Cambodian Civil War

From the beginning of his reign, up until 1970, Sihanouk had preserved his power like “an absurd juggler”, as Australian journalist John Pilger put it. Sihanouk tried to counterbalance possible opponents at home, such as right wing military conservatives and rural communist groups, by maintaining a complicated and delicate set of relationships with both the United States and communist groups. Although, with the secret bombing of Cambodia by Nixon, the delicate balance at home of conservatives and communists was disrupted. Opposition from both groups grew as they both planned to overthrow Sihanouk and reverse Cambodian neutrality, by either aligning with the North Vietnamese or with the United States. The faction that would accomplish this were the conservatives. The bombings pushed Cambodia over the edge that set the nation into a state of chaos, in which Sihanouk was overthrown, sparking the Cambodian Civil War.

Upset with the failing Cambodian socialist economy and deeply angered by the presence of the North Vietnamese in Cambodia, the Vice premier, and cousin of Sihanouk, Sisowath Sirik Matak, was determined to take control of Cambodia and oust the North Vietnamese. Matak forced Prime Minister Lon Nol to support a coup d’état, and while Prince Sihanouk was away in Europe seeking medical attention, Lon Nol initiated the coup. He called a conference with the Cambodian National Assembly and it was decided by vote to overthrow the Prince, on March 18, 1970. Nol took over as the acting head of state and established the Khmer Republic. Nol immediately allied his Republic with the United States, who supported the coup. He also denounced the presence of North Vietnamese bases in Cambodia and approved the continuation of U.S. aerial attacks. Unfortunately, Matak and Nol were inexperienced in running a democracy and they proved inefficient in eliminating previous corruption and military weaknesses that had plagued the last years of the Sihanouk era.

Sirik Matak (left) and Lon Nol (middle) after the coup in 1970¹⁴

With opposition growing at home due to his weak and inept government, Nol called on the United States to aid him in his crusade against internal communist opposition, officially beginning the Cambodian Civil War. Nol was also unable to force the Vietnamese from their Cambodian bases, due to a poorly trained army, and so the U.S. continued its bombings of the bases, as well as beginning to target a Cambodian communist guerilla group that opposed the Khmer Republic. This guerilla group was known as the Khmer Rouge or “Red Khmers”. Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge had not enjoyed much popularity at home, but with the continued proliferation of the Cambodian bombings by the U.S. and the support by Nol to continue these air raids, the rise of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot was imminent. The Khmer Rouge would fight Nol’s government and the United States for another five years, all tracing back to Nixon’s decision to secretly bomb Cambodia.