1955+U.S+Pressure

Home 1955 U.S Pressure March 1969 Carpet Bombings March 18, 1970 Sihanouk April 30, 1970 Invasion January 27, 1973 Treaty August 1973 Bombings Ceased

John Foster Dulles of the U.S visited Cambodia in order to convince the Cambodian leader, Sihanouk, to sign SEATO (Southeast Asian Treaty Organization). The leader of Cambodia, Sihanouk, considered this treaty to be "aggressive military alliance directed against neighbors, whose ideology [he] did not share but with who Cambodia had no quarrel". CIA director Dulles attempted to convince Sihanouk that Cambodia was going to fall victim to communist aggression if he did not sign SEATO. Sihanouk left Dulles with on parting statement, "Cambodia wanted no part of SEATO. We would look after ourselves as neutrals and Buddhists." Many meetings took place after this one in 1955 to try to convince Cambodia to join the Holy War Against Communism, but none of these meetings were successful in getting Sihanouk so sign SEATO.

http://machinesforliving.org/cambodia/research/timeline http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/lw/88315.htm