March+1969+Carpet+Bombings

Home 1955 U.S Pressure March 1969 Carpet Bombings Sihanouk April 30, 1970 Invasion January 27, 1973 Treaty August 1973 Bombings Ceased The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese communists established bases within Cambodia, and Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon’s assistant for National Security Affairs, convinced the president to begin B-52 bombings in the Cambodian borders to attack the sanctuaries and Base Areas of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The bombing campaign, known as "Operation Menu", began in March 1969. The onslaught of bombs, known as "carpet bombs", moved the Vietnamese further into the country, where the bombs followed, escalating the number of civilian deaths and injuries. In the following two years, 3,630 bombs were dropped in Cambodia. To "play down the nature" of the bombings, the Nixon Administration falsified military records, and was able to keep the true destruction a secret from both Congress and the American people. It was not until the Watergate Scandal that the full story began to emerge. When the bombings ceased, two million citizens were left homeless.

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=cambodia

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Cambodia_KH.html

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1969.html