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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World

The US’s role in the rise of communist regimes

Donald Trump Sir Keir Starmer Tony Blair United States WhatsApp
On the eve of the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the Khmer Rouge on 16 April, 1975, thousands of civilians flee the northern parts of the city.
On the eve of the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the communist movement Khmer Rouge on 16 April 1975, thousands of civilians flee the northern parts of the city. Photograph: Roland Neveu/LightRocket/Getty Images

Patrick Wintour’s analysis of the similarities between the Vietnam and Iran wars (Could Trump’s Iran ‘excursion’ be a bigger global turning point than Vietnam?, 31 May) states: “The predicted ‘domino effect’ of communism sweeping south-east Asia … did not materialise, save in Cambodia and Laos.” The changes in these two regimes would not have happened if the US had not carpet-bombed large parts of these countries, neither of which was at war with it.
David Rennie
Cardiff

• “I think going silent would be very good, and that could be for a long time,” says Donald Trump (Iran threatens to suspend peace talks after ‘violation of ceasefire’ in Lebanon, 1 June). Is this a rare moment of self-awareness?
Andrew Gore
Linton, Cambridgeshire

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