The Khymer Rouge were backed primarily by Maoist China as far as I know, and they were probably the most insane outfit that has ever taken over a country. The subsequent conflict between the Khymer Rouge and the Communist administration in Vietnam was inevitable, as was further conflict between Vietnam and China (when the Chinese invaded northern Vietnam and fought a border war there to "punish" Vietname for having knocked off the Khymer Rouge).

The whole affair suggests a number of things, such as...

1. Communism is not one single monolithic world movement (as it was falsely depicted by Cold Warriors), but exists in a number of different forms just as non-Communist systems exist in a number of different forms. Some forms of Communism are far more sensible and useful than others. The Khymer Rouge were the worst.

2. The colonial aspirations of France and tbe USA succeeded in destabilizing and ruining the lives of a vast number of Southeast Asians between 1945 and the present, and the region is still suffering from the aftereffects. Neither France nor the USA ever had any business screwing around in Southeast Asia and neither did the British. To hell with them and to hell with their excuses and justifications for their colonialist agendas.

3. The Vietnamese, imperfect though they may be, did the whole world a favor when they invaded Cambodia and brought down that insane Khymer Rouge regime. They did their own country a favor by finally getting the French and Americans the hell out of it. I fully support their wars against the French, the Americans, the Chinese, and the Khymer Rouge. In every case, their cause was essentially a just one.