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== Genocide denier ==
 
== Genocide denier ==
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I think his views on the Cambodian genocide are a bit misrepresented and out of context. He makes his claims that (a) it wasn't genocide because it wasn't an attempt by the Khmer Rouge at eradicating a race of people (which is the definition of genocide), (b) he doesn't claim that people weren't killed in huge numbers in that era, but he dismisses that 2 million deaths should be attributed to Khmer Rouge. He thinks that for the 2 million number to be near accurate, we would have to take into account the killings by the American bombing campaign (and almost every historian of this period agrees with his view to a great extent). He also doesn't necessarily agree that those who died of starvation could be attributed to the Khmer Rouge, as there were many larger factors contributing to famine outside of the Khmer Rouge's involvement (including American military involvement). (c) He bothers to make these claims for secondary purposes which are important to factor in (1) it shows we inflate death tolls when an event involves American enemies and deflate the death tolls or negative effects of our own involvement, (2) it shows we are hyper-focused on what American enemies are doing, but remain unfocused on events where there is American involvement or the involvement of American "interests" such as East Timor, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chile, etc. His own sentiment is that it would be better if American's were more observant and critical of the conflicts where they are involved.
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I think his views on the Cambodian genocide are a bit misrepresented and out of context. He makes his claims that (a) it wasn't genocide because it wasn't an attempt by the Khmer Rouge at eradicating a race of people (which is the definition of genocide), (b) he doesn't claim that people weren't killed in huge numbers in that era, but he dismisses that 2 million deaths should be attributed to Khmer Rouge. He thinks that for the 2 million number to be near accurate, we would have to take into account the killings by the American bombing campaign and would have to contribute the brutality from a broader and more general peasant uprising. He also doesn't necessarily agree that those who died of starvation could be attributed to the Khmer Rouge specifically, as there were many larger factors contributing to famine outside of the Khmer Rouge's involvement (including American military involvement). (c) He bothers to make these claims for secondary purposes which are important to factor in (1) it shows we inflate death tolls when an event involves American enemies and deflate the death tolls or negative effects of our own involvement, (2) it shows we are hyper-focused on what American enemies are doing, but remain unfocused on events where there is American involvement or the involvement of American "interests" such as East Timor, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chile, etc. His own sentiment is that it would be better if American's were more observant and critical of the conflicts where they are involved. (d) His claims about the Khmer Rouge's killings being "100" or "1000" times less than reported are specifically about the Khmer Rouge's KNOWN (not estimated) killings '''after they became an enemy of the state''', so this estimate is not taking into account the executions and brutalities by the Khmer's People National Liberation Front that occured during the period where they were supported by the U.S. to fight against Vietnam.
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Also, in general, this section takes up way too much of the entire article. [[User:4tomic|4tomic]] 00:17, 15 November 2012 (EST)
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"We do not pretend to know where the truth lies amidst these sharply conflicting assessments; rather, we again want to emphasize some crucial points. What filters through to the American public is a seriously distorted version of the evidence available, emphasizing alleged Khmer Rouge atrocities and downplaying or ignoring the crucial U.S. role, direct and indirect, in the torment that Cambodia has suffered."
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Also, in general, this section takes up way too much of the entire article. My personal opinion is that "genocide denier" should be reworded at very least and a few of the facts given should be checked and perhaps removed if found to be out of context [[User:4tomic|4tomic]] 00:17, 15 November 2012 (EST)
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