Why Did The Us Carpet Bomb Cambodia

During the vietnam war president richard nixon ordered carpet bombing of north vietnam as well as cambodia which was believed to be supplying the viet cong.

Why did the us carpet bomb cambodia.

Operation menu was a covert united states strategic air command sac tactical bombing campaign conducted in eastern cambodia from 18 march 1969 until 26 may 1970 as part of both the vietnam war and the cambodian civil war the targets of these attacks were sanctuaries and base areas of the people s army of vietnam pavn commonly referred to during the vietnam war as the north vietnamese. President richard nixon s administration carpet bombed eastern cambodia from 1969 to 1973 although bombings and incursions into cambodia by the u s. The united states would instead focus on trying to convince the cambodian government to be more assertive in the defense of cambodian neutrality or to let others act to preserve that neutrality. On march 18 1969 the united states began a four year long carpet bombing campaign in the skies of cambodia devastating the countryside and causing socio political upheaval that eventually led to the installation of the pol pot regime.

You can license this story through ap archive. The cambodian campaign also known as the cambodian incursion and the cambodian invasion was a brief series of military operations conducted in eastern cambodia which was a neutral country in 1970 by south vietnam and the united states as an extension of the vietnam war and the cambodian civil war thirteen major operations were conducted by the army of the republic of vietnam arvn between. During the vietnam war the vietnamese liberation front and the pavn used a network of supply routes that partially ran through laos. Several nations complained about the u s.

As civilian casualties mounted and media accounts of the destruction surfaced public support for the carpet bombing diminished. Operation breakfast was the first course in a four year bombing campaign that drew cambodia headlong into the vietnam war. Johnson and ended in 1975 under president gerald ford. Bombing were concentrated during the period in which u s.

B 52 bombers are diverted from their targets in south vietnam to attack suspected communist base camps and supply areas in cambodia for the first time in the war. Bombing of laos 1964 1973 was part of a covert attempt by the cia to wrest power from the communist pathet lao a group allied with north vietnam and the soviet union during the vietnam. On august 14 1973 u s.