Death From Above 1969: Operation Menu and Nixon's Madman Theory

17/9/2024

How did Cambodia become the ‘key’ to Nixon’s plan to end the Vietnam War?

What was the secret bombing of Cambodia?

How many bombs did the US drop on Cambodia?

What factors led to the end of Sihanouk’s leadership of the country?

Time Period Covered 1968 - 1969

In this episode Lachlan looks at the gradually degrading situation in Cambodia, and the destabilization prior to a change in the Whitehouse that will only make matters worse. We look at Sihanouk’s movies, the Cambodian economy, and the Khmer Rouge as they continue their ‘armed struggle’ across the country. Nixon’s ascension to power in the USA is explored, his plans for a quick end to the Vietnam War, and the role that Cambodia could play in producing this. Bombing, done in secret, is explained, as well as some comments on the general discourse around the idea of ‘bombs over Cambodia’.

Check out the YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/8QdRvpbMr_w?si=vTEurMs6dDEmjjHI

Sources

Short “Pol Pot”
Chandler “Tragedy of Cambodian History”
Shawcross “Sideshow”
Mark Atwood Lawrence “Concise History of the Vietnam War”
Kiernan “How Pol Pot Came To Power”
Osbourne “Sihanouk”
Heder “Cambodian Communism and the Vietnamese Model”

Article Links

https://quillette.com/2023/12/07/kissinger-and-cambodia/

https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/cambodian-genocide-program/us-involvement/united-states-bombing-cambodia-1965-1973

4 Comments

Mr. Lne

14/4/2025 02:06:54 pm

We have known for quite some years now, that it was in fact Lyndon B. Johnson who started the bombing in Cambodia back in 1965.

I haven’t had the time to listen to your episode here, but I do hope you didn’t hack off that part of the story?

Locky

14/4/2025 02:19:40 pm

Yeah that was actually covered in a previous episode, "The Cambodian Civil War Begins - Part Two: A Revolution Waged With Empty Hands" which covered 1967 and the beginning of 1968 when Sihanouk met with Chester Bowles. The so called 'hot pursuit' meeting.

Though yes, some sorties had been flown even earlier, but hardly a sustained effort and could, in my opinion, probably still be swept under the banner of 'mistakes'. Overall, yep, very aware of the historical context of the bombing, in the episode above I go into a bit of a rant about Kiernan's work on the bombing and how it itself is usually misquoted and misremembered.

mr. LNE

17/4/2025 04:41:16 am

Thanks.

Here is a leaflet from Yale about it.

https://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdf

The research has been critizied later on, for accidentally counting some data twice, as I remembers it. In addition, as the leaflet touches, there are also holes in the data, ie. some bombings aren’t registered.

Yes, as you says, it wasn’t a huge amount, and carpetbombing wasn’t used. However, the paper states that the bombing were tactical, ie. they must have been deliberate. Read here in this citing:

“From 1965 to 1968, 2,565 sorties took place over Cambodia, with 214 tons of bombs dropped. These early strikes were tactical, designed to support the nearly two thousand secret ground incursions conducted by the cia and US Special Forces during that period. B-52s — long-range bombers capable of carrying very heavy loads — were not deployed, whether out of concern for Cambodian lives or the country’s neutrality, or because carpet bombing was believed to be of limited strategic value.”

Lachlan

17/4/2025 04:55:23 am

Yep, well aware of the infamous "Walrus" article, and we go into it in depth in the episode. As well as the correction Kiernan needed to issue for it for the data corrections that were necessary to make.

EPISODES