Cambodia Independence and Vietnam War

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Neutrality was the central element of Cambodian foreign policy during the 1950s and 1960s. By the mid-1960s, parts of Cambodia's eastern provinces were serving as bases for North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam. Cambodia actively supported North Vietnamese Army in food and military bases.

In 1969, the United States began a 14 month long series of bombing raids targeted at Vietnam’s bases including bases in Cambodia. This action caused huge casualties to Cambodian. From the neutral position, Cambodia was pushed in Vietnam War.

Throughout the 1960s, domestic Cambodian politics became polarized. A group of people under the clandestine of Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) stood in opposite position to the government. Sihanouk called these insurgents the Khmer Rouge, literally the "Red Khmer." But the 1966 national assembly elections showed a significant swing to the right, and General Lon Nol formed a new government, which lasted until 1967. During 1968 and 1969, the insurgency worsened. However members of the government and army, who resented Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States, did have a motivation to overthrow him.

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