ABSTRACT
Cambodia's "golden years" of independence, relative peace, and relative prosperity under the rule of Norodom Sihanouk ended when the war between the United States and Vietnam spilled across the border. US bombings, the destructive policies of the Khmer Rouge, the Vietnamese invasion, and the subsequent civil war all left Cambodia shattered, economically politically socially and culturally An enormous effort will be required to rebuild a wartorn country that was on the verge of being a failed state.
