How The Vietnam War Affected Cambodia

People were saying that his decision to bomb Cambodia was not ending the war, it was making it worse. Many people protested against Nixon’s decisions during the Vietnam War and it did not end well. At Kent State University four students were killed guardsmen because the were protesting against the Vietnam War. On January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords made an end to the Vietnam War and all U.S. military involvement (“Nixon Declares Vietnam”). North Vietnam ended up winning and the United States and South Vietnam lost.

The Killing Fields offers a look into Cambodia towards the end of the Vietnam War and throughout Pol Pot’s Communist Regime, in which Khmer Rouge, a faction of the Cambodian people, took over the country. An interesting scene occurs when the movie opens with the Americans depicted as aggressors invaders- especially when there are news and depictions of the aftermath of an American bomb landing in a different Cambodian city- a scene that captures the bombings of the countries surrounding Vietnam during the war. However, things quickly change. At first glance, it appears that a faction of the Cambodians- the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, is in fact invading its own people. At the same time, however, the journalists/foreigners, the Vietnamese attackers, and even Pran himself can be seen as invaders.

The British impressed thousands of American sailors into the Royal Army, punishing Americans despite America’s state of sovereignty during Britain’s war with France. This blatant disrespect of America’s neutrality was a big factor in America’s decision to declare war against Britain. Furthermore, the British still kept the Orders in Council even after America passed several embargo policies hoping for change. The policies were ignored by the British and Americans were only harmed by Jefferson and Madison’s attempts for peace. Ultimately, the War of 1812 was due to Britain’s inability to respect America as a nation separate from the French and British

The United states got involved in the Vietnam war to contain communism. In Document 1 president Harry Truman says, when a country is ruled by the minority with a government that uses terror and oppression, the rights of the majority are being violated, and the United States ' policy must aid them. In communism, the basic human rights are not respected by the government, and the United States have

From the beginning of the United States military involvement in Vietnam in 1955, to its withdrawal in 1973 public support for the war was strong at first, but began to slowly erode as military actions escalated. Among the soldiers fighting in the war a critical turning point in their support for the war occurred after the revealing of the My Lai massacre. The My Lai Massacre was a turning point in the soldiers’ about the war and their support for the Vietnam War. Because of its documentation and publicity the My Lai massacre among many atrocities had such an impact, that it turned the viewpoints of the soldiers who were present at the massacre, but also those who were not.

I do not completely agree with the idea that the incident at My Lai caused the Americans to enter the state of denial. However, I support the thought regarding the growing disbelief among the citizens of the United States that was a result of the cruel and terrible murder of civilians in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it is not surprising that the revealing of the truth about the events was met ambiguously. The supporters of the war spoke about the American soldiers as the heroes who die fighting for the high aims. The respective idea about the Americans in Vietnam expressed Johnson Lyndon spreading the idea that “Americans have gone to far lands to fight for freedom” and there is no other way to establish peace rather than war (Lyndon, Statement, 1).

In the end both of the families decided to stop fighting each other and to just rule their parts of Vietnam. In the 18th century, both the Nguyens and the Trinhs had a new enemy, the Tay Son brothers who led a rebellion. This rebellion was led by Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Lu, and Nguyen Hue. The Tay Son Rebellion weakened the control and authority of the Nguyen Dynasty. At an advantage, the Trinh’s also helped the brothers attack the Nguyen’s.

Causes of the Cambodian Genocide The Cambodian genocide took place from 1975 to 1979; it is estimated that some two million Cambodians were systematically murdered by the Khmer Rouge and its followers (Power 90). In Alexander Hinton’s article, “A Head for an Eye” he recounts in details the experience of Gen, a survivor of the Cambodian Genocide. After the Lon Nol government was overthrown by the Khmer Rouge, the Communists began their witch-hunt in an attempt to identify and kill anyone who was associated with the former regime, as well as the educated, the Vietnamese, the Muslim Cham, the Buddhist monks, and other “bourgeois elements” (Power 101). During the investigation, it was revealed that Gen’s father was a teacher–this fact alone was

“Americans didn’t want to be believe that these things occurred in the name of the American people and for the sake of freedom”, so it was something that was swept under the rug until journalist got a hold of it. I understand now why the Vietnam War caused many to be diagnosed with PTSD and why it was very unpopular war. I am still interested in knowing the South Vietnamese side of the story, as well as the North

Pol Pot 's strategy of purging Cambodia of intellectuals and professionals enabled him to temporarily silence opponents to his brutal regime and achieve a fleeting ‘communist ideal’, however the resilience and memory of the Cambodian people did not enable him to abolish history. The 17th of April 1975 gave rise to the Khmer Rouge for four years who infiltrated the capital city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The government introduced a communist regime, ruled by Pol Pot, with a seemingly impossible goal to create an agrarian utopia. Pot’s ideology involved the abolishment of history through the targeting of intellectuals and professionals, influenced by the likes of Marxist ideology. Pot’s ideology was enforced upon the nation after the Khmer Rouge

People had antiwar demonstrations in many parts of the country. In 1969, Richard Nixon was elected President. He started bringing soldiers home, but U.S. planes also increased bombing of North Vietnam and started bombing Cambodia, a country west of Vietnam. In 1973, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States agreed to a cease-fire.

However, by 1954, the French armed forces proved that they were incompetent and ill-equipped, even with American aid, to deter the insurgency of the communist Viet Minh; after its resounding defeat at Dien Bien Phu, France abandon its attempt to regain control of the country. This left the United States and another administration to deal with the fallout. President Eisenhower continued with America’s Cold War ideology of containment in Vietnam; along with economic aid, he increased the United States’ commitment to include military “advisers” (Faragher, et. al, pg. 717). He theorized (Domino Theory) that losing Vietnam to communism would result in other countries in the Southeast Asian region succumbing to the same fate (History.com).

Walter Dean Myers once stated that “One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards, had a negative effect on the viewing public. The military in Iraq specifically banned the photographing of wounded soldiers and coffins, thus sanitizing this terrible and bloody conflict.” The Vietnam War, fought in 1955 to 1975, was the longest war in American history. This war was a conflict between the Communist North Vietnam and its ally Viet Cong, and South Vietnam and its ally the United States. During the Vietnam war, tensions in the United States were extremely high.

The Bay of Tonkin Incident is an example of the president having tyranny over the people by leading the nation to war when it was not

The Vietnam War drastically changed how Americans viewed their country. The US emerged from World War II as a world superpower and as a country where patriotism meant serving one’s country and following authority’s orders. However, in the 1960s, the discontent of many minority groups who believed that the “American Dream” was only obtainable by a select few, led to many social changes in the US. This discontent also fueled the many individuals who questioned what the US was doing fighting communism on the other side of the world. The Vietnam War divided American society at home on their views on national pride, police protection and justice, and trust in the US government, and also changed Americans view of their countries nobility.