S3 Ep2: The Invasion - Part Two: A Vietnamese War In Cambodia

Why did Nixon invade Cambodia in May 1970?

What impact did the 'Cambodian Incursion' have on the war in Vietnam?

How did this effect Cambodia?

Time Period Covered: May - June 1970

In part two of our discussion about the situation in Cambodia after the coup which pushed Sihanouk from power, we see how the Nixon Whitehouse responded to the crisis facing Cambodia.

Lachlan asks whether the decision that Nixon and Kissinger made was the right one, or whether there was a correct answer. We look at the circumstances which brought about the decision, what options were on the table, and the impact that Nixon's speech which announced the 'incursion' had. Then we look at the 'Cambodia Campaign' itself, discussing the fighting which overtakes much of the country, and the outcomes this had in the short, and long term.

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Sources:

Chandler “Tragedy of Cambodian History”
Short “Pol Pot”
Shawcross “Sideshow”
Kamm “Report from a Stricken Land”
Sak Satsukhan “The Khmer Republic at War”
Wilfred Deac “Road to the Killing Fields”
Walter Isaacson “Kissinger”
Kiernan “How Pol Pot Came to Power”
Etcheson “Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea”
James Sterba "G.I's in Cambodia" (New York Times)