Word: khmers
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...Bush Administration inherited a policy toward Kampuchea that increased the chances of a return to power by the Khmer Rouge, who killed nearly 2 ! million of their countrymen between 1975 and 1979. Now, with the Vietnamese preparing to pull out of that tortured country and the U.S. pondering whether to send new American arms to guerrillas in the countryside, the Administration could end up compounding both the danger for Kampuchea and the disgrace...
Under Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, the U.S. gave priority to evicting the Vietnamese troops, who invaded Kampuchea a decade ago. But to that end, Washington backed an unholy alliance of resistance forces, linking two non- Communist groups with the Khmer Rouge. Those genocidal ultra-Maoists are the best organized and best armed of the guerrillas, not to mention the most ruthless. So there has always been the possibility that they would come out on top after the Vietnamese withdrew...
...April 5, Viet Nam finally announced that it would pull its troops out of Kampuchea by the end of September, leaving behind a pro-Hanoi regime. The decision presented the Bush Administration with a chance to turn, unambiguously, to preventing the Khmer Rouge from moving into power. Instead, the Administration is now giving priority to bringing down the Communist regime that the Vietnamese installed in Phnom Penh -- though that regime seems to be rebuilding the country...
Whether because of Soviet pressure or its own fatigue, Viet Nam dropped its insistence that a fall pullout could take place only if all aid to the forces opposing its puppet government in Phnom Penh, including those of Prince Norodom Sihanouk and the murderous Khmer Rouge, was simultaneously halted. Kampuchea reserved the right to seek "assistance" once more if such aid continued, but many analysts believe Hanoi is more interested in concentrating on its own sadly deteriorated economy. The Vietnamese hope their withdrawal will ultimately open up economic links to the U.S., which has long made their departure a condition...
...Vietnamese interests are well served by the end of the occupation, Kampuchea's fate remains extremely uncertain. A rearrangement of political power among all the contending factions has yet to be worked out. More ominously, diplomacy will have to move fast to forestall a triumphant return of the Khmer Rouge. Some 2 million Kampucheans died under their monstrous four-year tenure, and they are today the strongest fighting force among opponents to the Vietnamese-backed government...