anyone who educated or
Westernized, as well as minority groups.
In 1978, Vietnam, by then fully Communist, invaded Cambodia to put a
stop to the Khmer Rouge and drive them out. They installed a more
moderate and sane regime.
The United States, the UK, and China then supported the remnants of
the
Khmer Rouge. With their help the conflict continued for another ten
years.
When George Bush, or anyone else, uses the Cambodian holocaust as a
warning of what might happen if America withdraws from Iraq, remember
the facts.
1. Part of the holocaust in Cambodia is directly attributable to
American bombing. The 750,000 dead. (Comparable to the number of
Iraqis
killed by American forces in this war.)
2. The civil war that led to the victory of the Khmer Rouge came
about,
at least in part, because of America's support of Lon Nol.
3. The "enemy," the Vietnamese Communists, were the ones who put a
stop
to the Khmer Rouge.
4. The United States supported the Khmer Rouge -- after their murders,
after the genocide. That support helped a civil war continue for
another
decade. More death, more destruction.
What is it with the US government replacing good
leaders in other countries with murderous dictators?
Its the only way they stand a chance of gaining the moral high ground.
--
David Silverman C.B.E.
aa #2208
"*****! I used up my last non-sequitur" - Andrew B Chung
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
28 Aug 2007 06:58:44 PM |
|
|
In article <UOSdnZ3wqrJyQU7bnZ2dnUVZ_uiknZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
"johac" <jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:jhachmann-8C2EEE.00061528082007@news.giganews.com...
Dubya wrong as usual.
---
Bush Gets Away with Lies, Lies and More Lies in History-Illiterate
America
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
Posted on August 27, 2007, Printed on August 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/60764/
George Bush -- and other Iraq War supporters -- have argued that if we
withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the slaughters -- the killing
fields -- in Cambodia.
Here are the facts:
* The killing fields were real. The genocide against their own
people was committed by the Khmer Rouge.
* The Vietnamese -- the Communist Vietnamese -- were the people who
went in and put a stop to it.
* The United States then supported the Khmer Rouge.
Here's how that came to happen.
The United States got involved in the war in Vietnam in an attempt to
keep South Vietnam from going communist. Which it would have if
nationwide elections had been held as promised.
Cambodia is next to Vietnam. It was ruled by Prince Sihanouk. He
attempted to be neutral. Both sides abused that neutrality.
The North Vietnamese send arms, support and men through Cambodia on the
"Ho Chi Minh Trail" to go around South Vietnamese and American forces.
They also used Cambodian ports.
The United States, which was not at war with Cambodia, officially or
unofficially, secretly sent armed forces into Cambodia to interrupt
North Vietnamese use of that route. In 1969, Nixon began a campaign of
carpet bombing sections of Cambodia. Ultimately about 750,000 Cambodians
were killed by the bombings (though the numbers are hard to verify.)
In 1970, while Sihanouk was out of the country, visiting Europe, the
USSR and China, Lon Nol took over the country in a right wing coup.
There are two stories about American involvement. The first is that we
supported the coup, the second (in Tom Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, The
History of the CIA) is that it took the CIA and the United States by
surprise. Recently declassified documents support Weiner's view.
In either case, once Lon Nol took power, the US supported him. In
return, Lon Nol ended the neutrality, closed the ports to the communists
and demanded that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leave the country,
and let US forces openly, though secretly, operate in Cambodia.
There was resistance to Lon Nol. Some of it was certainly a spontaneous
matter of national sentiment. Some of it was certainly fomented by
various communist interests.
Sihanouk, in China, then allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia
communists, which conferred new legitimacy on them.
Civil War broke out. Lon Nol was both corrupt and inept. In spite of
American financial and military support, he lost.
America left Vietnam in 1973.
The Khmer Rouge took the capital of Cambodia in 1975. They were one of
the most horrendous regimes in history. They practiced a kind of class
genocide, "re-educating" and murdering anyone who educated or
Westernized, as well as minority groups.
In 1978, Vietnam, by then fully Communist, invaded Cambodia to put a
stop to the Khmer Rouge and drive them out. They installed a more
moderate and sane regime.
The United States, the UK, and China then supported the remnants of the
Khmer Rouge. With their help the conflict continued for another ten
years.
When George Bush, or anyone else, uses the Cambodian holocaust as a
warning of what might happen if America withdraws from Iraq, remember
the facts.
1. Part of the holocaust in Cambodia is directly attributable to
American bombing. The 750,000 dead. (Comparable to the number of Iraqis
killed by American forces in this war.)
2. The civil war that led to the victory of the Khmer Rouge came about,
at least in part, because of America's support of Lon Nol.
3. The "enemy," the Vietnamese Communists, were the ones who put a stop
to the Khmer Rouge.
4. The United States supported the Khmer Rouge -- after their murders,
after the genocide. That support helped a civil war continue for another
decade. More death, more destruction.
What is it with the US government replacing good
leaders in other countries with murderous dictators?
This has been known to backfire on the idiots.
That was the policy back then. We would support any bloodthirsty creep
as long as they were 'anti-Communist'. Now it's if they are
'anti-terrorist'.
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
29 Aug 2007 01:38:58 PM |
|
|
On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:58:44 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
That was the policy back then. We would support any bloodthirsty creep
as long as they were 'anti-Communist'. Now it's if they are
'anti-terrorist'.
We'll even support terrorists. As long as they're anti-"anti-American
terrorist"-terrorists.
.
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
30 Aug 2007 12:32:25 AM |
|
|
In article <g8fbd3d2pro6nstanuusj1sdkjumpedmc2@4ax.com>,
Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:58:44 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
That was the policy back then. We would support any bloodthirsty creep
as long as they were 'anti-Communist'. Now it's if they are
'anti-terrorist'.
We'll even support terrorists. As long as they're anti-"anti-American
terrorist"-terrorists.
But we call those terrorists 'Freedom Fighters'.
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
|
|
|
|
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| User: "skyeyes" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
28 Aug 2007 11:50:17 AM |
|
|
On Aug 28, 1:29 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
"johac" <jhachm...@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:jhachmann-8C2EEE.00061528082007@news.giganews.com...
Dubya wrong as usual.
---
Bush Gets Away with Lies, Lies and More Lies in History-Illiterate
America
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
Posted on August 27, 2007, Printed on August 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/60764/
George Bush -- and other Iraq War supporters -- have argued that if we
withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the slaughters -- the killing
fields -- in Cambodia.
Here are the facts:
* The killing fields were real. The genocide against their own
people was committed by the Khmer Rouge.
* The Vietnamese -- the Communist Vietnamese -- were the people who
went in and put a stop to it.
* The United States then supported the Khmer Rouge.
Here's how that came to happen.
The United States got involved in the war in Vietnam in an attempt to
keep South Vietnam from going communist. Which it would have if
nationwide elections had been held as promised.
Cambodia is next to Vietnam. It was ruled by Prince Sihanouk. He
attempted to be neutral. Both sides abused that neutrality.
The North Vietnamese send arms, support and men through Cambodia on the
"Ho Chi Minh Trail" to go around South Vietnamese and American forces.
They also used Cambodian ports.
The United States, which was not at war with Cambodia, officially or
unofficially, secretly sent armed forces into Cambodia to interrupt
North Vietnamese use of that route. In 1969, Nixon began a campaign of
carpet bombing sections of Cambodia. Ultimately about 750,000 Cambodians
were killed by the bombings (though the numbers are hard to verify.)
In 1970, while Sihanouk was out of the country, visiting Europe, the
USSR and China, Lon Nol took over the country in a right wing coup.
There are two stories about American involvement. The first is that we
supported the coup, the second (in Tom Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, The
History of the CIA) is that it took the CIA and the United States by
surprise. Recently declassified documents support Weiner's view.
In either case, once Lon Nol took power, the US supported him. In
return, Lon Nol ended the neutrality, closed the ports to the communists
and demanded that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leave the country,
and let US forces openly, though secretly, operate in Cambodia.
There was resistance to Lon Nol. Some of it was certainly a spontaneous
matter of national sentiment. Some of it was certainly fomented by
various communist interests.
Sihanouk, in China, then allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia
communists, which conferred new legitimacy on them.
Civil War broke out. Lon Nol was both corrupt and inept. In spite of
American financial and military support, he lost.
America left Vietnam in 1973.
The Khmer Rouge took the capital of Cambodia in 1975. They were one of
the most horrendous regimes in history. They practiced a kind of class
genocide, "re-educating" and murdering anyone who educated or
Westernized, as well as minority groups.
In 1978, Vietnam, by then fully Communist, invaded Cambodia to put a
stop to the Khmer Rouge and drive them out. They installed a more
moderate and sane regime.
The United States, the UK, and China then supported the remnants of the
Khmer Rouge. With their help the conflict continued for another ten
years.
When George Bush, or anyone else, uses the Cambodian holocaust as a
warning of what might happen if America withdraws from Iraq, remember
the facts.
1. Part of the holocaust in Cambodia is directly attributable to
American bombing. The 750,000 dead. (Comparable to the number of Iraqis
killed by American forces in this war.)
2. The civil war that led to the victory of the Khmer Rouge came about,
at least in part, because of America's support of Lon Nol.
3. The "enemy," the Vietnamese Communists, were the ones who put a stop
to the Khmer Rouge.
4. The United States supported the Khmer Rouge -- after their murders,
after the genocide. That support helped a civil war continue for another
decade. More death, more destruction.
What is it with the US government replacing good
leaders in other countries with murderous dictators?
This has been known to backfire on the idiots.
The philosophy of the US government at the time was "Anybody who is
anti-communist is automatically better (from a US perspective) than
any leader who is pro- or neutral towards communism." It didn't
matter whether the leader we wanted to replace was democratically
elected (Allende, Chile), or whether the leader we were supporting was
corrupt, cruel, or anti-democratic (the Shah of Iran). All our
government cared about was that the leaders they supported would be
strongly anti-communist.
And yes, not only has it been "known" to backfire on them, it has
backfired on them virtually without fail. Our support of Osama Bin
Laden and the Taliban against the Soviets in Afghanistan is a stellar
example of this, er, short-sightedness.
Brenda Nelson, A.A.#34
EAC Professor of Feline Thermometrics and Cat-Herding
skyeyes at dakotacom dot ent
.
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| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
29 Aug 2007 12:18:02 AM |
|
|
In article <1188319817.406489.91600@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
skyeyes <skyeyes@dakotacom.net> wrote:
On Aug 28, 1:29 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
"johac" <jhachm...@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:jhachmann-8C2EEE.00061528082007@news.giganews.com...
Dubya wrong as usual.
---
Bush Gets Away with Lies, Lies and More Lies in History-Illiterate
America
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
Posted on August 27, 2007, Printed on August 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/60764/
George Bush -- and other Iraq War supporters -- have argued that if we
withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the slaughters -- the killing
fields -- in Cambodia.
Here are the facts:
* The killing fields were real. The genocide against their own
people was committed by the Khmer Rouge.
* The Vietnamese -- the Communist Vietnamese -- were the people who
went in and put a stop to it.
* The United States then supported the Khmer Rouge.
Here's how that came to happen.
The United States got involved in the war in Vietnam in an attempt to
keep South Vietnam from going communist. Which it would have if
nationwide elections had been held as promised.
Cambodia is next to Vietnam. It was ruled by Prince Sihanouk. He
attempted to be neutral. Both sides abused that neutrality.
The North Vietnamese send arms, support and men through Cambodia on the
"Ho Chi Minh Trail" to go around South Vietnamese and American forces.
They also used Cambodian ports.
The United States, which was not at war with Cambodia, officially or
unofficially, secretly sent armed forces into Cambodia to interrupt
North Vietnamese use of that route. In 1969, Nixon began a campaign of
carpet bombing sections of Cambodia. Ultimately about 750,000 Cambodians
were killed by the bombings (though the numbers are hard to verify.)
In 1970, while Sihanouk was out of the country, visiting Europe, the
USSR and China, Lon Nol took over the country in a right wing coup.
There are two stories about American involvement. The first is that we
supported the coup, the second (in Tom Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, The
History of the CIA) is that it took the CIA and the United States by
surprise. Recently declassified documents support Weiner's view.
In either case, once Lon Nol took power, the US supported him. In
return, Lon Nol ended the neutrality, closed the ports to the communists
and demanded that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leave the country,
and let US forces openly, though secretly, operate in Cambodia.
There was resistance to Lon Nol. Some of it was certainly a spontaneous
matter of national sentiment. Some of it was certainly fomented by
various communist interests.
Sihanouk, in China, then allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia
communists, which conferred new legitimacy on them.
Civil War broke out. Lon Nol was both corrupt and inept. In spite of
American financial and military support, he lost.
America left Vietnam in 1973.
The Khmer Rouge took the capital of Cambodia in 1975. They were one of
the most horrendous regimes in history. They practiced a kind of class
genocide, "re-educating" and murdering anyone who educated or
Westernized, as well as minority groups.
In 1978, Vietnam, by then fully Communist, invaded Cambodia to put a
stop to the Khmer Rouge and drive them out. They installed a more
moderate and sane regime.
The United States, the UK, and China then supported the remnants of the
Khmer Rouge. With their help the conflict continued for another ten
years.
When George Bush, or anyone else, uses the Cambodian holocaust as a
warning of what might happen if America withdraws from Iraq, remember
the facts.
1. Part of the holocaust in Cambodia is directly attributable to
American bombing. The 750,000 dead. (Comparable to the number of Iraqis
killed by American forces in this war.)
2. The civil war that led to the victory of the Khmer Rouge came about,
at least in part, because of America's support of Lon Nol.
3. The "enemy," the Vietnamese Communists, were the ones who put a stop
to the Khmer Rouge.
4. The United States supported the Khmer Rouge -- after their murders,
after the genocide. That support helped a civil war continue for another
decade. More death, more destruction.
What is it with the US government replacing good
leaders in other countries with murderous dictators?
This has been known to backfire on the idiots.
The philosophy of the US government at the time was "Anybody who is
anti-communist is automatically better (from a US perspective) than
any leader who is pro- or neutral towards communism." It didn't
matter whether the leader we wanted to replace was democratically
elected (Allende, Chile), or whether the leader we were supporting was
corrupt, cruel, or anti-democratic (the Shah of Iran). All our
government cared about was that the leaders they supported would be
strongly anti-communist.
And yes, not only has it been "known" to backfire on them, it has
backfired on them virtually without fail. Our support of Osama Bin
Laden and the Taliban against the Soviets in Afghanistan is a stellar
example of this, er, short-sightedness.
And let's not forget Chiang Kai-shek, Franco, Salazar, Somoza, Batista,
Trujillo, Castillo, Diem, Pinochet, the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein,
Osama,, and the rest of the rogues gallery whom we either put in power
or supported over the years.
Brenda Nelson, A.A.#34
EAC Professor of Feline Thermometrics and Cat-Herding
skyeyes at dakotacom dot ent
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: History lesson for Dubya |
28 Aug 2007 01:09:23 PM |
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On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:29:40 -0400, "Michelle Malkin"
<hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
What is it with the US government replacing good
leaders in other countries with murderous dictators?
"The enemy of mine enemy is my friend", no matter how murderous an
immoral ***** he is.
This has been known to backfire on the idiots.
"Has been known to"? I'm hard-pressed to think of an instance in
which it hasn't.
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