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The Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge. By: Rebecca Chee. What is the Khmer Rouge and Why are They Important?. Communist party who governed Cambodia from 1975-1979 Struggle to rise to power Killing Fields. Questions to be Addressed.

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The Khmer Rouge

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  1. The Khmer Rouge By: Rebecca Chee

  2. What is the Khmer Rouge and Why are They Important? • Communist party who governed Cambodia from 1975-1979 • Struggle to rise to power • Killing Fields

  3. Questions to be Addressed • What did the Khmer Rouge do in retaliation to the US bombings? Did they retaliate?  • Who authorized the bombing of Cambodia? • Why did the USA think Cambodia was being used to transport supplies to the Communists in Vietnam? • Did the USA have a responsibility to Cambodia to stop the Khmer Rouge, and do they have a responsibility now to help it rebuild?  • Why did Congress ban ground troops in Cambodia, but not air troops? • Is the US responsible for the rise of the Khmer Rouge?

  4. Thesis • The rise of the Khmer Rouge was caused by the American bombings and incursions of Cambodia, the unofficial American support for the Khmer Serei, and the American support for the Lon Nol government. 

  5. Arguments • American bombing and incursions facilitated Khmer Rouge recruitment • Due to American support for the Khmer Serei, the Khmer Rouge was able to spark civil unrest, and thus easily recruit the masses • The American backed Lon Nol regime allowed the Khmer Rouge to declare that it was a puppet government and thus start a civil war

  6. The rise of the Khmer Rouge was caused by the American bombings and incursions of Cambodia, the unofficial American support for the Khmer Serei, and the American support for the Lon Nol government.  US Incursion and Bombing Facilitated Khmer Rouge Recruitment Argument 1: • The decision to infringe on Cambodia’s national sovereignty was made in 7 days • Dropped 3X as many bombs on Cambodia as they did on Japan during WWII • Bombing and invasion of Cambodia forced the peasants to run straight to the Khmer Rouge

  7. The rise of the Khmer Rouge was caused by the American bombings and incursions of Cambodia, the unofficial American support for the Khmer Serei, and the American support for the Lon Nol government.  American Support of the Khmer Serei caused civil unrest, and thus allowed the Khmer Rouge to easily recruit the masses Argument 2: • Khmer Serei = Free Khmers • Operation Cherry • Prince kick US out of Cambodia • Lost in revenue = increased tensions which made recruitment easier for the Khmer Rouge

  8. The rise of the Khmer Rouge was caused by the American bombings and incursions of Cambodia, the unofficial American support for the Khmer Serei, and the American support for the Lon Nol government. Argument #3: The American backed Lon Nol regime allowed the Khmer Rouge to declare that it was a puppet government and thus start a civil war • US backed gov’t up till this time period had a history of failure • US aid constituted over 95% of the Lon Nol regime’s economy • Khmer Rouge correctly called the regime a puppet gov’t

  9. Counter Argument # 1 • Prince Sihanouk was responsible for the rise of the Khmer Rouge due to his incompetence as a leader which allowed the Khmer Rouge to create civil unrest, dispose of the Lon Nol Regime, and put themselves into power.

  10. Counter Argument #2 • The tension between the peasants and the elite was simply exploited by the Khmer Rouge as a tool to help them rise to power.

  11. Counter Argument #3 • French Colonial rule is to blame for the rise of the Khmer Rouge due to this rule, the leaders of the Khmer Rouge were sent to France on scholarships where they were exposed to communism and the ideas behind the French Revolution.

  12. Works Cited • Anthony Faiola - Washington Post Foreign Service. “Victims of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Fear Derailment of Trials: [FINAL Edition].”  The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 2 Feb. 2007, A.10. US National Newspapers. ProQuest.  8 Feb. 2007 < http://www.proquest.com/> • Canesso, Claudia. Cambodia. Malyasia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. • Chronology of American State Terrorism. http://web.archive.org/web/20030401202414/free.freespeech.org/ americanstateterrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html. (March 19, 2007.)  • Etcheson, Craig. The Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea.   Colorado: Westview Press, Inc., 1984.   • Longmuir, Gordon D. “Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot, Revised Edition / Voices From S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison.”  Pacific Affairs  73.4 (2001):  620-622. Platinum Periodicals. ProQuest. 8 Feb. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/ >  • O’Daniel, Larry. “CIA Operation Rouge Cherry.” Trails of Deceit. Arizona: Golden Coast Publishing, 2001. March 19, 2007. http://www.geocities.com/larryjodaniel/17.html.  • Pran, Dith. The Cambodian Killing Fields. 16 June 1997. 9 Feb. 2007   <http://www.dithpran.org/killingfields.htm>. • “Statement on Signing the Bill Supporting the Restoration of a Free and Independent Cambodia October 18, 1988.” American Reference Library. Western Standard Publishing Company, 2001.

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