Another interesting side note is the case of Cambodia's Kmher Rouge, identified by the author of the above study as the deadliest regime, percentage-wise.
What the author neglects to detail is that Pol Pot's rise to power was the direct result of continued US agression in the region following the Vietnam war. American troops carried continual carpet-bombing raids from 1969-1973, successfully destroying the country side and plunging the population into abject poverty. The Cambodian leader Prince Sihanouk would not kowtow to American foregin policy and was deposed in a bloody coup. Guess who America supported as a successor? Yep, Pol Pot. The combination of what was initially populist support for his psuedo-communist public policy and American approval allowed Pol Pot to institute his terrible reign. In fact, he was supported for many years with military and economic aid before being denounced as a mass-murderer.
Similar cases can be made for the cited cases of Nicaragua and many others on that list.
What the author neglects to detail is that Pol Pot's rise to power was the direct result of continued US agression in the region following the Vietnam war. American troops carried continual carpet-bombing raids from 1969-1973, successfully destroying the country side and plunging the population into abject poverty. The Cambodian leader Prince Sihanouk would not kowtow to American foregin policy and was deposed in a bloody coup. Guess who America supported as a successor? Yep, Pol Pot. The combination of what was initially populist support for his psuedo-communist public policy and American approval allowed Pol Pot to institute his terrible reign. In fact, he was supported for many years with military and economic aid before being denounced as a mass-murderer.
Similar cases can be made for the cited cases of Nicaragua and many others on that list.