In this picture, U.S. soldiers survey the Cambodian town of Snuŏl after it has been almost completely flattened by U.S. bombers.
This is part I of a documentary by John Pilger called "Year Zero" which I finally found on Youtube. The second installment of this documentary is just as astounding and horrifying as the first and is featured below this one. I would urge all documentary fans, all activists, and all Americans to view both of these in their entirety.
Part II
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fBSZty5mCTw&feature=related
Part III
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hfX7dBlfvac&feature=related
Part IV
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kv0d1O5OmoM&feature=related
Part V
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XIAmQDO_3h4&feature=related
Part VI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VTEykUkR5BQ&feature=related
Here is the shocking follow up documentary about Cambodia that John Pilger made after called "The Betrayal."
Part II
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fUp_xASPKUU&feature=related
Part III
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QhqFLjSqaD4&feature=related
Part IV
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rm8EJyNNOFk&feature=related
Part V
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nO8pzi3i31A&feature=related
Here is an excellent documentary about Henry Kissinger called "The Trial of Henry Kissinger." Some of Henry Kissinger's worst war crimes took place in Cambodia in the late 60's and early 70's.
Part II
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mRmkQOo7Inw&feature=related
Part III
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dr-RPvAvaac&feature=related
Part IV
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e7KEP6_UgSs&feature=related
Part V
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fqgpvVL6Sew&feature=related
Part VI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=E2Wd6zFFS-M&feature=related
Part VII
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0s3M-5pgKPQ&feature=related
Part VIII
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IRIw8qa5ZIM&feature=related
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Cambodia's Killing Fields
So lately I've heard the subject of Cambodia come up in discussion so many times that I decided that I was being instructed by some larger force to share what I have learned about Cambodia - specifically about the U.S. role in bringing about the conditions that the Cambodian people suffered and died under for so many years. Usually modern day discussions about Cambodia revolve around the travel stories of Americans who have enjoyed Cambodia as a modern backpacking destination. Now I don't want this entry to express judgment on Americans who travel to Cambodia. Shoot if I could afford it right now, the truth is I would love to see that beautiful country myself. However, I find myself wondering, how horrendous would my Government's crimes have to be in a nation before it became an unacceptable backpacking destination morally and ethically?
I thought this Blog post would be a good chance to review a few facts about what took place in Cambodia before the Kumer Ruge "surprisingly" emerged from the countryside to launch one of the worst campaigns of violence civilization has ever seen - or not seen.
Depending on whom you believe anywhere between thousands to several hundred thousand Cambodians were killed by U.S. Military action during our illegal invasion of that country. B-52 bombers, a totally indiscriminate weapon of mass death if ever there was one, totally leveled entire towns and cities.
Then, when the Kumer Ruge was at it's worst point of destructive power and behavior, coverage of these crimes in the West went to almost ZERO. Those demanding evidence of this please read the extensive writings by Noam Chomsky and others on Cambodia where the silence of the New York Times and other media outlets is exhaustively laid out for us to see.
Do we really think about that enough? What did we think was going to happen there after we bombed that country anyway? What did we do to rebuild that Cambodia? Did we pay ANY war reparations? What would happen here if several million people were bombed to death buy an invading force here in the U.S.?
These are really important questions because the truth is if we switched places with the Cambodians, given who we are, we wouldn't let them set one foot on our soil. You really think that if they had done that to us that we would be OK with them backpacking around Yosemite? Of course not!
Further, and much more importantly, John Pilger's follow up documentary above makes some very serious and convincing allegations surrounding covert arms of the U.S. Government and their behavior in Cambodia. And he's not the only one to have done so. He takes footage which seems to suggest that the U.S. not only knew about the Kumer Ruge but actually may have helped feed, fund, and arm that vicious army. Now before everyone gets worked up demanding evidence from me, I must urge all to consider that this is the CIA we're talking about. It's their JOB not leave evidence. We have to look for little tiny clues that they sloppily leave around. And we also have to consider the actions of the CIA in the rare cases where we the truth actually does come out.
How about Chile? Please I urge everyone to look at the ethics of the CIA's (and ITT's) behavior in Chile in the 70's. How about Iraq in the 50's when we helped Saddam come to power? How about Iran in the 70's when the CIA propped up the Shaw and helped arm their vicious police force? There are simply too many cases to list here however once you do consider these cases and the CIA's priorities and ethics as reflected in them, it's really very little of a stretch to imagine that the CIA did indeed fund and arm the Kumer Ruge.
If this is true then many Americans are complicit in the crime of genocide. And many still alive namely Henry Kissinger MUST be brought before a war crimes tribunal and severely punished for their actions. Not for the bombing of Cambodia although that would certainly warrant an extremely lengthy trial but much more importantly for supporting and arming the Kumer Ruge even after we knew what they were doing. That is a crime right up there with the Nazis and one that will not just go away because it's inconvenient for us to think about.
Fine, go backpacking there. Let's keep in mind though that it's only the infinite compassion of the Cambodian people and their lack of knowledge about who was responsible for what happened there that stops them from shooting us as we get off the plane.
The Cambodians, insofar as they do understand our role in their history, and having a largely Buddhist population, probably understand that gestures of revenge are pointless because Karma while being a tad slow is absoutely relentless and knows no borders and no patriotism.
I hope that this blog post and the videos in it give us all something to think about when pondering travel plans to Southeast Asia in the future. Any entrance onto Cambodian soil on my part that did not involve weeping and puking would feel wholly inadequate.
-DJ Freak
