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[Blowback S5] China not looking so hot in this season. (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 month ago by RedWizard@hexbear.net to c/podcasts@hexbear.net

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I'm finishing the last episode of S5 now, and I'll be fully caught up on this series. Between Afghanistan and Cambodia, China's willingness to play ball with the US and its agenda is frustrating to learn.

It leaves me wanting to learn more about the Sino/Soviet split. The way this division manifested really aligned China with some dark forces, it would seem.

I also imagine the process of "normalization" with the US plays a huge role in the way this history unfolds as well.

It makes me wonder what they knew about The Khmer Rouge's operations. I was left with the impression, based on how the history was laid out, that China was aware of just how aggressive and bloody the Khmer Rouge's policies were.

Something about that stretch of time between 79 and 89 seems to have resulted in a bunch of weird geopolitical stuff.

Need to finish this episode, I guess.

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[–] catter@hexbear.net 33 points 1 month ago (7 children)

Out of all the seasons, this one has been the hardest for me to understand the "blowback" part. All the consequences of US foreign policy seemed to fall on the Cambodian people, even after the bombing stopped.

The main critiques I recall (it's been a while since I finished it) are that the attempts to force untrained people into agricultural work failed and racist / nationalist elements within the revolution prevented international cooperation, both of which created a feedback loop of paranoia and human misery.

I also am learning more about the sino-soviet split, which seemed to play a large part in this too.

[–] Kultronx@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

One could say that the "blowback" part of S5 is basically how the USA under the belief of the Domino theory trying to recreate what they did in Korea and do regime change in the 3 countries in Indochina but then ended in catastrophe. Like they said in the podcast, Cambodia is inextricable from the Vietnam war. Had America acted normal towards Cambodia and the Sihanouk government, they could've avoided a lot of problems. It's the beginning of the decline of their prestige setting the stage for the failures of Iraq and Afghanistan.

[–] catter@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago

That's a great point. It's probably worth my time to listen through the series again now that I have much better context for earlier seasons (at the time I listened to the first season I was still fighting a lot of conservative brainworms I grew up with). Thanks for the insight :)

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