Original report from Phnom Penh
03 December 2009
The new military strategy unveiled by US President Barack Obama on Tuesday will not be enough to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda without winning the hearts of the Afghan and Pakistani people, Cambodian officials said Thursday.
Obama announced Tuesday he would inject 30,000 more troops into a counterinsurgency strategy in the region, but he also gave a deadline of June 2011 to bring US forces home.
“It is very difficult to win against al Qaeda and the Taliban, but the United States military and NATO alliance must defeat the international terrorists, for peace and economic growth in the world,” said ruling Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep.
“This strategy is the United States’ ambition, to eliminate al Qaeda and the Taliban,” he said. “But the strategy cannot succeed…if the new strategy has no policy for social affairs to improve the living standards and economics of the Afghan people.”
The US should establish a strategy to compromise and fulfill the needs of the Afghan people to lessen the influence of the Islamists, he said.
In Cambodia, the effects of a failed counterinsurgency strategy are deeply felt. Khmer Rouge guerrillas overtook the entire country in less than 10 years, starting as a small peasant revolution in the countryside and ultimately defeating the US-backed forces of Lon Nol.
The Khmer Rouge victory, in April 1975, was followed by the implementation of “Year Zero,” where everyday Cambodians were marched out of the cities and into agricultural collectives, where eventually as many as 2 million people perished.
“If Obama does not have a new strategy for Afghanistan, the Kabul government will collapse, and there will be bloodshed more serious than the Khmer Rouge regime,” said Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc.
Phay Siphan, a government spokesman and a Cambodian-American whose nephew is serving in Afghanistan, said the US should be careful in its war there, considering its experiences in the Vietnam War.
The fate of the US in Afghanistan could end as badly, he said.
Obama announced Tuesday he would inject 30,000 more troops into a counterinsurgency strategy in the region, but he also gave a deadline of June 2011 to bring US forces home.
“It is very difficult to win against al Qaeda and the Taliban, but the United States military and NATO alliance must defeat the international terrorists, for peace and economic growth in the world,” said ruling Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep.
“This strategy is the United States’ ambition, to eliminate al Qaeda and the Taliban,” he said. “But the strategy cannot succeed…if the new strategy has no policy for social affairs to improve the living standards and economics of the Afghan people.”
The US should establish a strategy to compromise and fulfill the needs of the Afghan people to lessen the influence of the Islamists, he said.
In Cambodia, the effects of a failed counterinsurgency strategy are deeply felt. Khmer Rouge guerrillas overtook the entire country in less than 10 years, starting as a small peasant revolution in the countryside and ultimately defeating the US-backed forces of Lon Nol.
The Khmer Rouge victory, in April 1975, was followed by the implementation of “Year Zero,” where everyday Cambodians were marched out of the cities and into agricultural collectives, where eventually as many as 2 million people perished.
“If Obama does not have a new strategy for Afghanistan, the Kabul government will collapse, and there will be bloodshed more serious than the Khmer Rouge regime,” said Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc.
Phay Siphan, a government spokesman and a Cambodian-American whose nephew is serving in Afghanistan, said the US should be careful in its war there, considering its experiences in the Vietnam War.
The fate of the US in Afghanistan could end as badly, he said.
10 comments:
law mocker Cheam Yiep know shit about U.S and NATO.
All Cheam Yiep knows is to oppress and abuse khmer people and lost land to his Viet brother and sisters.
It seems only the 8:33 AM guy knew the US & NATO shit. As human being, it is avoidable to underestimate someone dude. check out yourself how much you know....
:) The one who knows so much are the ones who are barking from the computers.
Best thing Cheam Yiep can do before advices other about social and economic reform is to work on solving the 25years of Corruptions issues under CPP Hun Sen rules of Cambodia.
Take for example how can you (Cheam Yiep)improve living standard of cambodian if the income of the country and donate money goes to his private and high CPP official pockets like yourself?
Where in you action have seen a benefits to cambodia and it people?
So fix up the many unresolved issues in Cambodia first before advicing other who actually donated their money to you when you begged....
Afghan would not fall to the same faith in Cambodia during the KR and Viet invasion. If the CPP govenment can demonstrate that it honestly want to bring justices to the Millions of Living KR victims.
So you need to prosecuted all known KR office Medium to high. So that it send a message to Taliban they can faced the same kind of prosecution if it is doing what "Cheam Yiep" had in mind. As he may have experienced that himself?
Stupid Cheam Yiem is barking again. He doesn't even know how to count from 1 to 10.
Shame on you, ah stupid Cheam. You don't even know how to tie your necktie properly, damn ass.
Ah stupid Cheam can only bark to the prostitutes and beggar on the street. Fuck you ah Cheam.
This guy know nothing about US policy. I can tell you why Khmer Rouge raised very quickly? The real fact is King Sihanouk because after 1970 he belled from China (Peking radio in Khmer, everyday 7:10 PM in Khmer language), not caused by US B-52 like cpp leader said. Without Sihanouk's bell from China, Khmer Rouge will be destroyed by Lon Nol soldiers because at the beginn of 1974 Lon Nol used the same strategy what the Viet and KR used, they deployed special commando deep in KR area for hunting KR cadre for example in Kampong Chhnang.
Ah kanhchas xihanouk is the khmer rouge founder who murdered 2 million khmers including his fucking stupid children. ah kanchas deserves to be torture and hung on the pole in the sun for vaultar (thmat). Die soon ah kanhchas murderer.
Cheam Yiep dont stick your fucking short nose into foreign interference in United States'internal affairs and NATO. We fight with al Qaeda and the Taliban, but not you or Cambodia, unless you try to protect al Qaeda and the Taliban to live in Cambodia like you used to hide Vietcong in Cambodia??
of course, everyone in the world can learn from cambodian people, too, you know! after all, khmer people have lots of experience of the past, given we've been there done that, really!
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