The impact of Henry Kissinger on Cambodia marked by bombings and disorder
Upon the announcement of Henry Kissinger's passing this week, numerous previous global leaders came forward to honor him.
Ex-US President George W Bush expressed that the US has "lost a reliable and unique voice in international relations".
The previous UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, characterized the former US secretary of state as a master of diplomacy, driven by an authentic passion for the free world and its safeguarding. Boris Johnson referred to Kissinger as a titan in the realms of diplomacy, strategy, and peace promotion.
However, in Cambodia, the word 'peacemaker' is rarely used to characterize Henry Kissinger.
Throughout the Vietnam War, both Kissinger and former President Richard Nixon secretly commanded air strikes on the impartial nation of Cambodia, aiming to drive out Viet Cong troops located in the eastern region of the country.
In total, from 1965 to 1973, the US rained down over 2 million tons of bombs on Cambodia. To provide some perspective, throughout the entirety of World War II, the Allies released just over 2 million tons of bombs, which also includes the ones that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Kissinger asserted that the bombing was targeted towards the Vietnamese military present in Cambodia, not at Cambodia as a nation.
Vorng Chhut, aged 76, was unfamiliar with the name Henry Kissinger when his village in Svay Rieng province, close to the Vietnam border, started to be bombarded.
"Everything was gone, including the bamboo trees. Residents fled, but those who remained in the town perished," he explained. "Numerous individuals lost their lives, too many for me to remember each one. The corpses were bloated and once silence fell, folks would arrive to inter the remains."
A report titled "Bombs Over Cambodia" from Yale University in 2006 claimed that Cambodia could potentially be the country that has suffered the most bombings in history.
A 1973 report from the Pentagon revealed that Kissinger sanctioned all 3,875 bombing attacks on Cambodia in 1969 and 1970. He also endorsed the strategies to prevent these events from being reported in the press.
"Consider this a command, it must be carried out. Target everything that flies or moves. Did you understand?" This is what Kissinger instructed an assistant in 1970, based on the declassified records of his phone discussions.
The exact death toll from the bomb attacks remains unknown, but it is estimated to be anywhere between 50,000 and over 150,000.
One of the most infamous events was the unintentional attack on the tiny community of Neak Luong, resulting in the death of a minimum of 137 Cambodians and injuries to another 268.
A report in the New York Times by Sydney Schanberg, who was later depicted in the movie The Killing Fields, cited a man named Keo Chan, who had recently lost his wife and ten children.
"He lamented, his family all gone!" His palm struck the timber seat where he had crumbled. "My entire family is no more! Photograph me, photograph me! Let it be seen by the Americans!"
A different individual, positioned close to an undetonated explosive in the city, straightforwardly inquired: "When will you Americans remove it?"
Unexploded American bombs scattered across the rural areas of Cambodia, causing injury and death for many years into the future.
Numerous individuals argue that another repercussion of the bombing operation initiated by Nixon and Kissinger was that it laid the groundwork for one of the most horrific mass murders in the 20th century. Approximately 1.7 million individuals lost their lives to the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, from 1975 to 1979, which represented nearly a quarter of the populace.
Before this, the extreme communists had minimal backing, but their numbers increased as bombs from America dropped.
In 1973, the head of operations for the CIA stated that the Khmer Rouge troops were effectively employing the destruction caused by B-52 bombings as the central focus of their propaganda.
In 2009, the inaugural official from the Khmer Rouge to be prosecuted for atrocities committed during the regime's terrifying rule informed the UN-supported tribunal, "Mr. Richard Nixon and Kissinger facilitated the Khmer Rouge in seizing lucrative chances."
Kissinger consistently defended himself against critiques about the Cambodia bombings.
He clarified in 1973 that it wasn't Cambodia being bombed, but rather North Vietnamese targets within Cambodia.
At the age of 90, he asserted that bombs were solely targeted on regions "almost five miles from the Vietnamese border that were basically uninhabited".
Elizabeth Becker, a US reporter who reported on the 1973 bombing campaign, stated that this was not accurate.
"She explained to the BBC that initially, she spoke to the refugees fleeing from the bombings. Then she would proceed to the bombed site, which was akin to a desolate moonscape. She would witness the lifeless bodies of buffaloes and see burned homes and damaged rice fields."
"You witnessed the devastation and it made you question: why was this advanced air army relentlessly attacking rural areas? Back then, Cambodian farmers were unaccustomed to even the sight of motorized vehicles, and they would often ask me: 'Why are there flames descending from the heavens?'"
Pen Yai, who is now 78, collaborated with the Viet Cong in Cambodia prior to the onset of the bombing. However, he reported that numerous civilians, including his own father and brother-in-law, fell victim to the American bombings.
"I was terrified and sleep eluded me. Death was all around us. All we did was flee and identify individuals who had been murdered… we were powerless," he expressed.
Numerous global leaders have commended Kissinger, the co-recipient of the 1973 Nobel peace prize, recognized for his efforts in brokering peace during the Vietnam war. He was subsequently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the most prestigious honor given to civilians in the United States.
However, those who were in Cambodia during the 1970s are unlikely to recall his legacy with affection.
Prum Hen, aged 70, had no choice but to leave her hometown when it was bombarded with American explosives. She admitted her lack of knowledge regarding Kissinger and expressed minimal compassion upon hearing news of his demise.
"Allow him to perish as he has taken numerous lives from us," she voiced, noting that she continues to harbor intense animosity towards the US.
Our nation was subjected to bombings that led to numerous fatalities and caused families to be torn apart. Subsequently, the Khmer Rouge committed atrocities, taking the lives of many, including spouses and offspring.
Ms. Becker stated that the significance of Kissinger's strategies in Cambodia is profoundly substantial.
Claiming the bombing was inaccurate is an understatement… it was cruel. It's not only about the count of individuals, but also the enduring impact.
"It's impossible to overstate the impact it had on the nation."
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