Journal of International Studies

There is an infamous line from a  speech  made by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson at Johns Hopkins University in 1965 during which he was attempting to rationalize American involvement in Southeast Asia to the skeptical public. “We want nothing for ourselves,” he said “only that the people of South Vietnam be allowed to guide their own country in their own way.” To understand such an epic lie is to understand history. I was reminded of that speech this past week when I read that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had called for the  suspension of military aid  to Cambodia following the recent disputed  National Assembly elections  which took place at the end of July. This is part of the grand strategy of the neoconservative Republican wing — the so-called moderates these days — in their never ending endeavor of regime change imposed on countries who seek an alternative to United States hegemony. They too claim their only objective is to spread democracy and...

Cambodia, for all its pretensions towards sovereignty and democracy, has yet to free itself from neighboring Vietnam's political and strategic grip 20 years after United Nations-organized elections ended its debilitating civil war. The international community has since invested over US$2 billion on peace initiatives to repair the damage done by Vietnam's 1979 invasion and seizure of power. Yet Hanoi continues to exercise covert  power over the country through its proxy ruling Cambodia People's Party (CPP).   Most Khmer citizens fail to fathom the depths of the ongoing subterfuge. Many have conveniently chosen ignorance over truth, as is common among traumatized populations in post-conflict societies. Western audiences, including the international donor community that continues to bankroll the CPP's corrupt and compromised tenure, should be less easily forgiven for turning a blind eye to Vietnam's still strong command over the country.  Some in the West saw ...