----- Original Message ----- From: "Gautam Mukunda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 10:49 AM Subject: RE: An Interview in Pakistan
>Cambodia stands as the best example for why my arguments will work - because >I wouldn't have left those people to die. I would have done anything to stop it - including > working with right-wing dictators who would never, ever, ever have done > anything that approached that. Well, I beg to differ with you here Gautam. From 1955 to 1970 Cambodia maintained an official neutrality lead by Prince Sihanouk. In 1970 there was a coup lead by a pro-American general who replaced this neutral government by a pro-American government that, IIRC, actively worked with the United States and was buttressed by US aid. My memory of the time was that we decided that in Southeast Asia "you were for us or against us." I also remember, at the time, people argued that the installation of a right wing regime would actually increase the probability of a Communist takeover, because the government would be viewed as a US puppet by many of the people and support for the Communists would grow. That did happen. Once Pot Pol's regime did start the purges, the US, as well as the rest of the world had the obligation to stop it. I have no argument with that. But, I would argue that Nixon set in motion the chain of events when he sponsored the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk. Further, the actions of the United States to overthrow what appeared to be a fairly beneign monarchy and the sending of US troops en mass into the country significantly decreased our ability to be perceived as a benign presence in Cambodia.** IMHO, we should have understood his difficult position, and stayed with the tacit agreement that existed between all the parties: both we and the Communists were active in Cambodia, but within bounds. They would infiltrate through the country, and we would bomb them while infiltrating. They would not mass troops to fight long term battles in Cambodia, and we would not send soldiers in. Neither side would try to overthrow Sihanouk. Dan M. ** I don't have documentation direct US involvement in the overthrow of Sihanouk. But, I think the versimilitude of this analysis is greater than a right wing pro-American government forming because that was the popular will. I'll continue to look for better documentation on this.
