The Cambodian Crisis And U.S. Policy Dilemmas

A prominent foreign policy analyst with the Congressional Research Service analyzes the Cambodian conflict. The crisis seems to be easing now that Vietnam is withdrawing its forces and the regional conflicts caused by Vietnam's decade-long military occupation of Cambodia are nearing resolution. As Sutter points out, the U.S. interest lies in achieving a Cambodian peace agreement that would neither allow the return of the genocidal Khmer Rouge nor permit Vietnam to continue its control of Cambodia. He explores two principal options for the United States: greater flexibility toward Vietnam and continued pressure on Vietnam until it meets U.S. terms. This short but solid volume should be read together with that by Frederick Brown (below) for the essential background on the policy choices facing the United States in Indochina.