A Study On The Covert Operations Of The Asia Foundation Of The United States In Cambodia(1953-1965)

After the end of World War II,especially after the establishment of the socialist countries in Eastern Europe and the People’s Republic of China,with the wave of national independence in Asia,Africa and Latin America surging,the power of socialism continued to expand in the world,and the Cold War between the U.S.and the Soviet Union extended from Europe to Asia and the Third World countries.In order to consolidate the established capitalist world system in the world,the Western countries led by the United States,on the one hand,implemented a policy of containment against the socialist countries led by the Soviet Union and China,and launched a comprehensive psychological propaganda campaign to bully and entice the Third World countries;on the other hand,in view of the strengthening of the Communist Party and leftist powers in France,Italy,Spain and Greece,the Western allies also launched a "Total Cold War" against these countries to promote American culture and values in these countries.In the context of the Cold War in Asia,the United States used the Asia Foundation,the "disguised agency of the Central Intelligence Agency" as a special propaganda tool,to carry out extensive and targeted covert psychological propaganda operations against Cambodia,which pursues a neutral policy,presenting the unknown aspects of Cold War psychological propaganda of the United States in Asia.After the end of World War II,a vast majority of Asian countries have embarked,or are embarking,on the path to national independence.These countries,like China,have suffered from bullying and oppression from the Western powers for nearly a century,thus have a strong sense of resistance to them,making U.S.government’s global psychological propaganda strategy in Asia an even tougher challenge.In order to try to remove this huge psychological barrier to Asian politicians and their people,U.S.first adopted different psychological propaganda strategies from those of Europe,covering U.S.government operations up by using the "Asia Foundation",which is affiliated to CIA and is disguised as a private foundation,to accomplish these covert operations.Under the overall policy of CIA covert operations,the Asia Foundation is present in almost all Asian countries and regions.Among the many Southeast Asian countries,Cambodia is so distinctive that it differs from both the pro-East North Vietnam and Laos and the pro-West Philippines,South Vietnam,and Thailand in its tendency toward neutrality after its independence in 1946.Although it shares close cultural and Buddhist traditions with China,its domestic socialist parties and their activities have exerted little influence.Nonetheless,geopolitical considerations required the United States to do all it takes to stem Cambodia’s domestic pro-socialist expansion tendencies and contain the Indochinese states from falling to socialist China after the gradual withdrawal of the old British and French colonial powers.In the early days of the Cold War,the Asia Foundation’s covert operations in Cambodia were spread across various fields such as Cambodian education,civic community,and Chinese education.Tracing of its activity trajectory,in-depth excavation of the declassified documents related to the CIA,the Asia Foundation and Cambodia,along with probing and analyzing the numerous propaganda projects carried out by the Asia Foundation in Cambodia,especially combing the specific amount of financial assistance,its disguise of "private foundation",carrying out covert propaganda operations against Cambodia with the support of the CIA,can be exposed fully.