During the Cold War, the United States left in Asia a trail of destruction. The Vietnam War, perhaps more than any other war, stands for this escalation to this day. But it was not the only chapter: Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, and Korea also became sites of bombings and violence whose consequences extend into the present.
Indonesia 1965: Death Squads in the Shadow of the Cold War
After World War II, Indonesia was by the Netherlands independent. During the war, the island nation of Japan had been occupied. As a result of the withdrawal of Japanese troops after the war ended, British and Australian troops occupied the country.
The Netherlands tried to prevent the independence of their colony. The military was dispatched, but the Indonesians fought for their freedom. After negotiations in The Hague, 1949 the Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed.
Infobox: Indonesia as a Colony
The island nation of Indonesia has been since the 17th century gradually colonized by the Netherlands. 1602 The Dutch conquered Jakarta. Indonesia was ruled and administered by the „Dutch East India Company“ until it 1799 Bankruptcy. Only in the 19th and 20th centuries did the colonialists succeed in conquering the entire territory of present-day Indonesia from its original inhabitants. Dutch rule over the islands was characterized by exploitation and massive violence against the indigenous population.
But already 1950 It was an attempted coup in the young republic. The Dutch General Raymond Westerling failed in the violent takeover of the government. Indonesia's president Sukarno used the coup as an opportunity to expand his power in the state and ruled increasingly authoritatively.
As 1965 the communists at a alleged coup attempt failed, a „purge“ of the country began – the communists were to be driven out and destroyed. Later, massive doubts arose about the authenticity of the attempt. To this day, no official investigation into the events of September 30, 1965 and the alleged coup d'état was carried out.
In the course of Massacre from 1965 to 1966 were between 500.000 and a million people murdered. Some estimates even suggest up to three million deaths. The Indonesian military, led by General Suharto, with the support of the CIA, established so-called „Death squads“together, whose task it was to find and kill as many suspected communists as possible.
After the massacres ended, President Sukarno was replaced by General Suharto, who ruled the country as a dictator. The dictatorship, which was also known as the „New Order“(dt. „Neue Ordnung“) known, ruled the country with the support of the USA until 1998. His reign is characterized by human rights abuses.
The documentary film The Act of Killing offers a disturbing look at this repressed violence, in which former members of Indonesian death squads reenact their murders for the camera.
Vietnam War (1961–1975): When the Superpower Failed in the Jungle
Until 1955, Vietnam was part of the French colony „French Indochina.“, which, in addition to Vietnam, also included the countries of Cambodia and Laos. After World War II and the withdrawal of Japanese troops, who occupied the country during the war occupied had, ignited a War of Independence. The three countries fought under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh against the colonial power France. 1955 the French withdrew, but Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel split. The North became the Communist Republic of Vietnam, while the South became the Western-aligned State of Vietnam.
Shortly after the split, fault lines emerged in the South. The country's president, Diem, ruled authoritarian and went against ethnic minorities ahead. The North sent GuerrillaFighters to the South. The USA is also beginning to become militarily active in the South. The USA's goal was to prevent the spread of communism in the region.
It was believed that if a country became communist, it would lead to a Domino effect would come. President Kennedy reinforced the US contingent in South Vietnam continued. After Kennedy's Murder 1963 his successor Lyndon B. Johnson his line forward. 1964 did an incident occur in the Gulf of Tonkin. A U.S. Navy ship sank three North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The incident serves as justification for further U.S. military intervention in the conflict.
More and more US troops were deployed to the South, with the goal of [defeating/countering/fighting] the communist guerrillas, „Viet Cong“, who had by then expanded their activities, to combat. But both the US Army as well as the South Vietnamese army „ARVN“ were prepared for the asymmetrical fight against the guerrillas.
Despite technological and numerical superiority, the USA failed to repel North Vietnam. Over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, along a supply road through the jungle, the North supplied its fighters in the South. The war escalated, incendiary bombs like Napalm or white phosphorus were used. The images that went around the world shocked not only the US allies but also American society. Various groups, mostly collectively known as „hippies“, formed as a movement against the Vietnam War.“ called.
Infobox: Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a hidden logistical route that the North Vietnamese Army was used to supply and reinforce guerrilla troops in the south. The path wound for thousands of kilometers through the Southeast Asian jungle. It crossed Laos and Cambodia and flowed back into Vietnam. Throughout the entire war, it was a target of the Americans and their allies to destroy this path, which they failed to do.
As the war progressed, the number of Losses on both sides, continuing to advance. The mood in the US population had already been turning against the war for some time. 1973 The US withdrew its troops from Vietnam. Previously, they had tried to equip the ARVN so that it could defend itself against the North.
The attempt failed miserably, and the North Vietnamese army marched 1975 to the capital of South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, today Ho Chi Minh City. In the course of the war, between American interests died 1.3 and 3.4 million People.
Cambodia (1969–1973): When the Vietnam War spilled over into the neighboring country
Cambodia, as a neighboring country to Vietnam, was also drawn into the hostilities. 1969 then U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger authorized the use of American planes against Cambodia. The goal was to locate and destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through which the North brought weapons and fighters to the South. He gave the order „Everything that flies on everything that moves“ „Everything that flies, at everything that moves.“.
The result is devastating. While „Operation Menu“, as the deployment was called, the US Air Force threw 108,000 tons bombs over Cambodia. Estimates range from 50,000 to 150,000 civilian casualties. Nevertheless, the mission was a tactical defeat for the United States. They had failed to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In the following three years, the US Air Force dropped even more 430.000 Tons of explosives over the country.
Laos (1964–1973): The Secret Bombing
Just like Cambodia, Laos during the Vietnam War a target of American attacks. The CIA planned the bombings in Secrets. The attacks were intended to cut off the supply of Viet Cong fighters via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. First 1971 were both the „Operation Barrelroll“ as well as the extent of the destruction, was known to Congress.
Between 1964 and 1973 Was the US Air Force a total of 2.5 Millions tons of explosives. Estimates range from around 200.000 civilian casualties. To this day, Laos is considered the most most bombed out land in the world.
Korea (1950–1953): The War That Never Really Ended
Tomorrow 1945 Korea was occupied by the Japanese. With the end of the war and the subsequent negotiations, an independent Korean state was to be created. However, the country was divided along ideological lines and the 38th parallel split. In the north, it still reigns today Communist Kim Dynasty – a capitalist regime is established in the south.
I'm June In 1950, the North launched an invasion of the South with the goal of reunifying the divided Korea. The Soviet Union, the North's protecting power, did support North Korea's invasion, but did not actively intervene in the fighting. The US rushed to the South's aid under a UN mandate and prevented at Busan the surrender of the Republic of Korea.
Towards the end of 1950, South Korean and US troops had North Korea at the border to China pushed back. The newly founded People's Republic of China intervened on North Korea's side. Three years of bitter fighting followed, with a total of between 2.5 and 5 million People died. Estimates suggest that between 1.5 and 3 million Civilians killed.
